I’ve stayed away from the football threads this season, partially because I had no real idea what to expect. Anyone telling you they saw this train wreck coming is playing the result; nothing more, nothing less.
Overall, I’m happy with what I am seeing.
Off-the field. I think it is necessary that the program, the alums, and the fans go through this season. For too long everyone made the head coaching job at this school a title for life and actively fought for any replacement to be a loyal insider like Scrap or Terry. Every other school, except for the end-time Bowden years at FSU, routinely rotates through coaches and staff. Sometimes it works (Georgia, Miami, OSU), sometimes it doesn’t (Texas A&M, current Michigan). James Franklin’s time had come and passed. Campbell may be a crappy replacement. But already the same fools who said Franklin gets to stay forever are now calling for Campbell’s head based on ½ a season. The ones saying give him more time are not projecting out 15 years like Franklin or Paterno, they are saying 3 or 4 seasons. That’s a far cry from the Paterno era where Jesus Christ himself could have lobbied for the job and still not gotten it. And that’s what progress looks like.
On the field. This team stinks, but I don’t see Campbell losing them nor do I see him looking for an exit door or throwing everyone under the bus. I do think Campbell and some of these ISU guys have a bit of a “dog who caught the car” look from time to time. It happens and I suspect that Campbell will grow out of it by next year. He probably needs to pull a Franklin and go find a Joe Moorehead to come in and help him organize/utilize a beast like PSU. Would probably also help if he could recruit a local Saquon again. Going forward, I think he will slowly rebuild the team and field a few scrappy squads over the next 2 or 3 years. If during that time he can pull off the random unranked win vs a highly ranked team, you’ll see media momentum explode and the recruits and transfers will notice. College football wants and needs PSU to be good, trust me. If Campbell can't pull it off in 3 to 4 years, you go find the next guy who can. Simple as that.
As I have said on here several times I watch Miami because of the Mrs. I’ll tell you what they did (yes, the ACC sucks, I get it) but listen to me:
Overall, I’m happy with what I am seeing.
Off-the field. I think it is necessary that the program, the alums, and the fans go through this season. For too long everyone made the head coaching job at this school a title for life and actively fought for any replacement to be a loyal insider like Scrap or Terry. Every other school, except for the end-time Bowden years at FSU, routinely rotates through coaches and staff. Sometimes it works (Georgia, Miami, OSU), sometimes it doesn’t (Texas A&M, current Michigan). James Franklin’s time had come and passed. Campbell may be a crappy replacement. But already the same fools who said Franklin gets to stay forever are now calling for Campbell’s head based on ½ a season. The ones saying give him more time are not projecting out 15 years like Franklin or Paterno, they are saying 3 or 4 seasons. That’s a far cry from the Paterno era where Jesus Christ himself could have lobbied for the job and still not gotten it. And that’s what progress looks like.
On the field. This team stinks, but I don’t see Campbell losing them nor do I see him looking for an exit door or throwing everyone under the bus. I do think Campbell and some of these ISU guys have a bit of a “dog who caught the car” look from time to time. It happens and I suspect that Campbell will grow out of it by next year. He probably needs to pull a Franklin and go find a Joe Moorehead to come in and help him organize/utilize a beast like PSU. Would probably also help if he could recruit a local Saquon again. Going forward, I think he will slowly rebuild the team and field a few scrappy squads over the next 2 or 3 years. If during that time he can pull off the random unranked win vs a highly ranked team, you’ll see media momentum explode and the recruits and transfers will notice. College football wants and needs PSU to be good, trust me. If Campbell can't pull it off in 3 to 4 years, you go find the next guy who can. Simple as that.
As I have said on here several times I watch Miami because of the Mrs. I’ll tell you what they did (yes, the ACC sucks, I get it) but listen to me:
- Michael Irvin. Yes, this guy is a famous alum and super bowl champion loudmouth on the side lines. But he actively finds, develops, and mentors these kids when they are young via his camps and other means. For years he worked to undermine Ohio State’s/Chris Carter’s hold on the local south Florida high school football factory schools and started to funnel these kids to Miami long before they could even drive a car. PSU has no one like that in the state of PA.
- Miami buys their QB. If the guys they recruit develop, cool. But they don’t let a Justin Fields flip ruin their class.
- Miami makes you a star, not just an NIL deal. Look up the Malachi Toney book bag. The kids down here sold it out in about 10 seconds when they released it. eBay had it going for over $1,000 shortly thereafter. PSU still doesn’t have names on the jerseys. It’s not necessarily about the money the school’s NIL fund will pay you, it’s whether you can become a star with the school’s help. PSU needs to develop a star and market the hell out of him. They openly refused to do that in the past.
- Miami recruits and develops the d-line and o-line shockingly well. Franklin struggled mightily with this and Campbell appears to be headed down this road also. If you don’t know, Jason Taylor is the d-line coach at Miami. Yes, the hall of famer. Guess who actually played offensive line in college at D1? The head coach for Miami. Know who the assistant head coach is? The actual offensive line coach for Miami. Until you can put that level of emphasis, knowledge, and experience on those two areas of the field, PSU is going to struggle to consistently win and recruit.
