Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535618
1 0 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M F ollowing the Blue-White Game, Penn State head coach James Franklin wasn't shy about trying to solidify the Nittany Lions' lineback- ers room via the transfer portal. "If there's a linebacker out there who wants to come and be a part of our pro- gram and play for LBU, the most his- toric linebacker program in the history of college football, there's an opportu- nity here to join the room and compete." Franklin said during his postgame news conference. On May 6, the Nittany Lions picked up a commitment from former North Carolina starter Amare Campbell. He became the second high-profile addi- tion to Penn State's roster during the spring transfer window, joining former Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena, who signed with the Lions in late April. Everything happens fast in the trans- fer portal, even at Penn State, which sometimes tended to drag its feet in pre- vious offseasons. Campbell arrived in Happy Valley for his visit on the night of May 4, fresh off a trip to SMU, and the Nittany Lions had his recruitment wrapped up 48 hours later. "HAPPY VALLEY!!!" he tweeted in what amounted to a public announce- ment of his decision, touching off a wave of celebratory responses from PSU fans. But Campbell's recruitment and sub- sequent signing were just the first chap- ter of the story. Now comes the tricky part: figuring out how he can help Penn State win football games in 2025. Campbell was an early enrollee in the Tar Heels' 2023 class and played in 11 games as a true freshman, earning his first career start against West Virginia in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. He started all 13 games as a sophomore last fall, leaving him with three years to play two. While he does have an extra year available, most players coming in from the trans- fer portal aren't joining up to redshirt. Campbell finished the 2024 season with good numbers — 76 tackles, in- cluding 10.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks — but he played for a bad defense. The Tar Heels gave up 28.1 points per game, ranking 89th nationally. That perfor- mance led to the forced retirement/ firing of Mack Brown, who employed defensive coordinator Geoff Collins for one year. Collins was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Penn State DC job when Tom Allen was hired in December 2023, and while he wasn't brought aboard, he still has maintained some level of contact with Franklin. Collins spoke highly of Campbell's emotional influence on the struggling NEWS & NOTES UNC TRANSFER AMARE CAMPBELL ANSWERS PENN STATE'S CALL S E A N F I T Z | S E A N . F I T Z @ O N 3 . C O M Campbell spent two seasons at North Carolina and started all 13 games as a sophomore, totaling 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS