Matt Campbell is a developmentally minded head coach, but that doesn't mean he’s taken a Dabo Swinney-esque approach to the transfer portal, which is to say he’s not scared to approach it at all.
Campbell isn’t just looking to develop his own high school recruits; he and general manager Derek Hoodjer found a few projects in the portal this offseason, and their most important one, Texas State transfer center Brock Riker, passed his first test on Saturday against Marshall.
This offseason, Riker arrived in Happy Valley after a promising freshman season in the Sun Belt, but needing to put on serious weight to anchor a Big Ten offensive line. Well, he’s up about 35 pounds and seemingly moving as well as ever and playing as well as anyone on the Penn State offense.
On Tuesday, Matt Campbell was asked about Riker and left tackle Malachi Goodman, the two wild cards on an offensive line that replaced four starters from last season, and the first-year head coach of the Nittany Lions revealed that Riker graded out as their best offensive player.
“Had a great day, I thought from communication standpoint to physicality at the point of attack, I thought he was outstanding,” Campbell said of his redshirt sophomore.
Brock Riker dominating Marshall doesn’t answer every question, yet
Riker quickly usurped Dominic Rulli on the Penn State depth chart, but the question all offseason has been: how will he handle Big Ten interior defensive linemen? Adding 35 pounds or so in one offseason and looking as good as he did in Week 1 is a step in the right direction, but he was one of the best offensive linemen in the Sun Belt last season, so he should be able to dictate terms against Marshall.
He should also be able to punch holes in the Temple defensive line this week and Buffalo’s in Week 3. He can’t quite answer that question definitively until the Nittany Lions host Wisconsin in Week 4, but the early returns are great, and that’s important for Penn State’s trajectory.
That’s not just about this offensive line this season either. Of course, keeping Rocco Becht upright and establishing a physical run game is the most pressing issue in the short-term, but Campbell’s long-term success will be predicated on effectively evaluating players like Riker and turning them into stars. So, early proof of concept will make Happy Valley an even more appealing place for future transfer targets.
Matt Campbell needs a developmental win with Brock Riker
Much of the idea with Matt Campbell coming from Iowa State to Penn State is that if you improve the baseline talent level for one of the best developmental staffs in the country, you can pretty quickly go from punching above your weight in the Big 12 to competing for Big Ten titles.
Again, that philosophy has primarily been applied to high school recruiting, but it also goes for the transfer portal, where Campbell, Hoodjer, and the rest of the staff now at Penn State are proven evaluators with a clear track record of turning under-recruited Group of Six talents into Power Conference starters.
That’s what they’re doing with Riker, and there will need to be more Rikers flowing into this program year after year if they’re not going to recruit at the Ohio State or Oregon level. It’s too early to chalk this up as a definitive win. But if it becomes one, with Riker continuing to play well deep into the Big Ten slate, it’s another reason for optimism in Happy Valley.
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