What We'll Be Watching at Penn State's First Scrimmage of Training Camp

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Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium on Saturday for the first time since spring practice, and at least the weather will be better. The Nittany Lions scrimmaged under some grim conditions in April and haven't returned to the building since.

Saturday marks Penn State's first full-pads, 11-on-11 scrimmage of training camp, and head coach Matt Campbell and his staff have some benchmarks. We're also looking for progress in certain areas. What to expect from Saturday? A preview.

'Showcasing the right players'

Penn State heads to Beaver Stadium on Saturday for its first scrimmage of training camp. Matt Campbell broke down what he wants to see. pic.twitter.com/DgawU8eR5E

– Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) August 14, 2026

Campbell has made "players, formations, plays" the theme song of his head coaching career, and he's singing it at full voice at Penn State. With 55 new players on the roster, Campbell is moving a lot of parts with regard to those three elements.

Penn State has been mostly healthy through camp, so Saturday's scrimmage should deliver a broad look at the two-deep expected for the Sept. 5 opener against Marshall. As a result, Campbell wants to see which players have earned their roster stripes through the first week-plus of camp.

"No. 1, you'd love to get out of Saturday, 'Where are we?'" Campbell said. "'What is this football team? In the formations we're getting into on both sides of the ball, are we showcasing the right players and are we putting ourselves in the right positions to grow ourselves forward?'"

Defensively, those formations will revolve around coordinator D'Anton Lynn's 4-2-5 system that will rely on moving players around a central group of tackles, middle linebacker Kooper Ebel and the safeties. Players have said called Lynn's teaching style easy to digest, and going slower meant faster learning.

On offense, coordinator Taylor Mouser has suggested that Penn State will play two tight ends often in its base offense, relying on a trio of Ben Brahmer, Andrew Rappleyea and Gabe Burkle. How the Nittany Lions will extend themselves from there is a critical question.

How does the new-look receivers room perform?

Receivers coach Kashif Moore has set a very high bar for his position group during camp.

"Our identity is to be the most selfless, explosive, toughest wide receivers in the country," Moore said.

The receivers have drawn strong reviews early in camp. Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said the position group has more talent than it did last year, along with more speed. Brett Eskildsen, an Iowa State transfer, has been a camp highlight reel, showcasing why he became the first Penn State receiver to make Bruce Feldman's college football "Freaks List."

Fellow Iowa State transfer Chase Sowell has been a playmaker with consistency issues during camp, as has sophomore Koby Howard. Redshirt fresman Zay Robinson and true freshman Amarion Jackson are turning heads.

Penn State's receivers don't have the PTSD of the position's past and have been grading better as the camp days roll on. Saturday provides their first major test, especially as the Nittany Lions want to be an explosive offense this season.

How physical is this team?

Penn State began practicing in full pads Wednesday, which marked the true start of what Campbell promised would be a tough, physical camp. They'll hit during scrimmage periods, and the coaching staff wants to see how the players respond.

"I want to see execution, no mental errors, be tough and defensively, no explosive plays and be sound," cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said.

As Campbell said recently, "it's hard to be tough today" in college football. He'll test that theory during the scrimmage.

"We've got to prove it," Campbell said. "We've got a lot of work to do, but we're going to be tough here at some point."

How ready are the front lines?

Penn State remade both front lines, particularly on defense, where there are seven transfers at end and tackle. The defensive line remains Penn State's most important question in all three phases of "players, formations, plays."

The rotating cast at tackle will feature primarily transfers in Keanu Williams and Siale Taupaki (UCLA), Armstrong Nnodim (Oklahoma State) and potentially Alijah Carnell (Iowa State), who has made some gains this August.

Comparatively, offensive line coach Ryan Clanton continues working through his rotations, particularly at left tackle and center. Though Brock Riker seems to have the edge at center, the coaching staff is pressing for more competition for Malachi Goodman at tackle.

Clanton certainly will coach a tough group of offensive linemen. But does he have the right combinations yet?

Where is Tony Rojas?

Rojas said he feels like a new linebacker 10 months after sustaining a torn ACL, and Saturday will be an opportunity to begin proving it. Penn State will move deliberately with Rojas, ensuring that he's heathy enough to go in a scrimmage.

He'll likely have some set limits for the scrimmage, but Rojas getting his legs back is an important first step for Penn State's defense.

Getting back into Beaver Stadium

More than half of Penn State's roster and almost the entire coaching staff, including Campbell, have spent little time in Beaver Stadium. Safety Jeremiah Cooper, who didn't practice during the spring, said he drives by the venue daily but doesn't know what it's like to play there.

From a mental perspective, stadium time is an important element of Saturday's scrimmage.

"The second thing that's really critical is getting into the stadium," Campbell said. "For me, watching spring practice and going into that stadium twice is completely different than practicing here. I just think getting into the stadium, forcing ourselves to play in that stadium, for so many guys that's new. And obviously getting in there as much as we possibly can before the start of the season is really important for us."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/pennstate as What We'll Be Watching at Penn State's First Scrimmage of Training Camp.

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