Matt Campbell made it clear from his first official days as Penn State’s head coach that he was going to immerse himself in the history of the program.
He name-dropped Joe Paterno, Todd Blackledge, Kyle Brady, Kerry Collins, Courtney Brown and Jack Ham during his introductory press conference in December — not bad for someone who never played or coached at the school previously.
“Our greatest gift is those that came before us,” Campbell said on Wednesday during his first meeting with reporters since that introduction. “It’s still one of the absolute joys that you have walking in that facility every day and you see the names that have played and coached and the tradition that has come before us.”
Campbell doesn’t just talk about the players and coaches who walked through the halls of team facilities before him. He’s made an effort to connect with them and wants them to be involved in the future of the program.
Since taking over in Happy Valley, Campbell has held Zoom calls with as many previous players as he can get in contact with, broken up by the decade they donned the blue and white. He started by talking to players from the 1950s and worked his way up to the 2010s-present group on Wednesday night, hosting open forums and welcoming feedback and advice from some of the best to ever call themselves Nittany Lions.
“I just think it’s so critical. It’s what makes Penn State football really special, you know?” Campbell said. “It’s what has made the greatest time and the greatest eras and the greatest moments in this history of Penn State football. It makes it an honor to represent every day, and I know that, and to continue to build that into our football team, we’re going to need everybody, and certainly our past coaches, our past players, that want to come be a part of this, and we’re excited about that.”
Part of that includes having former lettermen on the staff, including associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, assistant linebackers coach Dan Connor and assistant quarterbacks coach Trace McSorley.
“For me to be able to have that wisdom, to have that experience, that living proof of what the power of Penn State excellence looks like on our staff, it’s been really fortunate to have for me,” Campbell said.
The rest of his staff, many of whom have no prior ties to the university, have followed suit.
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said he wants to “sink my roots in as far as we can go.” He told both incoming transfers and returning Nittany Lions to embrace the history of the university, which borders on blue-blood status.
“You come play at Penn State because of the history of what this place is and the people that have walked through the doors and the walls before you,” Mouser said. “When you’re in that locker room downstairs, it says the great players that have worn your jersey.
“You come to Penn State because you want to be part of a fraternity of greatness, of All-Americans, of history, of championships and things like that. So I think that’s a big deal. It’s a big deal for me.”
To help drill home the point, Mouser — who also serves as tight ends coach — has gotten in contact with former Penn State tight ends dating as far back as he can find. Every day, he sends the phone number of a former player to a group chat with tight ends on the current roster, along with some brief information about them, and encourages his players to reach out.
He said he wants the former players, including several recent graduates currently starting in the NFL, to remain connected and return to campus frequently to be around the team.
Mouser’s message to his tight ends is clear:
“Don’t come play tight end here if you don’t care about the people that have done it before you and their greatness,” he said. “There’s a level of expectation that comes with that.”
That philosophy extends down to the smallest details. Mouser provided an example of an everyday choice that seems mundane, saying his players shouldn’t choose to eat a bagel for breakfast when they’re supposed to eat an omelet, because that would be disrespectful to the standard set by previous players.
“The standard of tight end here is being the best that you could be in all phases,” Mouser said.
Defensively, Lynn is taking the same approach with his group. He knows the value of having former players like himself around and the knowledge they can instill in the next generation of Nittany Lions.
“There’s just a lot of history at this school, and there’s not a lot of schools that have that,” Lynn said. “So I think the more our players know what that is, the more our players can be around those guys, the better.”
