Welcome Matt: Campbell grateful to ‘soak it all in’ during Penn State debut
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Nobody can accuse Matt Campbell of stealing the limelight.
He passed on a scoreboard introduction, and as the Nittany Lions took the field for Saturday's season opener, a 45-0 shutout of Marshall, Campbell came out with the team but then took a shortcut through the band and moved quietly to the sideline.
When he got there, he could be seen alone in a crouch position at the 35-yard line for several minutes, clearly spending time in thought and savoring the moment.
He said Jordan Hill, a former Nittany Lion and the team's current director of player development, encouraged him to "soak it all in."
So he took heed.
"I heard that," Campbell, who arrived after 10 seasons at Iowa State and the previous four at Toledo, said. "This is a special place. There are probably a lot of moments of insecurity in my own journey as a coach at times where you're so worried about everything else you don't have a chance to sit there and soak in it.
"To want to come out and watch our fans and watch what this place feels like and maybe look up, and you see those teams on the scoreboard or on our press box and what it's meant to our great coaches and players to play here. You're just grateful to have the opportunity to continue to represent the past of this program."
As for his absence from the pregame intro, Campbell smiled and said thanks but no thanks.
"Yeah, I'm good on that," he said. "The scoreboard is for the players."
Coaches sometimes have inklings about how their teams will perform, but just as often, they don't -- especially at the outset of a season with so many new players.
"There was more anticipation on what this is going to look like," Campbell said. "How was our team and coaching staff going to respond?"
Impressively. In fact, his PSU debut could not have gone much better.
Quarterback Rocco Becht played as advertised, showing accuracy and presence en route to 271 yards on 13-of-18 attempts and four touchdowns.
"When you have a quarterback who's played extensively, there's a tendency to take what the defense gives," Campbell said, praising Becht. "Sometimes a great quarterback is like a great point guard. You have to be a great distributor of where the ball needs to go. Rocco was outstanding from the beginning."
Penn State unveiled an explosive passing game that spread the ball around to nine different receivers who not only caught the ball well but gained 196 yards after the catch -- an unheard of statistic these past few years.
Koby Howard led the way with six catches for 161 yards and a score.
"I went into this camp knowing I had something to prove," he said. "Today was a test, but it doesn't stop here."
You'll recall two years ago, when the wideouts were blanked in an Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame that did more damage to James Franklin's career than perhaps any other.
"When we got here, we wanted to change the narrative of the Penn State wide receiver room," Brett Eskildsen, who made five catches and turned a screen pass into a 25-yard TD, said.
Up front, the Lions controlled both lines, and their defense limited Marshall to 147 total yards and a third-down conversion log of 1-of-11 while forcing eight punts.
"So much credit goes to coach (defensive coordinator D'Anton) Lynn," Campbell said.
Just as they alternated their skill players on offense, including backup QB Alex Manske, the Lions showed off their defensive depth with 25 players cracking the tackle list.
The coaching on both sides of the ball was decisive with quick decisions and intentional in sticking with the run, even if they could have named their score by continuing to throw.
Campbell challenged his offensive line by going for a fourth-and-1 from the Lions' own 22 late in the first half with the lead only 17-0.
It turned into a touchdown drive and a 24-0 lead.
"I don't know if that was a good call or not," he said. "I wanted to see who we are."
The non-conference schedule -- next up is a trip to Temple followed by a visit from Buffalo -- will not prove much except that at first glimpse, Matt Campbell appears to have made good use of the last eight months.
Even if he doesn't want to be recognized for it.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.