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CFB Expert Gives Matt Campbell & Penn State a REALITY CHECK!

Locked On Nittany Lions

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Penn State's loss to Wisconsin changed the conversation around Matt Campbell's first season — but is coaching really the biggest problem?

Brian Smith of the Portal Podcast joins Locked On Nittany Lions to explain why he believes Penn State's biggest issue right now is talent, particularly at the offensive skill positions, and why Campbell's rebuild may require multiple recruiting cycles before it can fairly be judged.

Zach Seyko and Brian also discuss Koby Howard's importance to the offense, Rocco Becht, Penn State's NIL investment, the comparison to Indiana's rapid turnaround and why the 2028 recruiting class could become a major checkpoint for Campbell's program.

How patient should Penn State fans be with the rebuild?

Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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0:00 Intro
1:10 Brian's Realistic Expectations for Penn State
2:21 Why You Can't Compare to Indiana
6:02 Penn State's biggest problem: coaching or talent?
8:54 How Penn State's offense has to adjust
12:20 Why Zach still believes in Matt Campbell
13:56 When should Campbell actually be judged?
16:31 Talent vs. Penn State's young offensive staff
18:58 Why Campbell still fits Penn State long term
22:21 Penn State recruiting is trending up
24:30 How recruits view Campbell and Penn State
29:21 David Terawali and Penn State's talent evaluation
30:49 Jordan Hall and the 2028 recruiting outlook
33:41 Final Penn State rebuild reality check

20 Comments

@erikjohnson6302 3 days ago

Taking Iowa State players and think you will win 10 games was crazy.

@BenHawk1 3 days ago

Taking over 20 big 12 players from a middle of the conference team and putting big 10 uniforms on them does not magically transform them into big 10 caliber players. Painting stripes on a horse does not make it a zebra.

@brianwalter7387 1 day ago

Cant expect Iowa St players to compete with Big 10 talent

@GuidoSchroeder-u6o 18 hours ago

am a PSU alumnus Class of 1965. I have been watching and following PSU football for over 60 years. This years team doesn’t appear to be able to execute its plays cleanly with precision, confidence and authority. “In basketball (and football), the mental is to the physical as 4 is to 1” (Bob Knight). They don’t have the mental attitude. The responsibility for this resides with the coaches, the quarterback and the team captain. They are not the 1964 Rip Engle/Joe Paterno PSU team who was 3-4 when they went into “the Shoe” in Columbus and beat Woody Hayes #2 ranked team 27-0 holding them to minus yardage and no first downs in the first half. Joe Paterno didn’t have 4 and 5 star players being paid 6 figure NIL money on that team. But this team doesn’t play with the same passion for winning. They appear incapable of coming together as a team as Northwestern has. If PSU continues to play like they did against Wisconsin and Northwestern, they will continue to experience drubbings. And the only teams on their schedule they have much chance of defeating are Purdue, Maryland and maybe Rutgers. Purdue played very well against Illinois. Against this PSU team, after they get clobbered by USC and Michigan, Purdue might be favored. Rocco Becht is not Brock Purdy or Kerry Collins and Matt Campbell is not Jim Harbaugh. Good teams play their best when the game is on the line. The Wisconsin game showed they are not capable of this. The Northwestern game proved it. You are the media. Please start asking the coaches and team why at 5 games into their season this hasn’t happened yet. Don’t dwell on the trees while ignoring the forest. There is something basically wrong with the vibe of the team.

@LionRoarGamer 3 days ago

In the other games the passes got spread around so much it was mystifying that the passing game was so broken against Wisconsin.

@DrWhy-j2h 3 days ago

Terry Smith's team the 2nd half of last season was better on all fronts than Matt Campbell's "Cyclone" team is this year. Ethan Grunkemeyer is a better quarterback than Rocco Becht. PSU made a big mistake by not making Terry Smith the permanent coach. He probably could have retained the bulk of talent Penn State lost when Matt Campbell brought 24 players from Iowa State to Happy Valley.

@BenWeimer-r5f 3 days ago

I dont buy the talent argument outside of one glaring position. OLine is loaded. TEs are big and athletic. More WR talent than we've had in years. RBs have taken a step back but Martin and Peoples are very serviceable. Becht just isnt good enough for a BIG Ten team.

@john066 3 days ago

One of the other biggest problems was the offense never showed up. There was also horrible horrible playcalling like running up the middle on third and 12 that’s just fucking stupid and they did it multiple times I think if we had better offensive playcalling, we could’ve won that game.

@timmcelroy5123 7 hours ago

Maybe Penn State want to have a good team that finishes in the middle of the pack. Not to pick on Penn State but this portion of the Big 10 is brutal with Michigan and Ohio State established with huge recruiting and huge NIL makes it hard to compete with. I guess we will see where the team goes in 3-5 years.

@dancline6070 3 days ago

You are only going to get 3-star recruits from Campbell. That's not going to get you many wins.

@AJTramberg 3 days ago

You can't compare PSU to Indiana. Far as I can see (not very far), NOBODY appears to be copying Indiana's model. That team's AVERAGE AGE was over 22 years old. 5th and 6th year players EVERYWHERE.

@Crusader35 1 day ago

Thats BS, Cignetti is NOT an outlier...UCLA and Oklahoma State have BOTH changed the narrative in ONE season. Matt Campbell and his obsession with "his Iowa State culture" have set Penn State back 3 to 5 years...and if he is the right HC. And as I said before picking Becht over Grunkemeyer was a massive mistake by Campbell and his staff...smh

@mikecarrier4228 3 days ago

As a Buckeye fan I'm worried PSU have become the new Nebraska.

@oscarbauer1322 1 day ago

Did anybody even look at the data? Campbell was 5-4 last year in Big 12 so why would you expect more this year? On the depth chart it shows only 4 Iowa State players starting on defense so 7 of 11 were talent he evaluated from somewhere else. Also he has a new D coordinator. It’s not an Iowa State defense and it’s horrible so if that’s not the reason then you need to ask what is the real reason???

@JurgenNagengast 3 days ago

Donkoh, for whatever reason, has regressed since his earlier seasons.

@JurgenNagengast 3 days ago

Brian Smith:

Players are going to go where the $ is

It’s all about the Jimmies and Joes

It you don’t get Quarterback right, nothing else matters

@chrisberdis6228 2 days ago

Penn State NIL Budget doesn't match the top tier...the results speak for themselves.

@arn_kriegbaum 2 days ago

nil is changing everything. anyone with a quality left tackle and qb can compete even against the penn states of the world

@kimbo9877 3 days ago

Ok I have a question Zach. Who in the world is saying Penn State would end up like Indiana!? I am in the message boards, different podcasts, and live streams almost everyday and no one is saying that but you. Every time I watch your videos it is nothing but sh*ting on PSU. I mean the clickbait titles and the crappy discussion topics I mean come on. We get it. If you are a PSU fan everyone understands PSU is not as good as they used to be! I mean seriously I’m just not going to watch because I already know what you are going to complain about! You are giving others teams more content than us! Womp Womp