To kick off THON 2026 Pep Rally, Penn State football legend Trace McSorley and first-year head coach Matt Campbell fired up the Bryce Jordan Center crowd ahead of the annual THON Weekend Pep Rally. Two of the most prominent figures inside Penn State Athletics started the festivities before Penn State student-athletes competed in a fierce dance-off.

McSorley, a Big Ten championship-winning quarterback for the Nittany Lions, returned to Happy Valley last season and now enters his second year on the football staff. The assistant quarterback coach was a co-emcee at the THON 2025 Pep Rally.

“I love THON and what you guys do here. What you all are doing here is what makes this university the best university in the country,” McSorley said. “I know I’m biased, but what we do here is unmatched across the country.”

McSorley went on to introduce Campbell to the THON 2026 crowd. Campbell received a raucous reaction to coming on stage.

Campbell was made the head coach of the Nittany Lions at the end of 2025, after the firing of former head coach James Franklin. It’s Campbell first-ever THON Pep rally.

“We say this in the football world, they’re going to forget the wins…but what they’re never going to forget is how you treated people and how you gave back to people,” Campbell said.

Campbell finished his speech with a classic “We Are” chant to the crowd. Campbell joked that his daughters have been on his back to get better at the chant.