Breaking down the 2026 Penn State football team position-by-position

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Matt Campbell grew up in northeastern Ohio, played for the legendary Larry Kehres at Mount Union and learned from such coaches as Jim Tressel.

So it’s no surprise what Campbell wants from the Penn State offense in his first season as head coach.

“We want to be physical,” said offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, who has worked for Campbell since 2015 at Toledo and then Iowa State. “We want to win the line of scrimmage. Be nasty. Be violent. That has to be the mentality here.”

Mouser, though, has had a knack for making unexpected calls since he became a coordinator in 2024. He’s been described as fearless and aggressive.

“We want to be different,” he said. “We want to be able to do things that no one expects us to do and throw tendencies off. Everyone thinks second and short is a shot downfield. We want to run it on second and short. We’ll take a shot on second and long.”

The Nittany Lions offense will have an Iowa State flavor. Mouser, quarterbacks coach Jake Waters and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton came from the Cyclones, along with six expected starters, most notably quarterback Rocco Becht.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the offense going into Campbell’s first season at Penn State:

Quarterback

Becht was the most important transfer that Campbell landed after his hiring, not only because they’re familiar with one another but because Becht has so much experience.

Going into this season, he leads all Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks in games played (42), starts (39) and career snaps (2,509). He also has passed for 9,274 yards, second among all active FBS quarterbacks, and 64 touchdowns, which is tied for third. He’s a dynamic leader with a magnetic personality.

It’s imperative that Becht stay healthy, though. Highly regarded redshirt freshman Alex Manske also transferred from Iowa State, but he missed spring practice after undergoing open-heart surgery. He’s been medically cleared, but he doesn’t have much experience.

Connor Barry, a transfer from Division III Christopher Newport, took most of the practice snaps in the spring because Becht was limited while recovering from offseason surgery and Manske was out.

Bottom line: Becht is a perfect fit for Mouser’s offense and a clutch player.

Running back

Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton finished their careers as the No. 1 and No. 4 leading rushers in school history, combining for more than 7,600 rushing yards. Following them will be difficult.

Carson Hansen, another transfer from Iowa State, has the most experience. He led the Cyclones in rushing the last two seasons, running for 1,771 yards, 19 TDs and a 4.9 per-carry average in his career.

He’ll be joined by James Peoples, a former four-star prospect who rushed for 541 yards in two seasons at Ohio State, and Quinton Martin Jr., also a one-time four-star prospect who rushed for 103 yards in Penn State’s Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson.

Bottom line: All three might share the load because Campbell wants to be a power team.

Wide receiver

The position mostly has been deficient for the Lions since Jahan Dotson’s spectacular college career ended in 2021.

Former Penn State coach James Franklin tried in vain to improve the wide receivers through recruiting, the transfer portal and often changing position coaches.

Campbell brought Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell with him from Iowa State after they combined for 62 receptions, 1,026 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Eskildsen, one of the fastest players on the team, averaged a team-high 17.5 yards per catch; Sowell was named the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after he transferred from East Carolina.

Speedy sophomore Koby Howard, who had a strong second half last season for the Lions, will be the third wide receiver. Don’t discount young receivers like Zay Robinson, Karon Brookins and Amarion Jackson or Grambling transfer Keith Jones Jr.

Bottom line: This might finally be the year that Penn State receivers can create separation.

Tight end

This might be the deepest position on the roster with Ben Brahmer, Andrew Rappleyea and Gabe Burkle leading the way.

All three are adept at blocking and receiving. They combined for 83 catches for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

At Iowa State, Brahmer caught a team-high 37 passes for 446 yards last season and Burkle had 26 catches for 302 yards and one TD. Rappleyea made 20 receptions for 180 yards for Penn State and had a TD catch in each of the last three games.

Bottom line: Expect the Lions to use formations with two, three and even four tight ends.

Center

Brock Riker appears to have won the job to succeed Nick Dawkins, the starter the last two seasons.

Riker was a Freshman All-America second-team pick who started 12 games last season at Texas State and allowed no sacks.

Dominic Rulli, a former Penn State walk-on, played mostly on special teams until he started against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. He’s expected to be the backup.

Bottom line: Riker was among Campbell’s first targets in the portal.

Guard

Replacing first-round draft pick Vega Ioane will not be easy, but Cooper Cousins and Trevor Buhr give Penn State two solid blockers.

Cousins was a highly rated prospect coming out of high school who played in every game as a freshman in 2024. But he was slowed by injuries early last season before he made two starts.

Buhr made 12 starts the last two seasons without allowing a sack. He received All-Big 12 honorable mention last year.

Will Tompkins and Vaea Ikakoula, a pair of freshmen, are expected to be the primary backups.

Bottom line: Cousins and Buhr have big shoes to fill, but seem up to the task.

Tackle

Anthony Donkoh will return to right tackle, his more natural position, after starting at guard last season. Donkoh had injuries each of the last two seasons and missed spring practice this year.

If he can stay healthy, he could be one of the better offensive linemen in the Big Ten.

Malachi Goodman, a four-star recruit in 2025 who did not play last season, has impressed Campbell and Clanton since their arrival and is the top candidate to start at left tackle. Garrett Sexton, Owen Aliciene and Kuol Kuol will be in the mix.

Bottom line: Expect Donkoh to have a better season and Goodman to make an impact.

Defensive line

Campbell and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn sought to make the front four bigger in order to stop the run and succeeded.

The top four tackles – Siale Taupaki, Keanu Williams, Dallas Vakalahi and Armstrong Nnodim – all weigh at least 310 pounds and are all transfers. Taupaki and Williams are the likely starters.

Penn State has some talented and promising ends, including returners Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou and transfers Ike Ezeogu and Alexander McPherson.

Campbell moved linebacker Caleb Bacon to end in order to bolster the pass rush because he’s the only lineman who had more than two sacks last season.

Bottom line: Finding a consistent pass rush from guys up front will be paramount.

Linebackers

This position is much deeper than it was at Penn State last season with as many as five guys capable of significant playing time.

Kooper Ebel, Tony Rojas and Cael Brezina will be the starters when the Lions are in a 4-3 alignment. Ebel tied for the Iowa State lead in tackles last season and is a two-year starter. Rojas suffered a knee injury in practice after four games last season and has surprised his coaches with his quick recovery.

Alex Tatsch and Cam Smith also have impressed coaches.

Bottom line: Ebel and Rojas are versatile players who could line up anywhere.

Secondary

Penn State returns Audavion Collins, Zion Tracy and Daryus Dixson at cornerback, at least on paper. They could line up at any of five positions in the secondary. Collins enjoyed a terrific fall camp.

Keep an eye on freshmen Jahmir Joseph and Josiah Zayas.

At safety, Iowa State transfers Marcus Neal Jr., Jeremiah Cooper and Jamison Patton, along with Vaboue Toure give the Lions plenty of depth. Neal and Cooper, who’s coming back from a knee injury last September, are projected to be future NFL players.

Bottom line: They’re not getting much preseason love, but the D-backs could be very good.

Special teams

The importance of Ryan Barker’s decision to return to Penn State has been overlooked by some.

Barker tied for the national lead in field goal percentage last season, making 18-of-19 kicks for a .947 percentage. He’s the most accurate field goal kicker in school history.

The Lions will have a new punter, Mississippi State transfer Nathan Tiyce or freshman Lucas Tenbrock, and a new long snapper, Blaise Sokach-Minnick.

Peoples, Martin and Howard are the top candidates to return kickoffs; Howard, Tracy and Robinson are competing to be the punt returner.

Penn State also blocked five kicks last year under coordinator Justin Lustig, who has stayed with the Lions.

Bottom line: Penn State hopes the punters and the returners are as dependable as Barker.

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