Officially officially official.

Matt Campbell had his introductory press conference as Penn State football’s 17th head coach on Monday, and he outlined a lot of the reasons why he left his 10-year Iowa State post for Happy Valley.

Campbell’s first chance at the podium after brief statements from President Neeli Bendapudi and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft was met with an overflow of emotion. The new Penn State boss took a second to compose himself before relaying his first message to the Nittany Lion faithful as head coach.

Campbell immediately noted that the last five days have been a whirlwind for him and his family, but that he’s humbled and honored to take the mantle of Penn State’s head football coach.

“As fate has it, it’s this full-circle moment in my life, our family’s life,” Campbell said. “This young boy that grew up in Massillon, Ohio, and all you heard about was Todd Blackledge. And you understood his excellence and what he stood for and watched my father compete against him.”

Blackledge wasn’t the only former Penn State star that Campbell mentioned while recalling Penn State’s national prominence throughout his childhood. Campbell also shouted out Kyle Brady, a consensus All-American tight end who led the Nittany Lions to their first Rose Bowl win in 1995.

Most prominently, though, were Campbell’s persistent mentions of Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in college football history. Campbell said he always looked up the toughness and character Paterno instilled in the Penn State football program, and he never thought he’d take the reins of the Nittany Lions.

“It’s a dream come true for me. It’s one of the greatest honors of my life, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be here,” Campbell said.

Campbell continuously referred back to his childhood when explaining why he took the job. While he looked up to Paterno and all of the stars of Penn State past, he was reminded most of spending so much of his youth in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, with his grandparents.

Campbell’s great-grandfather worked in the coal mines, and his family took Paterno’s tradition of discipline as a guideline. That inspired Campbell to his own football career, and it’s all led to his hiring as Penn State football’s head coach.

While Campbell did note leaving Iowa State as one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made in his life, he understands that you cannot have life without change. Change is inevitable, and life-altering moves like this have to be thought completely through.

“You better have some priorities in your life. No. 1 is if you’re ever going to or you’re ever going to move, it better be about your family,” Campbell said. “Two and a half hours away from home. 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 didn’t want to just up and go from Iowa State, but he knew the opportunity was too good to pass up. Everything fell in the right place at the right time, but Campbell still didn’t take the decision as an easy one. He’s a program builder and felt horrible to leave all the players that believed and entrusted their careers in him.

While he promotes change, Campbell still understands the difficulty that comes with decisions as big as this. He wouldn’t have made this move without knowing that it’d be the best possible outcome for him and his family.

“I never wanted to be that coach that was ‘oh, man, I’m going to jump from job to job,'” Campbell said. “Like, if we were ever to leave Iowa State, I wanted to go somewhere, and I wanted to finish my career, and I wanted to stand for something that’s bigger than Matt Campbell. It’s not about me, but about the players and represent something bigger than myself, and I found that.”

Once Campbell arrived on campus Sunday afternoon, one thing he said that reminded him of Penn State’s greatness was the letterman wall inside the Lasch Building. He said he felt goosebumps seeing over 2,000 names and understands that his mission is to bring Penn State football back to national prominence.

“You knew their excellence and what they stood for — a blue blood football program. No question. The sacrifice, the passion, of so many of you, individually to become the best and collectively have some of the greatest teams in the history of college football. I know this — it’s my responsibility to each and every one of you, every single step of the way,” Campbell said.

Campbell paid homage to Paterno, Bill O’Brien, James Franklin, and spearheaded Penn State’s efforts to retain Terry Smith on staff. Campbell and Smith had a relationship beforehand, as Campbell would usually recruit Smith’s Gateway High School players while he was the head coach at Toledo.

However, it’s time for the Matt Campbell era. The hard part is over. The emotions will continue to flood in, but Campbell’s “full-circle moment” has to move forward now.

“The reality of it is from my end of it is, your scars have built you for these moments, if you use them wisely,” Campbell said. “We’ve had unbelievable moments during our tenure as a football coach. We’ve had some great learning lessons along the way, and it’s all confidently prepared me to step into this role and to continue to build the greatest college football program in the country.”