If Penn State wanted to keep its roster together from last year, it wouldn’t have fired James Franklin. Or at least, it would have hired Terry Smith to replace him. No, athletic director Pat Kraft was ready for a reset, and he wasn’t wrong to want one after the horrendous 3-3 start.
However, after Penn State’s meltdown in the second half against Wisconsin, it’s also fair for the fanbase to feel a tiny bit of regret. Maybe not for the head coach, but for a few of the key pieces that the new staff didn’t quite fight hard enough to keep in Happy Valley.
The reset began with hiring Matt Campbell from Iowa State, who brought many of his players with him. That freed up the Nittany Lions to let some important players walk. While it didn’t feel great to see them leave, those players were part of the disastrous 7-6 campaign in 2025, so there wasn’t much second-guessing.
Even now, it’s hard to take issue with Campbell’s process. He brought players with him from Iowa State, as almost every head coach does when they leave one program for another, and the expectation was never for Campbell to compete for a national title in Year 1.
A loss to Wisconsin in Week 4 doesn’t change any of that, but it is an opportunity to Monday-morning quarterback the offseason and check in on a few former Nittany Lions who are absolutely balling in their new homes.
5. Elliot Washington II, CB: Clemson
One of the most exciting position groups on the Penn State roster is cornerback. Daryus Dixson and Jahmir Joseph have both taken to their increased roles in Year 2, and Audavion Collins is a solid CB1. However, Washington would take some pressure off the young players in the secondary and prevent defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn from experimenting with Zion Tracy on the outside.
Washington joined Tom Allen at Clemson, who was Penn State’s DC in 2024, and has been an excellent No. 2 opposite Ashton Hampton. Hampton is a lockdown CB1, so Washington has been tested and has had excellent ball production as a result, with three interceptions in four games.
4. Luke Reynolds, TE: Virginia Tech
It didn’t appear as though Penn State fought particularly hard to keep Reynolds, a former five-star, from following Franklin to Virginia Tech. In fairness, Reynolds didn’t have the breakout 2025 many expected; Andrew Rappleyea was staying, and Campbell knew Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle would follow him from Ames.
The process was sound, and Penn State still has a good tight end room. The only problem is that Reynolds has seemingly taken that leap and turned into a star, leading the Hokies with 280 receiving yards, 30 catches, and four touchdowns. Aside from Koby Howard, he would be Penn State’s most dynamic offensive player right now.
3. TJ Shanahan Jr. RG: Florida
Trevor Buhr and Cooper Cousins have not been particularly good for Penn State, or at least they weren’t in the only game of consequence so far. Both allowed three pressures, as Rocco Becht was pressured on a third of his dropbacks, and the run game managed a putrid 32% success rate.
Meanwhile, Shanahan, with former Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, is part of the best offense in college football. He’s been an excellent pass blocker and has helped enable running back Jadan Baugh to have a Heisman finalist-caliber start to the season.
2. Xavier Gilliam, DL: Tennessee
There weren’t a lot of positives for the Tennessee offense against No. 1 Texas in Week 4, but Jim Knowles’s defense was excellent. Knowles is known for his coverage disguises, and he’s done a lot of that with the help of Penn State transfer Amare Campbell and Dejuan Lane, who are leaders at the second and third levels, but Xavier Gilliam is the best player on the Tennessee defense.
Gilliam has five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss already this season. Against Texas, he was wrecking shop with four pressures, a sack, two TFLs, and constant penetration. He’s more of a Deion Barnes (Penn State’s former DL coach) penetrator than he is Ikaika Malloe (Barnes’s replacement) space eater. But at 305 pounds, he could play a souped-up version of what Malloe wants and supplement an edge rusher group that’s been underwhelming and has already lost Max Granville to a season-ending injury.
1. Ethan Grunkemeyer, QB: Virginia Tech
Here’s the toughest conversation. It was pretty clear right away that Campbell wanted to bring Becht from Iowa State, and Grunkemeyer would follow Franklin to Virginia Tech. That felt fine, but there was always this nagging sense of dread that Grunkemeyer might develop into a high-level quarterback after surviving the back half of Penn State’s Big Ten schedule as a redshirt freshman and looking better than Drew Allar did for most of it.
Well, it seems Grunkemeyer is becoming that player. Granted, Becht is leveling up from the Big 12 to the Big Ten and Grunkemeyer is moving down to the ACC, but Grunkemeyer is just the better quarterback, flat-out. Becht was offensively bad against Wisconsin without Howard, and two years removed, it’s hard to say his lone great season in 2024 wasn’t solely a product of Iowa State’s two NFL receivers that year, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
Meanwhile, Grunkemeyer has led Virginia Tech to 4-0. You can throw out his Week 4 performance against Boston College (which was still completely fine, by the way) because it happened in the heart of a Nor’easter. Otherwise, he’s been fantastic, completing about 80% of his passes without an interception.
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