Penn State football's spring season is underway starting on Tuesday, March 24 with the Blue-White event scheduled for late April, showcasing what this new squad of Nittany Lions under head coach Matt Campbell are all about.
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"Anytime you have 15 practices, the unbelievable value of what spring practice has to look like, especially as you build a team, I think critically important," Campbell told 247Sports' Tyler Donohue.
Spring ball is an opportunity for the players to bond, develop chemistry, and determine what foundation Penn State's 2026 season's is built on. Campbell doesn't underestimate or undervalue the kind of impact this time of the year has on a team.
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Campbell's culture is already making a change, on and off the field. Veterans who returned to Happy Valley, such as linebacker Tony Rojas and offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, commented on the renewed work ethic.
Rojas said Campbell's emphasis on accountability off the field is something that stands out, especially from a leadership standpoint as players. That reliability the players have on one another isn't something developed only in practice, and Campbell made sure his team knew that.
As for Cousins, he appreciated the new culture Campbell is building at Penn State.
"The culture shock here that's in place, the new culture that's here with [Campbell], has been outstanding," Cousins told Donohue. ". . . We're working our tails off right now. There's more work to be done. We know that, and we're going to continue to grind every single day so we can fulfill that vision that we have for ourselves, which is a big vision."
It's not just about their record at the end of the season, wins, or chances at making the College Football Playoff. A refreshed energy for the Nittany Lions will get them where they want to be as a program, and that starts with culture. For Campbell, he hit the ground running and hasn't stepped off the gas yet in that regard.