Matt Campbell's Comments on Players Dressing Meant More Than Most Realized

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Matt Campbell made waves throughout the week about not playing guys who don’t deserve the opportunity to play. It seems rather simple what Penn State is trying to do, and that’s that everybody in the program has to earn their stripes, literally. 

Penn State is not going to be a team that dresses everybody for home games, even if that’s common around college football. I considered whether this could bother players and make them upset, but even if it does, I don’t think that’s a big deal for Campbell.

What he had to say about everything was perfect and made me appreciate the type of head coach the Nittany Lions have.

"We’re not into dressing everybody," Campbell said. "You’ve got to earn the right to dress and you've got to earn the right to to [play]. From our end of it, part of earning it is the ability to get yourself on the travel squad, number one, and number two, if you are, did you prove your right to play for our football team?

"That's one of the real bonuses we have right now going on in our program. There is a lot of depth, and it doesn’t matter really who you are. You’ve got to come to practice every day and earn the right to start and earn the right to play in the game on Saturday."

I absolutely love that he’s not trying to make guys happy and just hand things out. Instead, he understands that guys have to work for these things. 

Whether players get upset by that or not, there’s one simple solution, and it’s to work harder. Campbell isn’t a guy who tiptoes around situations and gives handouts. Unlike some other coaches in college football, he’s looking for accountability and for guys to keep improving week in and week out. 

That’s exactly what Penn State needs with this type of program, and Campbell is doing just that.

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