Amongst all the changes in the past year for Penn State football, no position saw as much turnover as the safeties.

With just one player safety returning from the 2025 team, new head coach Matt Campbell and new safeties coach Deon Broomfield hit the portal hard, signing five players to the position.

The transfer adds will be joined by three true freshmen to make up one of the most exciting position rooms for the Nittany Lions heading into the 2026 season.

Here’s a preview of what folks can expect on the field.

Projected Starters

Matt Campbell did not forget his luggage during his trip from Ames, Iowa, to State College, Pennsylvania, and it’s Louis.

It’s likely Penn State’s three starting safeties for the season opener against Marshall on September 5 will all be from Campbell’s previous team, Iowa State.

Marcus Neal Jr. is a surefire starter coming off a sophomore season where he recorded 77 tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a sack for Iowa State in 2025.

Neal is a throwback safety that’s not afraid to mix it up in the box and throw his body around. The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder is the heaviest safety on the roster and plays like it.

“My favorite thing that he does is come down and smack the crap out of people,” linebacker Cael Brezina said on Neal in February.

Neal has great recovery speed and plays with elite instincts that make him look even faster. Expect to see him all over the field come September.

Another former Cyclone that will play a big part in Penn State’s defense this season is Jeremiah Cooper. The safety brings the most experience out of the new faces, with 35 starts and four years of college football under his belt.

Cooper missed most of the 2025 season after suffering a torn ACL, the same injury that kept him out of spring ball this year, but played cornerback for the Cyclones in the four games he was healthy.

That was mainly due to a lack of depth at the position, and folks should see the four-star transfer, according to 247Sports, move back to safety for much of the year in Happy Valley.

“He’s a kid that nobody will outwork,” Broomfield said. “Whether it’s in the film room or weight room, he’s going to set the tone and leave no stone unturned. I always say he was in the middle of our defense, and you put him in a position where teams can’t run away from him.”

In his four years in Ames, he had 132 tackles, eight interceptions, and a forced fumble in his four seasons at Iowa State. While less impressive against the run than Neal, Cooper makes impressive plays on the ball in pass coverage and has the ability to move all over D’Anton Lynn’s defense in the fall.

Four-star transfer Jamison Patton is another player coming off an injury that should start for the Nittany Lions come this fall.

He played in 34 games for the Cyclones from 2023 to 2025, recording 79 tackles and four interceptions in that time. Patton did, however, miss most of November with a lower-body injury after starting the first nine games of the season.

Supporting Cast

As the only returning Nittany Lion at safety, Vaboue Toure appeared in 16 games in two seasons, recording 19 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack in that time.

“I need a guy that can consistently take guys down in space with a solid wrap tackle, which we say ‘get up on a body part,’” Penn State recruiting coordinator for personnel Alan Zemaitis said. “That’s Vab. Vab will track you down, always close ground, and he can uncoil on ball-carriers.”

He really picked up some hype for this season after his seven-tackle performance in the Pinstripe Bowl, but will need to prove his talents to Campbell.

If Cooper or Patton see an injury again, though, he could be the first man up.

Two more transfers, Ibn McDaniels from Syracuse and Omarion Davis from Boston College, could also be in the mix to see time.

McDaniels transferred after playing 15 games in two seasons with the Orange, making four tackles and one tackle for loss. While he is likely a season or two away from being a major contributor, he has high expectations for himself in the future.

“I’m a relentless competitor with a high motor, and I’m always ready to go,” McDaniels told NittanyCentral. “My personal goals while being at Penn State are to leave with a degree and be a first-round draft pick.”

Davis is the more likely of the two to see some legit time this fall. He played in 11 games and started in two as a true freshman for Boston College last season.

He is also one of the players who benefit from the new five-in-five eligibility rule because he didn’t redshirt as a freshman.

Development Pieces

Christian Askew comes to Happy Valley as a three-star recruit, after flipping his commitment to James Madison when head coach Bob Chesney took the UCLA job.

The 6-foot-4, 199-pounder was named to All-Region honors in Georgia as a junior in high school after he tallied 48 tackles, 37 solo, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and 15 pass breakups.

Bryson Williams is another three-star freshman who committed to the Nittany Lions after Campbell took the job. Broomfield had offered him while he was at Iowa State.

Williams hails from Omaha, Nebraska, where he finished his high school career with 139 tackles, seven tackles for loss, nine interceptions and four fumble recoveries.

While it will be a few years before they produce in Beaver Stadium, Broomfield has shown a knack for talent recognition, most recently turning Neal, a three-star out of high school, into an all-conference safety.