Penn State HC Matt Campbell Gets Candid About what the Penn State Program Means

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Penn State head coach Matt Campbell joined the Pat McAfee Show on Friday, and it was his biggest media opportunity since taking the reins of this job in December. 

Amongst a good conversation about all things Matt Campbell, McAfee asked him how much of an actual difference it makes to do an upgrade in brand, or if all of that is a very overblown storyline.

Campbell responded with a mixture of coach speak and honesty. He said, "Growing up in this four- to six-hour radius of this area, what the history of Penn State football has meant to the history of college football. Before anything else in terms of revenue and all of this stuff that happens, you're in a place where the high school football… It's as good as anywhere in the country… It had to take the right opportunity for me to leave Iowa State."

Campbell is an Ohio guy and knows that some of the best football in the entire country comes from the Ohio and Pennsylvania corridor. This is a football hotbed, and Penn State even taps well into the New York and New Jersey scene, which is also really great football.

The move from what Campbell built at Iowa State needed to be the perfect opportunity for Campbell. Yes, the resources have increased at Penn State, and Campbell's personal wallet has made quite the upgrade as well. 

All of that can be true, but the real advantage that Campbell saw was the upgrade in brand that he took on the road with him. 

The location is such that it is in a football hotbed, and everyone in the region is so football-starved that they know what Penn State means to the college football ecosystem. 

The sport is simply better when Penn State is relevant and is good. It has been a very long time since the Nittany Lions were competing at the top of the sport, but it is Campbell's goal to get them back to that spot.

It isn't going to be easy, but he is well on his way to doing it. 

Under James Franklin, the Nittany Lions were never the laughing stock of the Big Ten, but they were always the little brother. They took care of business against inferior teams; they traded blows with equal teams and never punched up in weight.

That is the thing that needs to change, and Campbell is going to be the guy who is able to get exactly that done.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos