Penn State’s offense doesn’t just look different this month in camp. It looks rebuilt.
Matt Campbell has brought Taylor Mouser over from Iowa State as offensive coordinator, and the staff overhaul goes well beyond that. Two assistant coaches came with Campbell, and 14 former Cyclones are among the 20 offensive transfers.
That kind of turnover usually takes time to sort out, but training camp has already started to reveal what this group wants to be when Penn State opens against Marshall on Sept. 5.
The biggest piece remains quarterback Rocco Becht, and Campbell sounds like he’s seeing a player in a very different place than the one he coached before.
"Rocco’s in a completely different space than I’ve seen him really in his career," Campbell said when Penn State began Week 3 of camp. "[He's a] guy who’s already gone through the highs of college football and the lows of college football. He's been in the same system now for a fifth year.”
Becht’s offseason was about getting his body right. He had surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum, and he also played through an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder last year.
That made injury resilience a major priority for him this offseason. In July, he said he would have “no limitations” in camp, and that has shown up in the work.
During 11-on-11 periods, Becht has moved and thrown freely, read defenses cleanly and delivered the right ball. After putting up 2,584 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while dealing with injuries last season, he looks like a quarterback arriving at his redshirt senior year with a sharper edge.
Campbell didn’t exactly hold back his praise.
"I hate to use the word flawless, but he's played at an elite clip every day,” Campbell said. “He's had a great command of situational football, had a great command of what we're trying to accomplish offensively. But the biggest thing that a great quarterback does is, he leads the team."
A big part of that offense will run through tight ends. Mouser, who also coaches the position, is expected to lean on 12-personnel looks with two tight ends on the field. Penn State has a strong top pair in senior Ben Brahmer and redshirt junior Andrew Rappleyea, but Campbell has been impressed by the whole room.
"I think we’re super-excited about that group," Campbell said. "If you said who has stuck out every practice, those guys have made awesome plays."
Brahmer arrives with a proven résumé after being a semifinalist for the Mackey Award last season at Iowa State, when he caught 37 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns. Rappleyea, meanwhile, finished 2025 on a roll in the red zone, catching a touchdown in each of Penn State’s last three games.
There’s more depth behind them, too. Iowa State transfer Gabe Burkle is working back from an ACL tear, but Campbell recently called him the “best blocking tight end in the country,” which points to a role once he’s fully healthy. Finn Furmanek has also drawn praise from Campbell and Mouser and should get opportunities while Burkle and fellow Iowa State transfer Cooper Alexander, who was out for part of camp, return.
Penn State also made a couple of interesting position moves in camp, shifting freshman quarterback Peyton Falzone and redshirt junior defensive end Bobby Mears to tight end. Falzone reportedly made some “really special plays” on his first day there, according to Campbell.
That kind of move fits the idea that Penn State wants to keep stacking skill and versatility at the position, especially with the program’s recent track record of producing NFL-level tight ends like 2024 Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren.
The creativity doesn’t stop there. Wide receiver Koby Howard and running back Quinton Martin Jr. have both flashed in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work, and each has lined up in the backfield and out of the slot. That tells you Mouser plans to move pieces around and find ways to put the ball in their hands.
Howard made an impression as a freshman last season even with only seven catches. He averaged 19.1 yards per reception and kept flashing separation ability in limited snaps, which points to a bigger workload this fall.
Martin is fighting for touches with Carson Hansen, James Peoples and Cam Wallace, but his role doesn’t appear to hinge on winning the starting job.
On the younger end of the roster, Amarion Jackson and Zay Robinson have been tough to miss. Both have stood out in contact periods while working mostly with the second team.
Jackson, who ESPN named one of college football’s top newcomers, could have a role right away. Mouser said he’s one of the most impressive freshmen he’s ever coached, and one of Jackson’s top camp plays was a one-handed sideline catch through tight coverage from cornerback Christian Askew.
Robinson, a redshirt freshman transfer from Iowa State, earned offensive MVP honors from Mouser after Penn State’s first scrimmage of camp, when he caught the longest touchdown pass of the day.
Taken together, Jackson and Robinson give Penn State another layer of upside in the receiver room, especially with projected starter Chase Sowell in his final year of eligibility.
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