Matt Campbell is settling into Penn State like he’s been there for years, not weeks. The 46-year-old coach is already pulling recruits from his former program, bringing along key staff members from Ames, and is building a sustainable foundation in Happy Valley. However, the interesting thing is that there was a significant stretch during Penn State’s 58-day coaching search when Campbell wasn’t even on the shortlist, let alone being seriously considered for a job that now seems tailor-made for him.​

The reason Campbell got left in the cold initially was that someone with influence fed Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft some seriously misleading information about the Iowa State coach. According to ESPN, Campbell “had not gained much traction” despite Penn State’s initial interest because the school “received some intel that was not accurate” about him. 

Campbell was painted as somebody who would crumble under the pressure of running a blue-blood program. This was particularly thought to be true when it came to recruiting high-profile players who demand serious NIL money and navigating the transfer portal. An industry insider reportedly “basically bad-mouthed Matt and told Pat that he didn’t work the portal well.” This completely dampened Kraft’s interest and steered him toward other candidates.​

That bad intel had real consequences. While Campbell sat on the sidelines, Kraft went chasing other names. Penn State took swings at Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti. However, those coaches either weren’t interested or quickly signed extensions to stay in place. Meanwhile, Campbell’s own staff back in Ames was reportedly baffled by Penn State’s silence. 

Instead of pursuing Campbell, Penn State went all-in on BYU’s Kalani Sitake by late November. Even Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi went all in to bring Kalani Sitake to Penn State. The plan was to keep Sitake’s name quiet and close the deal after the Big 12 championship game. But word leaked during the final weekend of the regular season on December 1. 

That’s when BYU’s financial machine kicked in. CEO of Crumbl Cookies, Jason McGowan, took the task of getting Sitake to stay on his hands. And courtesy of him and other prominent donors, BYU announced a new contract to keep Kalani Sitake in Provo. So, Penn State’s all-in effort to poach Sitake was countered, and they were back to square one. A BYU fan even trolled Kraft by sending him a box of Crumbl cookies through DoorDash.​

Now, it’s clear Penn State finally got it right, even if it took them way too long to figure it out. An associate with ties to both Kraft and Campbell reached out to Penn State. Following that, Kraft flew to Ames on December 4. He immediately realized what he’d been missing. Campbell signed an eight-year, $70.5 million deal that same weekend. And he’s already making moves that suggest the “intel” was complete nonsense. 

Campbell’s first impressions prove the doubters wrong

That “concerning intel” that nearly kept Matt Campbell off Penn State’s radar, the players aren’t buying it. In the lead-up to the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson, Penn State players made themselves available for press conferences. And their reviews of Campbell have been glowing across the board. 

Redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer said he’s always had a “really good impression” of Campbell since recruiting and loves “the culture he’s built at Iowa State.” He added that he thinks “it’ll carry over here really well.” Junior safety King Mack went even further, calling Campbell “very honest” and “straightforward” while praising his plan to fix what went wrong this season. “Coach Matt Campbell plans on changing the culture, and I feel like the plan that he has is a great plan. All we need to do is just have everyone buy in.”

The recurring theme in these player assessments is accountability and honesty. Redshirt senior wide receiver Trebor Peña kept it simple, saying, “He’s a great dude. You can tell he cares and can tell he’s smart. You can tell he’s well-respected.”

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Perhaps the most telling endorsement came from Mack, who met with former Iowa State staffers who followed Campbell to Happy Valley and had a revelation: “I could just imagine the coaching that they did over there with not half of the talent that we have here. If they were able to be successful, that means there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be able to be with the talent that we have.”

The person who supposedly couldn’t recruit or develop top-tier talent actually made overachievers out of underrated players, and now he’s got Penn State-caliber athletes to work with.