STATE COLLEGE - D’Anton Lynn’s first Penn State game as the man in charge of the defense came with a clean sheet and a lopsided scoreboard.
The former Penn State cornerback, who once watched Case Keenum and Houston roll up 600 total yards in a 30-14 TicketCity Bowl loss to end the 2011 season, returned to the sideline in a new role on Saturday. This time, the result was very different. His unit blanked Marshall in a 45-0 win, limiting the Thundering Herd to 147 yards and helping deliver a debut that looked sharp from start to finish.
The defense flashed in a bunch of different ways. Penn State got a key fourth-down stop and then added two takeaways by reserves in the second half. Matt Campbell, also making his Penn State coaching debut, pointed to the balance of the approach afterward.
”So much credit goes to coach Lynn,” said Matt Campbell, who was also making his Penn State coaching debut. “I think the ability to try to be multiple in terms of what we showed them but simple in terms of our ability (was important), especially in game one.”
Several players left their mark. Tony Rojas, back after tearing his ACL last September, led the team with seven tackles and added a sack in his first game back. Freshmen Bryson Williams and Jackson Ford also got in on the action late, with Williams picking off a pass and Ford recovering a fumble.
Caleb Bacon was one of the more noticeable defenders on the field. The Iowa State transfer spent the first half piling up three tackles for loss, then finished with a sack and six tackles. Bacon’s path to this point included starting college as a walk-on offensive lineman, and on Saturday he lined up at both defensive end and linebacker.
“I think it really just all goes back to where I started in high school,” Bacon said. “I always kind of held that chip on my shoulder, being a walk-on. I think if you ask anybody who ever started as a walk-on, they’ll say you’ve just got to want it a little more.”
Penn State also had a surprise in the starting lineup. Defensive back Josiah Zayas, one of the true freshmen who followed Campbell from Iowa State after being released from his signing, got the nod at nickel.
Campbell had said earlier in the week that Zayas was pushing for a start, and that proved to be more than talk. Veteran nickel Zion Tracy, who was wearing a splint on his left hand, didn’t enter until the second quarter.
The opener also came with a long injury list. Roughly two dozen Penn State players were not in full pads, most of them freshmen who were not expected to play.
Among the notable names were defensive tackle Armstrong Nnodim and tackle Owen Aliciene, both projected second-teamers. Nnodim, an Oklahoma State transfer, appears poised for significant work once healthy.
Three players coming back from season-ending injuries a year ago - safety Jeremiah Cooper, tight end Gabe Burkle and linebacker Alex Tatsch - all warmed up, but only Cooper stayed in pads and played. Iowa State transfer Jamison Patton started at safety in his place before Cooper checked in later in the first quarter.
Saturday also brought a change in the leadership group. For the first time since the 2022 season, Penn State took the field without Dominic DeLuca as a team captain. Instead, long snapper Blaise Sokach-Minnick, quarterback Rocco Becht, tackle Anthony Donkoh and linebacker Kooper Ebel were named game captains before kickoff.
That meant Sokach-Minnick, a fifth-year senior and first-time starter, represented special teams at midfield for the coin toss. The Wyoming Area product had spent his career behind Chris Stoll and Tyler Duzansky before finally taking over the job. DeLuca, also from West Pittston and a three-time full-season captain from 2021-25, handled the pregame coin-flip duties in recent years before signing with the Baltimore Ravens practice squad at the start of the week.
Penn State also paused before the national anthem to honor longtime director of athletic medicine Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, who died in May at 68. Players wore “WJS” stickers on the backs of their helmets in tribute to the Peckville native and Valley View graduate, who served Penn State sports for more than three decades.
Penn State now heads to Philadelphia for a bus trip next week to face Temple at Lincoln Financial Field at noon on ESPN2. The Owls opened with a 38-14 win over FCS Rhode Island and will again be a team to watch at quarterback, where Penn State transfer Jaxon Smolik started but rotated with Ajani Sheppard. Smolik completed 4 of 6 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, though he also fumbled twice and lost one.
Temple is in its second season under coach K.C. Keeler, who won two FCS national titles at Delaware and Sam Houston State before taking over in 2025.
He replaced Stan Drayton, who was Penn State’s running backs coach last year. Keeler went 5-7 in his debut.
In Other News...
Rocco Becht's Penn State Debut Raised One Very Real Question
Rocco Bechts first game in a Penn State uniform was the kind of debut that can change the mood around a quarterback room in a hurry. Against Marshall, he completed 13 of 18 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, spreading the ball around with four different scoring throws and giving the offense the sort of easy rhythm coaches dream about when a new starter takes over.
Matt Campbells decision to go to backup Alex Manske after Penn State had already built a 31-0 lead only added to the conversation. Becht looked sharp, efficient and very much in command, and the performance left one very real question hanging over the program now: how long does Penn State keep leaning into the backup plan when the debut looked this ready? [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Are Already Judging One Big Matt Campbell Change
Matt Campbells first game as Penn States head coach drew plenty of attention beyond the usual season-opening buzz, because it gave fans their first real look at what the program might look like under his watch. After taking over in December as the 17th head coach in school history, Campbell arrived with the kind of reputation that tends to stir big expectations in Happy Valley, and plenty of people in the stands against Marshall were eager to see whether the program would feel different right away.
What stood out most was the reaction in the stadium, where many fans seemed to buy into the idea that Penn State was leaning back toward tradition and toughness. The hope around the program was obvious, even if the range of expectations was wide, with some already projecting a strong season and others treating this as the beginning of a longer transition. Either way, the first impression mattered, and it was clear plenty of eyes were on how Campbells version of Penn State would handle the early weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Defense Already Has A Freshman Forcing Big Decisions
A true freshman has already worked his way into Penn States defensive plans, and Josiah Zayas made his case quickly enough to earn a starting spot before taking the field against Marshall. For a secondary that values reliability and flexibility, that kind of early rise matters, especially when a young defender is showing he can handle more than one job on the back end.
Matt Campbell has pointed to Zayas versatility and the way he has made impactful plays in practice, and the early returns carried over into game action. He showed up around the line of scrimmage with tackles for loss and held up in coverage well enough to earn more trust, even with a few minor mistakes mixed in. For Penn State, the bigger question now is how much responsibility a freshman can absorb as the games get tougher. [Read more 🡒]