Most coaches would panic at the sight of nearly 50 players leaving their program. For Matt Campbell, it was a welcome opportunity to establish a new, non-negotiable standard for what it means to be a Nittany Lion. The program added 39 players, with some coming from the head coach’s former program. Every signing reflected a fundamental goal of what Penn State is going to be under Campbell.

“I think the biggest thing I told you guys at the beginning was that we cannot be willing to just take talent without character,” Campbell told the media. “We have to lay a foundation for who Penn State football wants to be and where we want to go forward, and make sure we dotted every I and crossed every T.

I think, again, where I thought we did a really great job is making sure that not only were we finding the right guys but making sure once we built the team, it was the right human beings that fit us.”

Campbell’s 39 new additions came via the transfer portal in January, thanks to the $30 million NIL budget given to him. Out of those additions, 23 were former Iowa State players, giving Campbell familiarity to work with at his new program. A big win for him was successfully bringing former quarterback Rocco Becht to Penn State, who had a strong 2025 season. With a 60.5 pass completion rate for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns, the senior will bring in experience and quality to Penn State.

But the hidden context behind Campbell’s emphasis on ‘character with talent’ is the discourse surrounding the number of three-stars that joined the Lions. Under James Franklin, Penn State roped in multiple five stars every window. However, given that Indiana won the national championship on the back of three- and four-star players, the dominant narrative that ‘stars’ reflect a player’s true potential has cooled a bit.

Campbell also brought 10 members of his Iowa State staff to PSU, including Taylor Mouser as offensive coordinator and Ryan Clanton as offensive line coach. In addition, he hired former USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who reportedly took a pay cut to join Penn State. All of this shows that Campbell had already mapped out what he wanted to do, and both players and coaches bought into it.

While he couldn’t stop the massive wave of players leaving the program, he did manage to retain players like Daryus Dixson, Anthony Donkoh, Tony Rojas, Koby Howard, and Andrew Rappleyea. A major reason for that retention was Terry Smith’s late-season heroics, which helped Penn State survive the disastrous season.

Matt Campbell praises Terry Smith’s contributions

While James Franklin’s exit may have triggered many of the departures, Terry Smith played an important role in convincing others to stay. Ending the disastrous season on a winning note was a massive win for the Nitanny Lions. Leading to four consecutive victories as an interim head coach was enough for Terry Smith to win over some players and the fans. This also saw him return to his former role as associate head coach and cornerbacks coach.

And those contributions were hard to ignore, as Campbell gave Smith his credits during the press conference.

“The reality of some of those guys deciding to say, ‘you know what, coach, we love Penn State, we want to stay here, and we want to lead forward with you’ was really huge, and I give Terry a lot of credit. Obviously, the success of having some momentum leaving the football season was really positive, and some of those guys, you saw how they played in the bowl game.”

With Terry Smith reinstated, Penn State looks like a mix of old and new players and coaches, ready to make a comeback in 2026.