Penn State football has started preparing for the upcoming 2026 season with fall camp. After the first week with player and head coach media availability, a lot came out regarding the offensive identity of this new Nittany Lion squad and how Matt Campbell hopes to see his team mesh together in year one.
While there are tons of new faces on this roster, which has earned the name "Penn State Nittany Clones" due to how many Iowa State transfers there are, there are a few blue and white connections that have popped up. On the staff, there are nine ties to Penn State, including defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn and assistant linebackers coach Dan Connor.
In Connor's linebacker room, there's another Nittany Lion tie, but not to the football team. Cael Brezina, a former Cyclone on the roster, shared that his name has a connection to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions' wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson wrestled for Iowa State when he was in college. He went undefeated over his four seasons, was a four-time NCAA Division I champion, and eventually won an Olympic gold medal following his collegiate years.
Brezina was raised in Downers Grove, Ill. but his parents are from Iowa, he told reporters on Friday, and were familiar with Sanderson during his days as a Cyclone.
"It honestly kind of is," Brezina said when asked if he was named after Sanderson. "My parents are both from Iowa, and they heard the name on the radio when Cael was wrestling at Iowa State, and that’s kind of how they heard the name."
Penn State linebacker Cael Brezina is “kind of” named after Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson
— Andrew Deal (@AndrewDeal22) August 7, 2026
“It honestly kind of is. My parents are both from Iowa, and they heard the name on the radio when Cael was wrestling at Iowa State, and that’s kind of how they heard the name.” pic.twitter.com/ZhvzpHoVbr
Linebacker Cael Brezina shares his parents named him after Penn State wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson
It's an interesting connection, but certainly not an uncommon one.
Sanderson left his mark as a Cyclone over his four-year career (1999-2002). Not only did he go undefeated over his college career, but he was the first Division I wrestler to accomplish such a feat. Sanderson was also a three-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner and a four-time Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championship.
During his senior year (2002), 76 newborns in Iowa were named Cael, according to Cody Goodwin of Des Moines Register.
Now, Brezina is just another name coming to Penn State from Ames, Iowa.
Brezina has two years of eligibility remaining after spending the last two seasons at Iowa State. He totaled 51 tackles, three tackles for loss, two passes defended, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble as a Cyclone and has been pretty consistent from year one to year two.
He joins a very talented Nittany Lion linebacker room with redshirt seniors Caleb Bacon and John Klosterman, senior Kooper Ebel, redshirt junior Tony Rojas, and sophomore Alex Tatsch. Tatsch and Rojas are the only two in that group that are returners fro Penn State. Bacon, Ebel, Klosterman, and Brezina are all former Iowa State players.
It will be interesting to see how this linebacker competition unfolds throughout fall camp, but the rotation at this position won't see any drop-off in talent from player to player.
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