Penn State football rolled out a squad of predominantly transfers and freshmen for the team’s THON 2026 Pep Rally performance. While men’s soccer ultimately pulled out the final win over men’s gymnastics (a lot of mixed opinions there), football still made the most of its brief stint on stage.

It’s a new era for Penn State football. Juwan Johnson introduced Matt Campbell prior to the Pep Rally, and he reassured the Penn State faithful that he’s happy to be here. First order of business? Send the guys down for their routine. Here’s a breakdown of the team’s first pep rally routine under coach Campbell.

They’re Sturdy With It

The group established their low-key and restrained dance moves in the first half of their performance. A lot of foot coordination and stepping with hand movements, and stepping back and forth. They did look a little bit out of sync, especially the linemen in the back corner not performing with the same enthusiasm as the guys up front.

Still props to the guys, though. They were still sturdy as heck. That doesn’t happen without a natural flow of rhythm and love of dance. Hopefully they just practice a little more on their positioning for USC and Michigan in the fall.

These Guys Like To Swag Surf

First half of the performance showed off some good bodily restraint, but the second half? The squad fully let loose with around 20 seconds of moves to “Swag Surfin'” by Fast Life Yungstaz.

They started their surf down low and ended up high. The crowd loved it, and they easily got energy back in after a rough start. There aren’t really any other notes. Swag Surf never fails.

New Era, Same Flips

Holy front flips. In the middle of the team’s swag surf portion of their routine, one player caught major air on a front flip that really riled the Bryce Jordan Center up. It isn’t the first time football will send certain skill position players to rip a front flip in its Pep Rally performance. It was electric. (Also, a quick note to Penn State Athletics: please update the football roster page and make my life easier.)

Come On, Linemen

As mentioned before, there was some serious lack effort in the back right corner of the team’s performance. I literally don’t know where else these guys would want to be besides the biggest stage in the world in the country’s premier dance competition, but I digress.

Seriously, though, come on. It’s a new era! Have fun with it! It’s THON! Buy in!

This is the way for new football players to really experience what it means to be a Penn Stater. I know linemen can be a bit more stoic and have less flair than position players, but just like in a real game, they are essential to the success of the performance. The moment required just a little bit more out of them. Hopefully effort isn’t an issue come September.

Lackluster Finale

The guys just kind of went up to the front of the stage with their FTK signs and trotted back off the stage. It wasn’t spectacular, it wasn’t bad, just run-of-the-mill. I don’t think they had a chance to be finalists no matter what they did at the end, but it was just a meh end to a meh performance. Sure, there were some highlights overall, but if you want some elite Pep Rally performance coverage, we got you.