New Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell benefited immensely from the way things panned out when he decided to leave Ames, Iowa for Happy Valley.
Once hired in early December, Campbell had a lot of pieces to sort out both on his coaching staff and his player roster. According to Audrey Snyder, one of those critical pieces he secured was not always a shoo-in to follow Campbell from Iowa State.
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser was a likely candidate to slide into the Cyclones' then open head coach position. Campbell told Snyder in a Q&A that he was expecting that to be the case. If it were, he would've had a tough time bringing as many players from his Iowa State roster over to Penn State.
Campbell wasn't the only one thinking of this potential spanner in the works. Quarterback Rocco Becht also considered what his NCAA future would look like if Mouser stayed with the Cyclones. In a recent interview with Snyder, Becht didn't give an exact answer as to whether he would have stayed or transferred. However, he did say that the scenario where Mouser didn't follow Campbell would have made his decision significantly harder.
“It would’ve been a way harder decision for me,” Becht told Snyder of Inside The Lions. “A lot of players would’ve stayed, a lot of coaches would’ve stayed. That would’ve been harder for me to decide. I wish it did happen, but I’m also glad it didn’t happen because I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser coming to Penn State made quarterback Rocco Becht's choice a no-brainer
From a roster perspective, Becht is obviously the headlining addition in the offseason. The Nittany Lions did not have a clear starting quarterback on their roster after the 2025 season, and starting off Campbell's tenure with either an unproven or unfamiliar name isn't a recipe for success. Without a doubt, having Becht, even just for one season, is a huge advantage for Campbell.
He wouldn't have had that advantage easily if it weren't for Mouser, though. Him following Campbell to Penn State was the offseason difference-maker.
The Cyclones hired former Washington State head coach Jimmy Rogers on Dec. 5, the same day Campbell was hired by the blue and white, and introduced their new coach officially on Dec. 8. Iowa State took initiative quickly. Within a matter of a few hours, Campbell could've found himself in a position where his top picks in regards to both his player roster and staff weren't slam dunks.
There were other teams interested in the rising senior quarterback, according to Snyder, and Becht did consider all of his options laid out in front of him. It wasn't a shock for Becht to come to Penn State and there weren't any real nerves regarding where he was going to transfer to when he entered the portal, though. The Nittany Lions were the easiest and most obvious path for him to go with, sticking by the coaches he knew and had already succeeded with.
Mouser was officially hired as the Nittany Lions' new offensive coordinator/tight ends coach on Dec. 12. Less than a month later when the Transfer Portal opened, Becht committed and signed with his new team.
Had Mouser stayed in Ames, Campbell's roster and starting quarterback situation could have looked a lot different and lot more worrisome for Year 1.
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