Matt Campbell’s first two weeks at Penn State have been spent dealing with a culture problem that one of his own players just put on blast. King Mack, the junior safety, didn’t mince words when speaking to the media on Wednesday about what went wrong during the Nittany Lions’ catastrophic 4-8 season. It was about the infamous Pat Kraft meeting that was leaked.

“Some lack of leadership, some lack of people buying in … not having all 100 people locked in and focused on one thing at one time,” Mack explained. “It’s hard to be successful when people aren’t on one mission.” 

He made it clear that the leaked audio incident was a symptom of a much bigger problem. “That shows the lack of leadership and accountability [on the team]. Anything could have been said in that meeting that could have jeopardized anyone’s future or career. I feel like that’s part of the selfishness and the lack of leadership around the team that we have to fix.”

But Mack also expressed confidence in Campbell’s ability to turn things around. He described the new coach’s approach as direct and uncompromising. “We had a team meeting, very clear. Like, if you don’t want to be here, the door is open,” Mack said, recounting Campbell’s message to the team. “The meeting I had with him, the conversation I had with him, it was honestly great.” 

The incident Mack referenced happened during one of Penn State’s darkest moments this season. Before the Nittany Lions played Rutgers in their final regular-season game, a group of about 10 players requested a meeting with Kraft to discuss the coaching search. Many of those players were lobbying for interim coach Terry Smith to be promoted to the permanent position. 

Kraft, known for his passion and accessibility to athletes, agreed to what he called an “open and honest discussion.” But the meeting included raw and pointed comments about Franklin, current Penn State players, and other Big Ten programs. These conversations are typically kept private. Somehow, the audio from that meeting was leaked to a YouTube channel on December 4, just days before Campbell was officially announced as Penn State’s new coach.​

The fallout was immediate and embarrassing. Kraft publicly apologized during Campbell’s introductory press conference. He called the leak a “challenging” time for him personally. 

But for Mack, the real issue was that someone in that room thought it was acceptable to leak private conversations for public consumption. That breach of trust, Mack argued, perfectly illustrated why Penn State went from preseason No. 2 expectations to a six-game losing streak that cost Franklin his job. 

Players buying into Campbell’s vision

Mack was candid about the problems Campbell inherited. But he and other Penn State players have been equally vocal about their confidence in his ability to fix them. Mack even expressed empathy for the younger players who’ll have to adjust to Campbell’s no-nonsense approach.

“Honestly, I feel bad for all the [young players] because they have to grow up really fast. This could probably be hard for them, but I feel like Coach Matt Campbell, he has experience. He’s very calm about this whole thing, he’s very confident about his plan and mission here. He said he wanted to take this job.” 

Campbell has made a point of meeting individually with players across the roster, including seniors who are out of eligibility. He wants to get a comprehensive picture of what went wrong in 2025. Receiver Trebor Pena, who transferred to Penn State from Syracuse, described his meeting with Matt Campbell as revealing.

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“He was just trying to get to know me, and I broke down my story to him and learned a little bit about him, too. He was asking me things that I like, things I didn’t like, how we can grow, and things that we do well.”

Even quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer expressed optimism about the culture shift. “I’ve always had a really good impression of him. I know the culture that he built at Iowa State and I really liked that from recruiting and I think it will carry over really well here,” Grunkemeyer said. “I like how he handles the program, and I like what he’s about as a coach and a person.”

The consensus is that after a season defined by fractures and finger-pointing, Penn State finally has someone who players believe can unite them around a common mission.​