‘A sense of urgency,’ focal point of the offense, and more takeaways from Penn State football’s media day

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State football coach Matt Campbell said the theme for these next few weeks is “preparation for the journey” as his squad works toward a Week 1 matchup vs. Marshall on Sept. 5.

“We’ve grown,” Campbell said Friday at the team’s local media day. “It was great to see Practice 1 and 2 because there was great growth between Practice 1 and Practice 2, and we’re going to have to not miss a day as we continue. There’s a sense of urgency.”

Besides Penn State’s continued preparation, here are three other takeaways from Friday’s availability:

Campbell said 12- and even 13-personnel, meaning two or three tight ends on the field, is going to be prevalent in new offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser’s scheme, mostly because Campbell and Mouser want to draw plays that highlight the team’s strengths.

Tight end will be a focal point. Iowa State transfer Benjamin Brahmer was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award for the nation’s top tight end last season, fellow Cyclones transfer Gabe Burkle is “the guy that cleans up the mess,” according to Mouser, and returnee Andrew Rappleyea began to break out at the end of 2025.

With that comes high expectations for the group, especially considering Mouser is also their position coach.

“We think we’re the smartest on the offense, pretty much, so we always know what we’re doing, and if we do mess up, it’s our fault,” said Brahmer, a senior. “Or if anybody messes up, [Mouser] thinks it’s the tight ends’ fault because we’re kind of the central piece of that offense.”

The idea of playing 12- and 13-personnel excites Rappleyea, who said the tight ends and wide receivers jokingly argue when Mouser calls for more tight ends during practice.

“I think that [Mouser] realizes the way it is,” said Rappleyea, a junior. “The game’s evolving, and if you have big guys that can get open, we’re not going to complain about having two of us on the field instead of three receivers.”

In any normal year, Campbell likely would have a general depth chart in his head for the season. But this is not a normal year, and Campbell is making every player on the team earn their Week 1 spot.

“Everybody’s either on a new team, at a new place, got new coaches, and everybody’s going in with kind of the same starting lines,” said Campbell, who’s entering his first season as the Nittany Lions’ coach after a decade in the same role at Iowa State. “You got to go earn it. To be honest with you, on a good team, some great teams that I’ve been a part of, championship ball, you kind of got to earn it because there’s enough good depth.”

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Ultimately, Campbell emphasized that the players who separate themselves will be the consistent ones, particularly among the wide receivers. The Nittany Lions have developed a reputation for poor wide receiver play in recent years, but Iowa State transfers Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen received high praise from Campbell on Friday, alongside returnee Koby Howard, a sophomore.

“I think [Sowell and Eskildsen] give you proven reps that these guys can do it. Can they do it at the consistency now that the great ones look like?” Campbell said. “I think then you look the rest of the way, and you see a guy like Koby. You saw what he could do. I think the same thing I would say about Kobe, and it’s his challenge, and he and I talked about it, is consistency. Can you be the best version of you every day?”

Campbell has made it known that he believes the defense under new coordinator D’Anton Lynn can be “multiple” in scheme and features Nittany Lions who can play different positions.

He name-checked junior safety Marcus Neal Jr., senior cornerback Zion Tracy, and redshirt junior linebacker Tony Rojas, but they aren’t the only ones adding versatility.

Sophomore defensive end Yvan Kemajou said Lynn’s scheme gives “a lot of freedom to the D-line and linebackers.”

“I feel like we’re very multiple. I like that,” Kemajou said. “So it’s just great learning his scheme, just learning his style of playing defense, and it’s been great.”

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Senior linebacker Caleb Bacon, another Iowa State transfer, can play at different spots and has been working out at defensive end to start fall camp. He doesn’t necessarily have a position preference and is more focused on doing what he can to help Penn State.

“If we need edge rushers, if we need linebackers, I think I’m really just ready for whatever,” Bacon said. “Kind of knowing this scheme, it all really helps. And playing strict linebacker in spring ball, and now transitioning a little bit of a mixed role, I think has been super beneficial for my football IQ and just knowledge of the defense in general.”