Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 6 3 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "I thought it was huge that [Becht] was able to get the reps he did," Campbell said. "I probably would have been really nervous had Rocco not been able to get the reps that he got through the spring. By the last three weeks, I think he was able to get real quality reps. To be able to work with our receivers, and to have Chase and Brett back in some limited form and fashion throughout the spring, I thought it was really big for that group." If Sowell and Eskildsen are as ad- vertised, the emergence of other stars among assistant coach Kashif Moore's otherwise young and inexperienced room might not be absolutely neces- sary. Let's look at the defending national champions as a model of how this could work. Indiana went unbeaten, won Big Ten and national crowns, and saw its quarterback claim the Heisman Tro- phy even though there was a significant drop-off in production after its top two receivers. Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt had 69 and 65 catches, respec- tively, while the next-most-productive Hoosier was E.J. Williams Jr. with 36 re- ceptions. The Nittany Lions will be looking for significant contributions from sopho- more Koby Howard and redshirt fresh- men Zay Robinson and Karon Brookins. True freshman Amarion Jackson might also belong on that list of potential con- tributors after an encouraging perfor- mance this spring. Either way, for Penn State's offense to excel this season, it must translate potential into production from at least one of the aforementioned players. More than that would be a "nice to have" bo- nus. Campbell is hopeful that PSU laid the necessary groundwork this spring. "I just think that whole room in general has got great ability," he said. "They're young. They're going to have to grow up fast. Even the guys that have played, they're going to have to take an- other huge step forward if we're going to be the team we've got the ability to become." Needing A Splash Penn State's defense had opportuni- ties to make game-changing plays in big moments last season but couldn't quite close the deal. Against Oregon, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton had a shot at quarterback Dante Moore in double overtime, but the Ducks' signal-caller stepped up and fired a strike to Gary Bryant Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown. A week later, the Lions' pass rush flailed at UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava in an upset loss, and the de- fense couldn't hold onto an interception at the goal line that would have cemented an upset of No. 2 Indiana. After taking over as interim head coach in October, Terry Smith pointed out that in 2024 there were several close games in which the football bounced Penn State's way. The Lions had put together come- back wins at USC, Wisconsin and Min- nesota, but in 2025 those narrow wins were replaced by agonizingly close losses to Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa and Indiana. While the Nittany Lions' offense caught plenty of flak for the disappoint- ing results, a defense that had proven itself capable of making game-changing plays proved unable to do so repeatedly amid the defeats. Is this group poised to deliver in ways that last year's unit wasn't? Certainly, there are good bets to be made that the return of redshirt junior Tony Rojas at linebacker will give the Lions the play- making potential they sorely missed last season. And the addition of junior safety Marcus Neal Jr. — a hybrid defen- Safety Marcus Neal Jr. was a versatile defender as a sophomore at Iowa State last year, totaling 77 tackles, 11 quarter- back pressures and 2 interceptions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL