Penn State’s preseason camp is loaded with storylines, but the clearest signs of strength show up in three places: cornerback, tight end and linebacker.
That’s the tricky part of this exercise for Matt Campbell’s Nittany Lions. There are more than three positions that look solid, but these are the ones that rise to the top.
At cornerback, Penn State may have found the kind of depth that changes how a defense can function. Campbell and his staff brought in 40 transfers for the 2026 roster, including a heavy dose of players from Iowa State, where Campbell coached for 10 seasons. Even with all that turnover, the cornerback room stands out because of four players already in the program who made real noise last season.
The group begins with veterans, but the long-term outlook belongs to two second-year defensive backs who are coming on fast. Penn State associate head coach Terry Smith, who also coached the corners and served as the Lions’ interim head coach for the final seven games of 2025, has plenty to do with that development.
The names to know are senior Zion Tracy, redshirt senior Audavion Collins, sophomore Daryus Dixson and redshirt freshman Jahmir Joseph.
Tracy and Collins are the returning starters. Tracy can line up outside or in the slot, and Campbell said during the spring that he believes Tracy can be an elite corner.
Collins, a Mississippi State transfer who started all 13 games last season, also made his mark on special teams as a gunner on Penn State’s punt unit. The 5-11, 183-pound corner was credited with 47 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Dixson and Joseph both fit the profile Penn State wants at the position. Dixson is 6-0, 184, and Joseph is 6-0, 190, and both were difference makers in the Lions’ Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson in December. Dixson finished with three pass breakups and two tackles against the Tigers, while Joseph had five solo tackles, a pass defensed and a pass breakup.
Penn State’s tight end room also looks like a spot where the staff can get creative. The program has turned into a landing place for elite tight ends, and Tyler Warren’s 1,000-yard season two years ago still stands as the headline example.
The Lions are replacing Virginia Tech transfer Luke Reynolds and Khalil Dinkins, but there’s enough talent here to keep the position central to the offense. Senior Iowa State transfers Ben Brahmer and Gabe Burkle, along with redshirt junior Andrew Rappleyea, should give first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Mouser a strong reason to lean into multiple-tight-end packages.
Brahmer earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season. Burkle started 15 games over the last two seasons and caught 52 passes, and he was on the John Mackey Award Watch List in 2025. Rappleyea, meanwhile, caught touchdown passes in Penn State’s final three games of 2025.
Linebacker is the third area that jumps off the page. Tony Rojas, Kooper Ebel and Caleb Bacon sit at the top of the depth chart, and the group brings both experience and production.
Rojas got off to a fast start in 2025 before a significant injury ended his season after four games. Ebel and Bacon, both Iowa State starters last season, each started all 12 games and combined for 17.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and six pass breakups.
Penn State still has more camp questions to answer, but these three positions look like the foundation.
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For the Nittany Lions, the appeal is less about finished product than upside. McPherson is viewed as a developmental addition with pass-rush potential, and Penn States new defensive system gives him a chance to build on those flashes and carve out a bigger role. The question now is how quickly he can turn that raw ability into consistent production in a room that always seems to demand more edge depth. [Read more 🡒]
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Penn State, though, does not sound especially eager to treat the matchup as a priority. Matt Campbell has been focused on building team culture and appears more concerned with the bigger competitive picture than reopening a series the Nittany Lions have controlled for years. The teams have not met since 2019, Penn State owns the series edge, and the longer the gap grows, the more the debate shifts from nostalgia to whether either side really sees the same value in bringing it back. [Read more 🡒]