The new era has begun.

On Monday, Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Matt Campbell as the new head coach of Penn State football. The former Iowa State man sat down with the media for the first time as a Nittany Lion just an hour late. Here’s what he had to say.

On Cael Sanderson

Cael Sanderson was the last head coach from Iowa State to make the trip to Happy Valley when he became the Nittany Lions’ head wrestling coach. Campbell said he has been watching him from afar and has tried to build a similar program at Iowa State.

“I can’t thank Cael enough,” Campbell said. “He spent 45 minutes with me on the phone two nights ago, and we talked about our similar journeys and similar paths.”

Campbell also said he was in communication with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. The two called on Thursday night to talk about the grit, character, and integrity of Penn State.

On Thanking Iowa State

Campbell took ample time to thank those who took a chance on him at Iowa State and allowed him to stay there for 10 seasons. He specifically mentioned Jamie Pollard, the Cyclones’ athletic director, who went viral this week for crying while talking about how great the new Nittany Lion head coach has been for the program.

“We build an incredible staff,” Campbell said. “That foundation was built on caring, unifying, inspiring the young men that come into our football program, day in and day out, to build great men of character, to stand for what’s right on the field and off the field.”

The 46-year-old also took time to thank the players for their commitment over the past 10 seasons. Campbell said it was really hard to say bye to them, and that the meeting was on Friday. He also later mentioned that the only apprehension he had about joining Penn State was leaving so many people he cared about in Ames, Iowa.

“We rewrote history every single step of the way we wrote history, from three and nine to the greatest era ever in the history of Iowa State football, one of the best Big 12 programs in the country,” Campbell said. “We went face-to-face with everybody who had more than us, and we competed and beat them every step of the way.”

On Terry Smith

Terry Smith was one of the first people Campbell brought up to thank. He said that they originally met while Smith was the head football coach at Gateway, and he was recruiting the area for Toledo. Every player that came from Smith’s high school team played and acted the right way, Campbell said.

“It’s been so awesome to watch his commitment to Penn State, to watch how he’s led this football program and football team through tough and trying times,” Campbell said. “It’s been rewarding. I know he’s the cornerstone of this program as a player, as a student athlete, and now as an incredible football coach, and it is my honor to work hand in hand with Terry to build on this great foundation moving forward.”

Campbell was quick to act on retaining Smith at Penn State, as he became the highest-paid non-coordinator in college football the same night Campbell reportedly took the job. He said that it was vital to keep him on board.

“One of the first questions that I asked is, boy, I would really like to keep Terry. What do you think? And it was a resounding yes,” Campbell said. “So the fact that Terry wants to stay and wants to be a part of this, I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Campbell was really appreciative of all the lettermen who still have roles and care about the Penn State football program and wants to do them right. He said he will work “hand-in-hand” with Smith to make sure he is doing that and representing Penn State the best he can.

On Why Penn State & Why Now

Campbell continuously brought up his family and how important they were to the decision to leave Ames and become the Penn State head coach. He grew up in Massillon, Ohio, and had grandparents in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. He said part of the reason it was Penn State over other schools was the ability to be under a three-hour drive from almost all of his family.

“To be able to have my father and my mother and my brother and my wife’s family be able to come be a part of this journey with me, that means a lot,” Campbell said.

He also said the talks with Kraft went really well. He never wanted to be a coach who jumps from job to job; he knew that if he were to leave Iowa State, it had to be somewhere he felt he could finish his career. Campbell said that after talking with Kraft and Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, Penn State could be that place.

On Retention

Campbell acknowledged that he has a lot of relationship-building to do in the coming weeks before the transfer portal opens in January. There was a general assumption that if the right coach was not brought in, a lot of turnover would happen.

The former Iowa State head coach plans to meet with every player and person on staff in the coming days to see where they stand. He said he wants to know who they are, why they came to Penn State, what they want to do in the future, and how he can help make Penn State a better place.

“If you want to win, if you want to have real success, trust is going to resonate from top to bottom of the program, and it starts with the player coach relationship,” Campbell said. “I’m going to work with the staff tomorrow and try to get through every staff member that touches our football program tomorrow, and then for the next four to five days, I want to meet individually with every player on our team.”

Campbell said he and his staff will be ready with a plan, no matter what the situation is retention-wise moving forward.

On National Championships

Campbell said that he sees his scars as his superpower. If he wasn’t putting himself in a place where he could find success and failure, then he’s not putting himself in a position to grow, he said. The national championship challenge that Penn State football presents is what he feels he’s ready for.

“We’ve had championship expectations every step of the way,” Campbell said. “You’re talking to the guy that lost one game in four years of college, and you know, it’s won five national championships. I don’t care what level it is, it’s a fact.”

The new Penn State head coach said he’s prepared himself over the past 10 years at Iowa State and all the years of learning football beforehand to get the Nittany Lions back to being the best team in college football.

On Recruiting

Campbell feels that Penn State is in the best area in the country to recruit when talking about the six to eight-hour radius. He said the focus will be local.

“Everything will start with building high school football and continuing to do a great job in this state and our surrounding states, nobody’s going to attack more than us,” Campbell said.

He also said the transfer portal brings a unique advantage to Penn State, but he does not want to be a one-and-done program. The focus will be on developing the talent from within and going after the right players in the portal.

“Jaden Higgins was maybe the 40th-ranked transfer portal guy, and Jaden Higgins was the number one receiver taking the draft last year,” Campbell said. “You go to an offensive tackle, Jalen Travis, who was drafted by the Colts. No. 40th in the transfer portal and was the first transfer portal offensive tackle taken. We have a process.”

Campbell promised Penn State will be the best team in the country at developing talent. Stars are cool on signing day, but it’s the performance on the field that matters most, he said. The 46-year-old used Breece Hall, Brock Purdy, and Will McDonald as examples.

On Coaching Bowl Game

The former Toledo head coach said he has not had the time to think about what his role will be in the final weeks of the 2025 season. He said he will talk to Smith, the players, and other staff members to make sure he balances the line of relationship building but not getting in the team’s way.

“To watch these guys climb back. It’s been super impressive. And my respect for Terry and the seniors on this football team, and going to win four in a row, that’s huge,” Campbell said. “I think we’ll figure out Terry and I, where’s the best place you know that I cannot be a hindrance to this team.”

On General Managers

Campbell all but confirmed the hiring of Derek Hoodjer at Penn State as associate athletic director of football operations. He said that Iowa State had to have a general manager because it did not have the resources that other schools had. The Cyclones had to find any advantage they could, he said.

“Derek [Hoodjer] is one of the absolute bright minds in all of football, and, you know, is already here with us and started that,” Campbell said. “Now our Derek’s role will be exactly what Pat [Kraft] said.”

Both Campbell and Kraft noted the need for a general manager in today’s college football world. The new Penn State head coach is excited to see what he can do with the resources the Nittany Lions have to offer and the advantages a general manager has.