Penn State’s offseason reset was always going to come with some pain. If the goal was to keep last year’s roster intact, the program wouldn’t have moved on from James Franklin. Athletic director Pat Kraft made the change after that ugly 3-3 start, and the new era under Matt Campbell came with the usual tradeoff: Campbell brought players with him from Iowa State, and Penn State let some familiar names leave.
That part made sense at the time. The Nittany Lions had just come through a disastrous 7-6 season in 2025, so there wasn’t much reason to cling tightly to every piece of the old group. Campbell’s process was understandable, and no one expected him to walk in and chase a national title in Year 1.
But after Penn State’s second-half collapse against Wisconsin, it’s at least fair to look back and wonder whether the staff could have pushed a little harder to keep a few of those departures in Happy Valley.
- Elliot Washington II, CB: Clemson
Penn State’s cornerback room has real upside. Daryus Dixson and Jahmir Joseph have handled bigger roles well in Year 2, and Audavion Collins gives the defense a steady CB1. Still, Washington would have brought another layer of stability and taken some pressure off the young secondary, while also keeping defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn from having to experiment with Zion Tracy on the outside.
Instead, Washington followed Tom Allen to Clemson, where the former Penn State DC is now working. He has settled in nicely as the No. 2 corner opposite Ashton Hampton. With Hampton drawing the top assignments as a lockdown CB1, Washington has seen plenty of action and turned that into production, picking off three passes in four games.
- Luke Reynolds, TE: Virginia Tech
Reynolds never seemed like someone Penn State fought especially hard to retain, even though he came in as a former five-star. Part of that was the situation around him: Andrew Rappleyea was staying, and Campbell already knew Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle would be coming with him from Ames.
The logic was fine. Penn State still has a respectable tight end room.
The problem is that Reynolds has looked like the breakout star everyone hoped for, and then some. He leads Virginia Tech with 280 receiving yards, 30 catches, and four touchdowns.
Outside of Koby Howard, he’d be Penn State’s most dangerous offensive weapon right now.
- TJ Shanahan Jr. RG: Florida
Penn State’s offensive line has not exactly inspired confidence. Trevor Buhr and Cooper Cousins struggled in the one game that really mattered so far, each allowing three pressures. Rocco Becht was under duress on a third of his dropbacks, and the run game finished with a brutal 32% success rate.
Shanahan, meanwhile, is thriving at Florida under former Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. He’s been one of the best pass protectors on the best offense in college football, and his work up front has helped set the stage for Jadan Baugh’s Heisman finalist-caliber start.
- Xavier Gilliam, DL: Tennessee
Tennessee’s offense didn’t have much going against No. 1 Texas in Week 4, but the defense carried its weight, and Jim Knowles deserves credit for the way he’s built that side of the ball. His disguise-heavy approach has been aided by Penn State transfer Amare Campbell and Dejuan Lane at the second and third levels, but Gilliam has been the best player on the unit.
Gilliam already has five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss this season. Against Texas, he was constantly in the backfield, finishing with four pressures, a sack, two TFLs, and steady disruption. He’s more of a Deion Barnes-style penetrator than an Ikaika Malloe space eater, but at 305 pounds he could still fit what Malloe wants in a bigger role and help a pass rush that has been underwhelming and has already lost Max Granville to a season-ending injury.
- Ethan Grunkemeyer, QB: Virginia Tech
This is the one that really stings. It was obvious early that Campbell wanted Becht from Iowa State, while Grunkemeyer was going to follow Franklin to Virginia Tech.
On paper, that made sense. Still, there was always a little dread that Grunkemeyer might turn into a high-level quarterback after getting through the back half of Penn State’s Big Ten schedule as a redshirt freshman and looking better than Drew Allar did for much of that stretch.
That fear looks justified now. Becht is making the jump from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, while Grunkemeyer is moving down to the ACC, but the Virginia Tech quarterback simply looks like the better player. Becht was offensively bad against Wisconsin without Howard, and two years later it’s tough to argue his big 2024 season wasn’t tied heavily to Iowa State’s pair of NFL receivers that year, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
Grunkemeyer, on the other hand, has Virginia Tech sitting at 4-0. His Week 4 outing against Boston College was still completely fine, even if the Nor’easter made conditions miserable. Outside of that, he’s been excellent, completing about 80% of his passes and avoiding an interception.
In Other News...
Penn State Already Faces An Uncomfortable Question About Life After Franklin
Penn States stumble at Beaver Stadium against Wisconsin in Matt Campbells Big Ten debut as head coach put an immediate spotlight on what life looks like after James Franklin. Coaching changes are never clean, especially when a new leader is being asked to steady a program with expectations as high as Penn States. Campbell arrives with a reputation as a builder, the kind of coach who needs time to shape a team in his image rather than simply patching over what came before.
For the Nittany Lions, the uncomfortable part is not just that the transition has begun, but that recent results have already started to look more fragile than the standard Franklin set in earlier years. This is the part of a changeover that programs hope to avoid, when every loss turns into a referendum on the new era and every uneven performance invites comparisons to the old one. Penn State is only at the beginning of that process, but the pressure to show progress is already very real. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Has A Scheduling Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Penn State had plenty to feel good about when it took a 17-0 lead into halftime, but the second half against Wisconsin turned into a reminder that early control does not always mean a game is secure. The offense managed only a field goal after the break, while Wisconsin kept chipping away and eventually put up 24 points to flip the result. Matt Campbell acknowledged the missed opportunities afterward, and the loss fit a familiar pattern for a team that can look polished before the pressure really ramps up.
That is why the conversation around the Nittany Lions non-conference slate has become hard to ignore. An easier early schedule can help a team build confidence and stack wins, but it can also hide flaws that only show up once the calendar turns and the opponents get stronger. For Penn State, the concern is not just the loss itself, but whether the schedule has given a truer picture of what this team is before the tougher conference tests arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State's Offense Hit A Troubling Low In Loss To Wisconsin
Penn States offense has had uneven stretches this season, but the loss to Wisconsin brought a new low in the grading as well as the scoreboard. Pro Football Focus gave the unit its worst mark of the year, while the defense, which held up far better, posted its second-highest grade of the season and had one of the days biggest bright spots in freshman Josiah Zayas.
Zayas finished with the top defensive grade on the team after returning an interception for a touchdown, a play that briefly gave Penn State some life. The other side of the ball told a harsher story, with quarterback Rocco Becht turning in a rough outing and several offensive linemen also drawing season-low grades, leaving the offense searching for answers after another frustrating night. [Read more 🡒]