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Through all the changes in college football, and the Big Ten introducing four new head coaches in football this season, at least one thing has remained the same for new Penn State coach Matt Campbell.
"Winning football games hasn't wavered," Campbell said on Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days.
Campbell, who is being welcomed to the conference for the first time along with Michigan's Kyle Whittingham, Michigan State's Pat Fitzgerald, and UCLA's Bob Chesney, remarked that he was thrilled to be part of the Big Ten Conference for the first time.
"This conference is the best in the country," Campbell said.
The Big Ten is going into the season looking for its fourth straight national title with Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana taking the last three championships.
Retaining Terry
Terry Smith was credited with righting the ship as the interim head coach last season after a disastrous 3-6 start. The Lions rattled off four wins in a row to finish the year, including a 22-10 win over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Campbell said before he even accepted the PSU job in December, he asked athletic director Pat Kraft if it was possible to keep Smith on staff. Smith will serve as associate head coach and cornerbacks coach this season, the same position he held under James Franklin.
"When I was at Toledo, we were always trying to get a young man from Terry's high school program (Gateway High School)," Campbell said. "Terry did a great job settling the ship, and giving us a great foundation moving forward. It means a great deal to myself and the people in our football program."
Jersey patches
Ohio State and Notre Dame announced corporate partnerships with JPMorganChase and SoFi, respectively, on Tuesday.
The partnership with JPMorganChase will land Ohio State nearly $17 million dollars per year, while the deal with SoFi will reportedly give Notre Dame between $18 and $20 million dollars annually.
Kraft said he is doing a 'deep evaluation' on a patch partner. It sounds like a corporate partnership will be a matter of when it happens, rather than if it would be a possibility.
"We're doing our due diligence on what the real value is," Kraft said. "I believe our jerseys are the most iconic in all of sport. But this is the new reality. We have to find other avenues to generate more revenue."
New defense
While Campbell implemented a 3-3-5 defense while at Iowa State, the Lions are moving to a traditional four-down front and three linebackers. Campbell said it is to accommodate the current roster.
Campbell also believes PSU has the ability to have multiple defensive fronts under new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.
"I think if you really study with our league and the Big 12 evolved over the last couple years to more of a pro-style offense league, we also had to evolve," Campbell said.
Injury report
Campbell provided an encouraging injury report prior to the start of fall camp.
Backup quarterback Alex Manske has been completely cleared for the start of camp. Tony Rojas, Anthony Donkoh and Andrew Rappleyea will be ready for the start of camp.
Safety Jeremiah Cooper, linebacker Alex Tatsch and tight end Gabe Burkle should all be ready to play at some point in September.