The 4 Changes for Penn State to Hope for Under Matt Campbell
Dec 8, 2025; University Park, PA, USA; Matt Campbell answers questions from the media after being announced as the Penn State Nittany Lions new head coach during a press conference at the Beaver Stadium Press Room. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images Spring practice is underway, so it’s a time for optimism! Things are quite different this time around, as Matt Campbell takes over a new era of Penn State, with James Franklin now at Virginia Tech after 12 seasons in Happy Valley.
Let’s take a look of a few changes we can hope for under the new regime: Improvement from the Entire Wide Receivers Room Let’s start with the most obvious. Penn State’s offense has been held back for the lack of production from the wide receivers over the last three seasons. The 2023 team had what may have been the most complete defense in the nation.
However, a lack of downfield passing helped make the offense easy to defend, especially against the top defenses on the schedule. It was more of the same in 2024, culminating in a heartbreaker to Notre Dame in the semifinals where the receivers contributed nothing – literally 0 catches in a game that could have sent them to the national championship. Things improved slightly in 2025 thanks to the addition of three veteran receivers from the portal, but the trio of Devonte Ross, Trebor Pena and Kyron Hudson still fell far short of the numbers produced at their previous schools.
The good news? Matt Campbell and staff have an impressive history of developing receivers, with several lightly-recruited prospects making their way to the NFL. However, things did not get off to an ideal start as new wide receivers coach Noah Pauley quickly exited Penn State for the Green Bay Packers before he could even unpack his bags.
Pauley was replaced by Kashif Moore from UCONN, who guided star receiver Skyler Bell as the program’s first consensus All-American following a season with 101 catches, 1,278 receiving yards and 13 scores in 2025. Can Moore reinvigorate a position group known for recent struggles in Happy Valley? There’s reason to think so.
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