Officially, Matt Campbell’s first game inside Beaver Stadium will come against Marshall on September 5, but that won’t be the first time his Nittany Lions take the field inside the historic venue. Penn State will hold its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday as preparations for the 2026 season continue.Â
For a team with plenty of new faces- 38 transfers and 16 freshmen, to be exact- Penn State’s depth chart is fairly well sorted out. There’s no controversy at quarterback, and the only positional battle at a spot that won’t rotate multiple players each week is left tackle.Â
That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t plenty of players with something to prove to their new head coach or new teammates on Saturday. These three may have the most at stake in the scrimmage and throughout the rest of fall camp.Â
It seems it will be a three-headed monster in the backfield for Penn State, but rarely is there ever a true three-way split. Somebody is going to get the short end of that stick, and with Carson Hansen coming over from Iowa State, where he was the leading rusher last season, and Ohio State transfer James Peoples garnering rave reviews from Matt Campbell for his pass protection work, Martin is probably lowest on the totem pole.Â
That is, unless he performs well in game action. Corey Smith was supposed to be next up on the Penn State depth chart with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both out of the Pinstripe Bowl. However, in a game setting, Martin shined, racking up 103 yards on 20 carries. It seems he’s a gamer, so he could help his case with a strong scrimmage.Â
Sophomore Koby Howard is expected to be the breakout candidate in the wide receiver room, but true freshman Amarion Jackson may be nipping at his heels. Jackson, a former Iowa State signee who followed Campbell to Happy Valley, has reportedly been excellent in camp. At 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, it seems the former three-star looks the part and could start to steal reps away from the veterans Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen on the outside.Â
However, there’s a difference between practice reps and game speed. Though a scrimmage won’t fully replicate it, Saturday will be the best test of whether or not Jackson’s emergence is for real and if he’ll be ready to make an impact as soon as this fall.Â
It’s strange to have a redshirt senior and former All-Big 12 honoree on this at all, but Caleb Bacon is making a position move, spending time with the EDGE group this fall after working with the linebackers in the spring. Will that move stick? The rest of fall camp will determine that.Â
The linebacker room is crowded, but there’s a good bit of talent at defensive end on this roster as well. Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou are young players Campbell and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn are banking on making a leap, while transfers Ikenna Ezeogu and Alexander McPherson will be a key part of the rotation.Â
His first time truly playing the position, will Bacon be able to take snaps away from that group, or will he end up in no man’s land, solid at both spots but not good enough at either to see the field much?
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