Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 5 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M are. Every school has $20.5 million to pay its athletes across all sports. Most of that money goes to football. The difference is that other programs are spending double that number to field a team at this point. That's the reality Hoodjer is facing. "I think you could call around and ask, 'What do you think this school is spend- ing? What do you think that school is spending?' You can call four or five peo- ple, and you'll probably get four or five answers," he said. "But they're probably all fairly similar. I would say that the num- ber is high and continues to increase." Penn State has two choices: It can pay athletes money it doesn't have, or it can stick to its budget. The first option has been tried. Texas A&M went all-in when NIL became le- gal in 2022 and quickly signed one of the highest-ranked classes ever assembled. Eight five-star prospects joined the program in that cycle, an unprecedented haul that sent expectations soaring within the A&M fan base. The subsequent letdown was equally dramatic. Jimbo Fisher ended up go- ing 5-7 that fall, and the Aggies paid a $77.5 million buyout to get rid of him in favor of Mike Elko. As for the eight five-star players who came aboard in the 2022 cycle, only one — defensive end Shemar Stewart — finished his ca- reer at the school. Not only is writing checks for money you don't have a failed strategy, it's also one that goes against what Campbell and Hoodjer are trying to build. "I think it's really important to cre- ate a program that the people who care about Penn State and the people who are financially supporting you are proud of, too," Hoodjer said. Obvious Tension Whether you call it anger or frustra- tion, there's clearly discontent within the Penn State fan base after being so close to the top for so long without get- ting there. That's entirely fair. The new dynamic — starting in 2024 but really ramping up in 2025 — is that Penn State's ability to out-recruit op- ponents is eroding. The hard truth is that Campbell and his staff can't spend their way out of this problem and don't want to. The only answer is on the field. They need to win. Campbell's predecessor wasn't able to deliver the victories that fans craved, and he drew even more of their ire by frequently noting that resources and expectations needed to be in alignment. Fans resented the implication that the team's big-game disappointments were a result of not having enough money. So, let's talk about fairness. It's fair for fans to want wins, but let's be consis- tent. You cannot bash Franklin specifi- cally because he spent a decade cam- paigning for more resources and then turn around and bemoan the lack of re- sources under the next coach. That's the tension in this conversa- tion. You can be frustrated with the situation, but to be specifically angry at Campbell or Hoodjer about a problem that existed before they arrived makes no sense. Campbell was hired to be the game- day coach who beats teams he shouldn't beat based on talent. He did that at Iowa State. For a time, at least, he may need to do it at Penn State, too, and that has to be what closes the gap. The Nittany Lions need a shortcut into the conversation for top recruits. They have been financially competi- tive, but they clearly haven't made the best offer in every scenario. Winning — and showing recruits that Penn State is a place where they can find success, prestige, money and an NFL future — is the ultimate institutional advantage. Buying prestige through recruiting still doesn't solve the problem. If you don't actually deliver, it's just a sugar high. Campbell and his staff have to prove themselves at Penn State. From a recruiting perspective, there's already strong evidence that this staff can identify physical talent at a level comparable to Franklin. While it hasn't been proven on the field yet, there's reason to believe they can more con- sistently identify players who turn that talent into tangible production. For Penn State to fix its recruiting situ- ation, the 10-win threshold that fans ex- pect needs to happen in Year 1. The same 10-win season that wasn't acceptable under Franklin can become a narrative about growth under a first-year coach. The only solution to this currently intractable problem is time. That thing nobody wants to waste or give up. ■ Four-star wide receiver Jamir Dean committed to Penn State in May, but the Nittany Lions lost him six weeks later when he joined Georgia's class. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS "We're not naive to the fact that finances are a part of the decision for almost every player. We don't want money to be the reason a player that we believe in comes here, but we also don't want money to be the reason a player we believe in does not come here." P E N N S T A T E G M D E R E K H O O D J E R