Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A s a 34-year-old husband and father of two, Penn State offensive coor- dinator Taylor Mouser understands the importance of taking — and imple- menting — directions. In his case, accomplishments demand a certain style and order. Take the con- struction of a crib, for instance. Ideally, he'd like to watch someone do it, then do it himself. "I'm a visual learner," Mouser said. "You show me the book; if I have to read it and put it together, I can't do it. But I scan the QR code, I get the YouTube video up, and I'll have that thing to- gether." The sentiment isn't unique to Mouser at the onset of a new era in Penn State football. With head coach Matt Camp- bell and his staff welcoming many of the best, most experienced players from Iowa State's 2025 roster via the transfer portal in January, a new foundation is being formed. Returning Penn State players and staff are part of that pro- cess, as are the newcomers brought in from the portal and programs outside of Ames, Iowa. There's an assembly process at work, and visual aids are proving important. With Penn State welcoming so many experienced Iowa State players on both sides of the ball, the habits and stan- dards that were well understood within the Cyclones' program are now being absorbed by the rest of the Nittany Li- ons' reconstructed roster. The benefits of this arrangement are self-evident. At every position group, the Lions now boast at least one player with three or more seasons of experi- ence under Campbell. PSU has the lead- ership it needs in order for players to absorb the concepts. Plays and techniques are being taught on the field, but the learning process extends to the position group meet- ings and weight room, with the Lions progressing through winter workouts in anticipation of the start of spring prac- tice on March 24. "I think it provides a connection point to be able to tell those guys what the expectation is here with our leader- ship groups and our teams and how we do it," Mouser said. "I think when you have some experience there, it just pro- vides a level of guidance." The dynamic is one that Campbell and his staff have handled with inten- tion and care. They've called on former Iowa State players to lead where appro- priate, but it's also important to ensure that the team's culture is healthy and cooperative. "You're bringing the leaders from your old team, but they can't come here and think they're automatically going to be the captains of a school like Penn State," Mouser said. "They're not the leaders to these guys. They don't know them at all. But we challenged those guys to come in here and create rela- tionships with the people here." The staff has used a delicate touch to make everyone feel integral to the program's development. Aware of the discomfort that change often brings, Campbell and his assistants have viewed the process as a critical first step toward PSU's larger objectives. "None of these kids signed up for the change at either school," Mouser said. "The one thing that we all have in com- mon in this whole thing is the adversity of the situation, the change of the situ- ation. "It was an emotional moment for all of us, one way or the other. The Penn State guys, they came here, and a year ago they were playing in the College Football Playoff. In the middle of the season, a coaching change happens. It's not what any of them expected or signed up for, and I understand that. "We didn't come in here and say, 'Hey, this is how Coach Campbell wants it. You're going to do it this way.' That's not how we did it here. We were coming in and being sensitive to their situation." For the 23 Iowa State scholarship players making the move to Penn State, the same sentiment holds true. "They committed to us and expected us to be there through their time," Mouser said. "I understand the frustra- tion with that and the emotion with that. It's an emotional and unique time for these kids in their life in general, let alone with all this change. Being under- standing of that and not dictating the terms for these kids was big for us and allowed us all to be able to blend it, just by listening to these kids talk and being open and authentic with each other." The pieces are now in place, and the final product is no longer just a con- cept. Together, Penn State's players and coaches are committed to an assembly process that is well underway. ■ Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser is one of four on- field coaches who have left Iowa State to join Matt Campbell's staff at PSU. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ New Staff Helps Nittany Lions Learn By Example