Matt Campbell’s tenure at Penn State is officially underway, and the early returns on the recruiting trail are already raising eyebrows - and not in the way Nittany Lions fans were hoping. Known for his ability to develop under-the-radar talent into NFL-ready players at Iowa State, Campbell now faces a new kind of challenge in Happy Valley: proving he can land the kind of blue-chip recruits that fuel championship runs in the Big Ten.
Nowhere is that challenge more immediate - or more crucial - than in his own backyard. Pennsylvania isn’t typically mentioned in the same breath as Florida, Texas, or California when it comes to elite high school football talent, but the 2027 class is shaping up to be something special. And so far, Penn State is struggling to capitalize.
The latest blow came on Monday, when four-star wide receiver Javian Robinson, a standout from the Keystone State, dropped his top five schools. Penn State wasn’t on the list. Instead, Robinson’s finalists included Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, Miami, and Rutgers - a group that includes several of the Nittany Lions’ longtime rivals, but not the home-state power.
Robinson’s decision comes just days after his teammate, five-star running back Kemon Spell, committed to Georgia. That’s two of Pennsylvania’s top offensive playmakers - both teammates - now heading elsewhere, with neither seriously considering Penn State down the stretch.
What’s behind the slip? Timing, for one.
Penn State currently doesn’t have a wide receivers coach - and that matters, especially when you’re trying to close the deal with top-tier pass catchers like Robinson. The vacancy opened up when Noah Pauley, who followed Campbell from Iowa State, left for the NFL last week to join the Green Bay Packers.
Pauley had a chance to reunite with Christian Watson, a receiver he helped develop at North Dakota State, and he took it.
Losing Pauley is a tough hit for Campbell’s staff. He wasn’t just a position coach - he was also the passing game coordinator and someone with a proven track record of developing talent.
At Iowa State, he played a key role in the growth of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, and his early presence in Happy Valley was seen as a major win for Campbell’s transition. Now, with Pauley gone and no replacement yet named, Penn State is left scrambling at a position that was already a concern during the final years of the James Franklin era.
Robinson, a 6-foot-2 athlete ranked as the No. 12 player in Pennsylvania and No. 279 nationally in the 2027 class (per 247Sports Composite), had been on Penn State’s radar. But without a stable coaching presence in his position group, the Nittany Lions couldn’t stay in the race.
To make matters more pressing, Penn State has yet to land a single commitment in the 2027 cycle. Meanwhile, two of the state’s top 10 players are already off the board - Spell to Georgia and four-star offensive tackle James Halter to Notre Dame. That’s not the kind of start you want when trying to build momentum under a new head coach.
Still, the door isn’t closed on this class - not by a long shot. There’s plenty of in-state talent left for Campbell and his staff to pursue, especially at wide receiver.
Two names to watch: four-stars Matthew Gregory and Khalil Taylor, currently ranked third and fourth in the state. Taylor, in particular, is an intriguing case.
He was previously committed to Penn State under Franklin and is still projected by many to end up in blue and white. But again, without a receivers coach in place, it’s tough to close the loop.
Campbell’s track record as a developer of talent is not in question. But if he’s going to compete at the highest level in the Big Ten - especially with the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, and now USC and Oregon in the mix - he’s going to have to win some battles on the recruiting trail. That starts with locking down your own state, especially when it’s producing a class as loaded as 2027.
The next few weeks will be telling. Filling the wide receivers coach vacancy is priority one. After that, it’s all about re-establishing relationships, rebuilding momentum, and proving that Penn State under Matt Campbell can not only develop talent - but attract it, too.