Matt Campbell Names Penn State’s Starting Offensive Line, Other Updates

To kick off his first game week at Penn State, head coach Matt Campbell met with the media inside Beaver Stadium on Tuesday morning.

Campbell revealed the Nittany Lions’ starting offensive line for Week 1, provided injury updates and spoke about the importance of trust within his program. Here’s what he had to say.

Protecting the Pocket

Penn State’s battle at left tackle has been a recurring story line throughout the offseason, with Malachi Goodman, Garrett Sexton and Owen Aliciene all vying for the top spot. On Tuesday, Campbell confirmed Goodman will be Rocco Becht’s primary blindside blocker to start the year.

“He’s had a really tremendous camp,” Campbell said. “Excited about the growth that he’s made and the consistency that he’s given our football team across the board.”

He also confirmed Brock Riker will start at center, which became increasingly expected as fall camp wore on. Riker was battling with Dom Rulli, who started in the Pinstripe Bowl for the Nittany Lions.

Campbell also named Trevor Buhr at left guard, Cooper Cousins at right guard and Anthony Donkoh at right tackle, all expected results. Buhr started when healthy last season at Iowa State, and Donkoh earned starts at both right guard and right tackle for the Nittany Lions the past two seasons. Cousins played in a rotational role last season along the interior but earned his first start in the Pinstripe Bowl.

“I think (Cousins) has made the most monumental growth in terms of losing 15 pounds,” Campbell said. “I think he’s physically as dominant as I’ve seen him, at least from the videotape that I was able to watch a year ago and go out and watch in spring. I thought he had an unbelievable camp for us.”

Road to Recovery

Campbell provided updates on three key players working back from injury: safety Jeremiah Cooper, tight end Gabe Burkle and linebacker Alex Tatsch. While all three were active participants on the practice field this week, Cooper is the furthest along in his recovery and is “probable” for the season-opener.

Campbell classified Burkle and Tatsch as doubtful against the Thundering Herd, but both are expected back for Week 2 at Temple.

“We’re still early in the week to see where they’re at, but that’s my guess right now,” Campbell said.

The Trust Factor

The most important factor in determining which players take the field on gameday is trust, according to Campbell. To build that reputation, he wants to see players handling business in practice, but also in the classroom and with their nutrition and conditioning. 

“We’re not going to win at all costs, we’re going to win the right way,” Campbell said. “We’re going to win with guys that do things the right way, that carry themselves the right way on the field, but they carry themselves right off the field.”

Reliability is paramount for Campbell, who described college football as “the greatest game of screw-up known to mankind,” where the team that minimizes mistakes usually comes out on top. To ensure practice consistency carries over to gameday, the coaching staff grades every practice to keep expectations high.