Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell's culture isn't just about early mornings, accountability groups, or changing practice times. He's instilling a culture that connects the present program and players to the deep history rooted at State College.
One way Campbell accomplishes this is inviting former players back, like College Football Hall of Fame running back Ki-Jana Carter, to speak to the team.
"[Campbell] wants to embrace the tradition, right, and all of the guys and all of the [Penn State teams] throughout the years," Carter told Lions247 on Thursday. "… A lot of these kids, the reason why they came to Penn State is because we've been good and had notoriety. Well, the reason it is like that is because of [the former players]."
Carter was the No. 1 overall selection of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He had a seven-year career at the professional level (not including 1995 when he suffered a torn ACL) after spending three seasons as a Nittany Lion (1992-94). In his final season at Penn State, he totaled 198 carries for 1,539 yards and 23 touchdowns. His rushing yard total and rushing touchdown total both led the Big Ten in 1994. Carter also led the entire FBS division in average yards per carry with 7.8 that season.
He wasn't the first former Nittany Lion who came back to Happy Valley, and he won't be the last either. Campbell intends on bringing back past players from different decades every week, reminding his current roster of the rich history that they are also now a part of. Before Carter, Campbell invited back a player from the 1980s.
Carter also spoke about the Transfer Portal to Mark Brennan of Lions247, stating that it's caused a problem in college football and players should have loyalty to their school.
"The easiest thing is to run away," Carter said. "… nothing comes easy. I don't care what it is — life, business, whatever — you've always got to work for it. And you'll appreciate it when you get [there]. That's the problem with what the portal has done. Now, there's no adversity. Now, I can say I'm not happy here, and I'm just going to pout and go somewhere else . . . I love my university like no other. If I'm going from Penn State to another school to another school, where's that? Where is my allegiance at?"