Matt Campbell has spent much of the transfer portal bringing former Iowa State players to Happy Valley. And since former Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles landed at Tennessee, he’s started to do the same with former Nittany Lions.
On Thursday, Tennessee landed a commitment from rising redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam, who played a major role for Knowles in 2025. Then, on Friday, Knowles added the leading tackler from his Nittany Lion defense, Amare Campbell.
BREAKING: Penn State transfer LB Amare Campbell has Committed to Tennessee, he tells @On3Sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 10, 2026
This season he totaled 103 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 PD, 1 FF, and 1 FR
He’ll have 1 year of eligibility lefthttps://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/0FJyIW5s1a
Amare Campbell commits to Tennessee, following DC Jim Knowles
Like Knowles, Campbell spent just one year in Happy Valley. Knowles was hired away from Ohio State after winning a national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024. Knowles was brought in on a record-breaking three-year, $9 million contract that made him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country.
Campbell didn’t command quite as much of a financial commitment, and the North Carolina transfer wasn’t at Penn State for quite as long either. Campbell arrived in the spring transfer portal window, departing Chapel Hill a few months into Bill Belichick’s tenure, and he quickly emerged as the green dot player in Knowles's offense, relaying the calls from the booth with the in-helmet communication.
Campbell finished with 103 tackles, three sacks, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. That came after a year with 76 tackles for the Tar Heels as a sophomore. The Virginia native has one year of eligibility remaining and was speculated as a fit to follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech, but instead showed loyalty to Knowles.
While Campbell is a massive loss, there are a few silver linings to soften the blow. First, Tony Rojas is back. The senior linebacker was the green dot player at the start of the season, his junior campaign, and his second as Penn State’s starting middle linebacker. Rojas suffered a season-ending injury in Penn State’s Week 5 loss to Oregon, but announced his return for 2026.
The other is the amount of linebacker talent that Matt Campbell and new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, have added to the roster through the portal to offset this loss. Penn State already has three incoming linebackers from Iowa State on the roster: Caleb Bacon, Cael Brezina, and Kooper Ebel. They will join Rojas and rising sophomore Alex Tatsh, who showed impressive flashes in his true freshman season.