As James Franklin walked out of Happy Valley, the 2026 class, which appeared to be the foundation for the future era, suddenly lost 23 of its 28 commits in one moment. The recruitment rating dropped to 135th out of 136 FBS teams. It has shaken the program’s confidence. And that’s where the real story starts, with Matt Campbell rebuilding the program.

“We are unable to gather talent. We can’t collect talent, as Campbell didn’t sugarcoat the situation of Penn State football on the November 9 episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

We’ve got to collect a football team and build a football team through talent acquisition, no matter how that looks and feels.”

After weeks of portal chaos, decommitments, and top prospects flipping to James Franklin at Virginia Tech, Penn State aims for structure and stability. Campbell isn’t pretending that he inherited a ready-made roster after early signing day passed, as reports called it the “biggest downfall in PSU recruiting history.”

Campbell highlighted the rebuild’s core values and made it clear that Year 1 will be invested in building the foundation of the program.

“Knowing that this is year one for us, we’d better make darn sure that every young man that comes in here is a young man that’s going to reflect where we want this program to go, the character, the standards of excellence, how we’re going to work,” he stated.

That statement hits differently after the past few hectic weeks, when Penn State lost prospects who flipped the moment Franklin called. Others waited weeks for a permanent coach and never got answers. Some commits openly began hunting for new offers. The best part, though, was when Campbell admitted the long-term risk.

“We can’t just put all our eggs in this 26. We’re going to have to be doing an incredible job on 27 so we don’t lose two classes and we get an opportunity to continue to do a great job,” he said.

It was the type of statement you only hear from a coach who is entirely aware of the crater he is walking into. PSU is on the verge of a two-year recruiting collapse due to the early signing disaster, the national embarrassment, staff departures, decommits switching to Franklin, the AD’s misfires, and even Kalani Sitake openly declining the position. Campbell knows he can’t afford that.

While personally taking charge of Zoom calls, high school visits, and on-the-go recruiting, he is pulling up his sleeves and building the entire regional footprint from scratch, “The greatest 68 radius that you can build a football program around,” as he puts it.

And that’s really where Campbell’s challenge becomes more than just football.

Matt Campbell wins over a shaken fanbase

Campbell acknowledged the emotional hangover Franklin left behind.

“For Coach (James) Franklin and what he built here at Penn State, I have the utmost respect for him,” he said.

During that chaotic time, Terry Smith, whom players openly supported with “Hire Terry Smith” signs, had become the pillar. Furthermore, Campbell didn’t hold back on the topic, saying, “It’s been so awesome to watch his commitment to Penn State, how he’s led this football program.”

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That acknowledgment softened many hearts within the fan base.

But Campbell’s explanation for his decision to sign up for Penn State even won over the skeptical fans. He presented this transfer as a life choice rather than the jet, the benefits, or the pay increases.

“By my family, number one. Number two, the leadership, whom you were going to link arms. Could you link arms with people that you know were the right people for you? And then number three, most importantly, you know, and we talked about this at Iowa State, where you have a chance to go somewhere you can stand for what’s right,” Campbell stated.

Campbell hasn’t claimed that there will be a miraculous turnaround, despite all the goodwill. In an apparent reference to PSU’s last two months, he discusses asking the “right questions,” setting aside ego, and refusing to be “fast and wrong.”

Although Cooper Ohnmacht’s momentum is impressive, Campbell is aware that a single recruit cannot fix a broken pipeline. Yet his tone is steady, indicating that he is not afraid of the climb. With that, Penn State sounds, for the first time in weeks, like a program with a strategy.