Fall camp is nearly here and there are a few position battles that need to take place and get sorted out before Penn State football hits the field in Week 1.
The defensive end, quarterback, and offensive line rooms have competition ahead of them. At edge rusher, four Nittany Lions have a chance to fight for a spot in the rotation. reliability and consistency will be key as well as health for Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou. Ikenna Ezeogu and Alexander McPherson were crucial additions for a Penn State defense looking to get bigger up front.
In the quarterback room, it's really a battle for that QB2 spot. Though Alex Manske is the Iowa State backup transfer from the offseason, the Nittany Lions added Division III Connor Barry who had a great offseason while Manske was recovering from injury. Penn State's excited that Manske is on track to return, but he'll have to prove himself vs. Barry.
At left tackle, specifically, is where the Nittany Lions' offensive line needs to sort itself out. This is the most essential role Penn State has to determine before the season starts. Malachi Goodman, Owen Aliciene, and Garrett Sexton are all in the mix.
Matt Campbell hires ninth former Penn State letterman
Head coach Matt Campbell hired Michael Mauti as Penn State's director of football engagement. Mauti previously worked for the Nittany Lion Club and is now working more closely with football, specifically.
Mauti is a former All-Big Ten linebacker who played for the Nittany Lions from 2008-12. He recorded a career high 96 total tackles and was drafted in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Legends and legacies have been essential components of Campbell's tenure, even just in the short amount of time he's been here for. Mauti joins associate head coach/cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, assistant linebackers coach Dan Connor, recruiting assistant Steven Gonzalez, director of player development Jordan Hill, assistant cornerbacks coach Jordan Lucas, assistant defensive line coach DeOn’tae Pannell, and director of talent acquisition Alan Zemaitis as the former Penn Staters on Campbell's staff.
Analyst gets honest about Penn State's 2026 season
In Bill Connelly's Big Ten preview piece where he analyzed every team in the conference and pinpointed his favorite players and upcoming games in 2026, the Nittany Lions got a wakeup call.
Amidst the excitement for their easy schedule comes a huge downside, which is the fact that an easy schedule won't make them look good in terms of rankings. The AP Top 25 might not even feature Penn State come the end of the regular season, and that's something Connelly said he wouldn't be surprised seeing.
On the flip side, the biggest games the Nittany Lions have are still exciting. Michigan and USC, especially, will draw in tons of attention to see how Campbell handles the heat. For Connelly, he said the Penn State vs. USC game is one of the five biggest Big Ten games this season, which is a shocking difference to the same Wolverines storyline that's been popular.
Connelly went as far as to say that the Week 6 contest could make Penn State a dark horse candidate in the conference. while it's odd to think of the Nittany Lions as a "dark horse," they're still not in that top tier of teams (Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana) that have the greatest projections to win the Big Ten Championship.
More: ESPN calls QB Rocco Becht Penn State's X factor
No surprises here. Quarterback Rocco Becht continues to be the highlight of Penn State's roster. ESPN named the X factor for each preseason top 25 team. Becht is, of course, the one it went with for the Nittany Lions.
"One of the most effective ways to jumpstart an offense is to hire a coach or coordinator who then brings along a QB they coached before," Kyle Bonagura wrote. "With Becht following Matt Campbell to Happy Valley, Penn State looks like the latest program that will benefit from coach-QB familiarity."
Add us as a preferred source on Google