Amarion Jackson arrived at Penn State as a defensive back, but the staff quickly saw enough to try him at receiver once spring practice opened. The move made sense on paper: Jackson had already shown real production at Millard South High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he posted 50 catches, 900 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. It also fit Penn State’s situation, with veterans Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen working back from injuries during spring camp.
By the end of spring, coach Matt Campbell said Jackson was one of the top performers in the freshman class. Since then, the freshman has kept pressing, and apparently at a pace that started to worry the older guys around him.
“We had to tell him like, ‘Hey, you need to chill out,’ Sowell told reporters at Penn State’s local media day Friday. “We’re about to get to camp.
Like you need to make sure your body’s feeling good. Like we’re kind of going a little too crazy, you know?’”
That kind of push is exactly what has stood out to Sowell. He said Jackson keeps attacking the details - the release, the route, the catch, the finish upfield - until he looks less like a newcomer and more like someone who’s been in the room for years.
“Whether it’s a release, whether it’s a route, whether it’s just how he catches the ball, how he’s turning up the field,” Sowell said. “Like, he’s just finding different ways, and he’s starting to truly look like a vet, honestly.”
Campbell took that even further on Friday.
“Amarion Jackson is not a freshman,” Campbell said Friday. “He is (technically), but he looks like a guy that’s going into his junior year. He looks like a guy that’s got such maturity for a young guy.”
The work hasn’t been limited to the field, either. Jackson has been pushing in the weight room, and that has caught Sowell’s attention too.
Sowell, listed at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds, has the kind of frame that looks built for the position. Jackson, meanwhile, has been strong enough to surprise him.
“Sometimes we’re doing the same weight,” Sowell said, “and it’s like ‘okay.’
That only makes the competition at receiver more interesting. Sowell and Eskildsen are projected to take two of the starting spots, but the battle for the third is wide open.
Koby Howard, the sophomore that Penn State fans have been waiting to see more from, is in the mix. So are Karon Brookins, an Iowa State transfer, Zay Robinson, who came over from Iowa State, and Keith Jones Jr., who transferred in from Grambling.
Even with that crowd, Jackson has given himself a real shot. Campbell said the signs have been there from spring practice through the first days of fall camp, but the challenge now is sustaining it through the rest of camp.
“How does that continue to show itself?” Campbell said.
“It showed itself all spring practice. I think it showed itself early in the first couple days of practice we’ve had so far.
But we know we got a long fall camp. We got a real… man, what does that look like?
Can you keep stacking days and prove that you should get on the football field to help our football team?”
Sowell, for his part, has already tried to make sure Jackson understands the danger of getting too comfortable too soon.
“I don’t want you to get complacent because you’ve had early success,” Sowell said he told Jackson via text recently, “and I’ve seen a lot of guys do that. I want you to keep going and like chase that goal of being the best to ever come through here because you have the potential to do it.”
In Other News...
Penn State Freshmen Are Already Creating A Matt Campbell Dilemma
Matt Campbells first offseason at Penn State has already been defined by the rebuild he inherited after James Franklins firing, and the 2026 recruiting class reflects just how much work went into it. The group currently stands at 15 players and sits 65th nationally, a far cry from the kind of class Penn State usually expects, but spring ball and camp have started to offer at least a glimpse of why the staff feels better about the long view.
Two freshmen in particular have pushed their way into the conversation. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has been impressed enough with Amarion Jacksons versatility and readiness, while defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe has pointed to Jackson Fords physical traits and upside as reasons he could be hard to keep off the field. For a staff trying to build momentum quickly, those early reviews matter, because the next step is figuring out just how soon those newcomers can translate praise into actual roles. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Teammates Just Revealed Their Early Breakout Favorites
Penn States annual media day produced more than the usual training-camp optimism, as players were asked to point to teammates they think could break out in 2026 under new head coach Matt Campbell. The exercise offered a useful window into how the locker room is viewing the roster heading into a fresh era, with names surfacing across the offense and defense as players tried to identify who might be ready for a bigger stage.
The selections ranged from wide receivers to offensive linemen and defenders, which says as much about the teams depth of belief as it does about any one position group. Of course, these are only teammates projections, not predictions written in ink, but they do hint at where the internal buzz is building as Penn State starts to sort out which players are poised to take the next step in Campbells first season. [Read more 🡒]