My Observations

[Bvillebaron]

Rewatch the first two games setting your bias aside...I know you can't but try
Again...people here want Martin to play so they're creating a false narrative. This is nothing new around here.

And if you think Hansen is an explosive RB I have a bridge in the middle of the desert I will sell you.

 

[KingLando]

And if you think Hansen is an explosive RB I have a bridge in the middle of the desert I will sell you.

I'm sure you also said Allen wasn't explosive. The announcers compared him to Barry Sanders which was insane but you're undeevaluing him as much as they're exaggerating his worth. He's our best back. Sorry you dislike him.

 

[Bvillebaron]

Maybe Campbell wasn't impressed with Grunk or thought Manske was better. My point though was if Becht came here and Grunk was the backup now matter how well Becht played a segment of the board would be saying Grunk needs to play.

I'm understand why you or anyone else would want a guy for 3 years over a guy for 1--I respect that and agree with it. I don't respect this nonsense of Q needs to play over Hansen who's established and been exactly what we'd want from a back so far. People are being overly critical because they want the "real Penn Stater" to play because he stayed.

People are being critical because Hansen isn’t close to being an explosive back. I don’t know if Martin is either but we will never find out if he doesn’t get a chance to play.

 

[Bvillebaron]

It's that Martin stayed and people see Hansen as an Iowa State player.
Hansen is better than good and this narrative has to stop. He's borderline elite in pass protection, he has great hands, he powerful, he breaks tackles, he has better speed than anyone admits.
Allen was a better RB than Singleton but people wanted Singleton to play because he was explosive.
Hell, the announcers were comparing him to Barry Sanders yesterday (which is laughable but he's talented) and our board wants Martin to play because he had a good scrimmage in the bowl game and due to *s

It was a bowl game not a scrimmage. Hansen is an above average RB at best.

 

[Bvillebaron]

There's no reason why Campbell wouldn't be impressed with Grunk other than he hasn't seen him play in person.

2025 Stats:
Grunk 69% completion, 8 TD, 4 INT, 143 rtg
Becht 60% completion, 16 TD, 9 INT, 135 rtg

I suspect Campbell wanted Grunk to stay but VT offered more money for Grunk to be a starter than PSU offered Grunk to be backup. Like I said players like Sowell, Eskildsen, & Brahmer were probably a package deal with Becht.

Your suspicion would be way off base. Grunk left because Campbell prioritized the comfortable (Becht). Grunk said publicly that he is a loyal guy and preferred to stay but he wasn’t going to start at Penn State even if he looked like Peyton Manning in practice. I have been impressed with Becht but preferred Grunk who apparently is doing just fine at VaTech

 

[bdgan]

If we're going to be fair with the comparison Becht was 64 TDs and 27 INTs in 3 years as a starter. You're comparing that to a guy that made 6 starts (7 if we count a bowl game)

But, yes, I'd wager he wanted him to stay as the backup but Grunk made the decision (I'd call it a mistake) to follow James. Hope it works out for everyone.

I don't know if Grunk made a mistake. He got to start and probably got more Money. They guy who probably made a mistake was Borque. Grunk has this year + 2 more years and they also have freshman Huhn.

 

[Bvillebaron]

If we're going to be fair with the comparison Becht was 64 TDs and 27 INTs in 3 years as a starter. You're comparing that to a guy that made 6 starts (7 if we count a bowl game)

But, yes, I'd wager he wanted him to stay as the backup but Grunk made the decision (I'd call it a mistake) to follow James. Hope it works out for everyone.

That equates to 21 TDs and 9 INTs per year. I realize Grunk only played a handful of games but 3 of those starts were against 3 of the 4 best defenses in college last year.

 

[Patterson825]

Too much doom and gloom

There's no reason why Campbell wouldn't be impressed with Grunk other than he hasn't seen him play in person.

2025 Stats:
Grunk 69% completion, 8 TD, 4 INT, 143 rtg
Becht 60% completion, 16 TD, 9 INT, 135 rtg

I suspect Campbell wanted Grunk to stay but VT offered more money for Grunk to be a starter than PSU offered Grunk to be backup. Like I said players like Sowell, Eskildsen, & Brahmer were probably a package deal with Becht.

I dont know why people keep bringing up Bechts stats from last year when he played with a torn labrum and a sprained pcl. He clearly wasn’t healthy at all.

 

[KingLando]

People are being critical because Hansen isn’t close to being an explosive back. I don’t know if Martin is either but we will never find out if he doesn’t get a chance to play.

He is explosive...he's not a homerun back but we don't need that. Just like Allen wasn't
He had EARN a chance. We get he's RB4 right now. At least ask for Peoples if this isn't just about Q is a loyal Penn Stater

 

[KingLando]

It was a bowl game not a scrimmage. Hansen is an above average RB at best.

A bowl game is a scrimmage hence the opt outs
Hansen was All Big XII which isn't "at best" above average.

 

[KingLando]

I don't know if Grunk made a mistake. He got to start and probably got more Money. They guy who probably made a mistake was Borque. Grunk has this year + 2 more years and they also have freshman Huhn.

See Franklin's history with pro style QBs. He made a mistake and we'll see that. I'm not saying Grunk should have stayed. Leaving was smart but the location was a mistake.

 

[KingLando]

That equates to 21 TDs and 9 INTs per year. I realize Grunk only played a handful of games but 3 of those starts were against 3 of the 4 best defenses in college last year.

And what was his TD to INT rate in those 3 games? I'm not anti Grunk but experience at QB is valuable and Becht has had success

 

[retsio]

Is it really possible to consider -
#1 - in the past, Penn State coaches did not reveal all of the offensive plays in the scrimmage games - running plays especially
#2 - has anyone really looked at the entire squad class rankings - Penn State is YOUNG, and hopefully we can keep the team together next year
#3 - not one position group is really locked in to playing together - they are new and learning
#4 - why complain now? there is nothing to gain with a negative approach

 

[WaffleShopper]

Is it really possible to consider -
#1 - in the past, Penn State coaches did not reveal all of the offensive plays in the scrimmage games - running plays especially
#2 - has anyone really looked at the entire squad class rankings - Penn State is YOUNG, and hopefully we can keep the team together next year
#3 - not one position group is really locked in to playing together - they are new and learning
#4 - why complain now? there is nothing to gain with a negative approach

I’m not sure anyone is complaining really. And I don’t think it’s negativity, we just demand perfection, that’s all.

Kiffin's almighty LSU was up 10-7 on Louisiana Tech at the half. Bama was losing at halftime. Oregon lost to the team that got blown out by Tulsa. Texas Tech was tied with Oregon St going into the 4th. USC gave up 9.6 yards per passing attempt and 4.9 yards per rush to Louisiana (!).

We had 2 comfortable wins in the first 2 games which is more than can be said for almost every team in the country. We were a 9-3 or 10-2 team in April and we still are. Will we ever win every game 100-0 and have a Bednarik and Heisman winner on the same team? No, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t demand it.

 

[Marshall2323]

I don't know if Grunk made a mistake. He got to start and probably got more Money. They guy who probably made a mistake was Borque. Grunk has this year + 2 more years and they also have freshman Huhn.

Borque made what would have been a mistake in the past. If he took the highest offer, money in the bank.
At the end of the season he's an unrestricted free agent. If Grunk has a great season he could enter the draft or enter the portal to get rich as well. Under the scenario that Grunk leaves ,Borque is set to compete for #1 with Baker (if he stays). I think Huhn is a project compared to Borque. In any event, all options are available at seasons end.

 

[Ludd]

Read the comments.. they're all about Q
If Grunk stayed you'd hear the same about Becht
We play multiple TEs the same amount so that's not an issue
This is about wanting the Penn State because or lack of football knowledge because what you're saying is untrue. He only hesitates when there isn't a hole (like most back as they should its call patience) and he's plenty fast enough. Same arguments were used against Kaytron because people liked the big threat ability of Singleton over Allen. They were always wrong believing Allen wasn't better. Same here . Hansen is our best back. And he's proven it.

He hasn’t proven it yet, he’s the only one getting significant carries. Also, I’ve always believed if you have two or more players at the same position who are fairly equal, you play the younger one since you will have him longer. I’m sure posters on here don’t want to see Martin transfer out because he never gets a shot. We could lose all our RB’s in one shot because the senior is playing- which is fine if he’s killing it (and he’s not).

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

Rocco is one of the more decisive QB's we've had in years IMHO.

I'm not worried about Hansen, however, I really like the series where Peoples was running in between the tackles with authority. They never really came back to him inside though.

After years of begging for Wideouts these 3 are fine.

OL will get better. Goodman is a pup still and all good OL's need cohesion so they need time.

Head scratcher will clock on the score though. Thank God they score or ths board would be Franklin BS on steroids.

I was disappointed on the other side of the ball.

No real sustained pressure from DE's. If you want to be with the big boys in college football, it starts with DE's that are terrors.
DT's were disappointing. Temple playing with 3 new OLineman and they pushed us around at times. No sustained "push" on pass rush.
LB's will be fine, DB will be fine, couple missed tackles but it is early.

Biggest takeaway for me is defensive is average at best.

Becht had a really poor 1st QTR imho - some really awful decisions. On PSU's 1st drive, throwing the ball over the LOS instead of just putting his head down and getting what he could get inside the 5 and moving on to 3rd down. Then on the very next play, he eats the ball for a 6 yard loss when all he had to do was heave it OB if he couldn't find anything. Those two Becht decisions turned a 22 yard chip shot FG into a 33 yard attempt from a horrid angle. The kick that was attempted would have been good from 11 yards closer.

Then on PSU's 3rd drive (last drive of 1st QTR), Becht misses a wide-open Rappleyea who easily would have scored (absolutely no one around him) - threw the ball way harder than he need to and way behind a crossing insanely wide-open Rappleyea. Becht cost us 10 points in the 1st QTR and you just can't do that - Coach Campbell needs to talk to him about that 1st QTR performance as Becht is extremely experienced and he can't cost his team 10 points in the 1st QTR of the game like that, just can't do that with his experience.

 

[PSUHarry]

I guess I'm wondering about the things I heard out of camp how Peoples has some versatile skill sets and they thought they could move him around alot and do some things with him. We haven't seen any of that. Saving that for the Big10 opponents?

 

[PSUHarry]

Your suspicion would be way off base. Grunk left because Campbell prioritized the comfortable (Becht). Grunk said publicly that he is a loyal guy and preferred to stay but he wasn’t going to start at Penn State even if he looked like Peyton Manning in practice. I have been impressed with Becht but preferred Grunk who apparently is doing just fine at VaTech

I know it's early but it looks like the best scene for everyone.

 

[Marshall2323]

Too much doom and gloom

I dont know why people keep bringing up Bechts stats from last year when he played with a torn labrum and a sprained pcl. He clearly wasn’t healthy at all.

He was 59% in 2024. It was Campbell's decision and it's pretty reasonable to see why he wanted the guy he knew inside and out. Even if Grunk is a bit better than Becht, it was one less hill to climb getting your QB acclimated to your system. It also put an "assistant coach" in the huddle. There is no way to put a number on that value.
The risks? Becht gets hurt and you don't get the value of his experience in the system. PSU goes 8-4 or worse and then you didn't profit from the weak schedule and stick the landing.
I don't think Campbell should be criticized for this particular decision. There will be others down the road because that's the relationships between those who are paid to make decisions and those who get to wait to see how those decisions turn out and then decide.

 

[Marshall2323]

Is it really possible to consider -
#1 - in the past, Penn State coaches did not reveal all of the offensive plays in the scrimmage games - running plays especially
#2 - has anyone really looked at the entire squad class rankings - Penn State is YOUNG, and hopefully we can keep the team together next year
#3 - not one position group is really locked in to playing together - they are new and learning
#4 - why complain now? there is nothing to gain with a negative approach

PSU has one of the most experienced teams in the nation. Both in games started and snaps taken. My guess is on offense alone, you lose your QB, RB, 2wideouts and 2 or 3 tight ends. At least 2 starting linemen as well.

 

[Marshall2323]

It's actually pretty easy to see what happened at RB yesterday. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. The score was 10-3 until 3 minutes and change left in the third quarter. Everyone here is analyzing the situation from the perspective of the final score. The coaching staff was making decisions for almost 3 quarters with an uncomfortable 1 score lead. What they did (play Hansen) tells you how much they trust the RBs other than Hansen. You and I can disagree, it matters not.
They'll give Martin and others more run on Saturday to heal the wound, but unless impressions change, game on the line, they've told you by their actions, who they trust.

 

[KingLando]

He hasn’t proven it yet, he’s the only one getting significant carries. Also, I’ve always believed if you have two or more players at the same position who are fairly equal, you play the younger one since you will have him longer. I’m sure posters on here don’t want to see Martin transfer out because he never gets a shot. We could lose all our RB’s in one shot because the senior is playing- which is fine if he’s killing it (and he’s not).

How has he not proven it?
What team doesn't go into the season with a primary back?
Then no veteran should ever stay--and who says they're fairly equal?
He stayed this year--why would he transfer with the RB1 leaving? But, at least you're now admitting this is about Q not Hansen
He's doesn't have to be killing it--he just has to be the best which he is and has proven
You would have benched Allen last year apparently for Q

 

[Ludd]

It's that Martin stayed and people see Hansen as an Iowa State player.
Hansen is better than good and this narrative has to stop. He's borderline elite in pass protection, he has great hands, he powerful, he breaks tackles, he has better speed than anyone admits.
Allen was a better RB than Singleton but people wanted Singleton to play because he was explosive.
Hell, the announcers were comparing him to Barry Sanders yesterday (which is laughable but he's talented) and our board wants Martin to play because he had a good scrimmage in the bowl game and due to *s

I wish you would quit telling everyone what they think.

 

[KingLando]

I wish you would quit telling everyone what they think.

You're saying the words man
Instead of talking about Peoples you talked about Martin--why is that?
Just be honest and I don't have to speak for you--this about Martin not Hansen

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

Too much doom and gloom

I dont know why people keep bringing up Bechts stats from last year when he played with a torn labrum and a sprained pcl. He clearly wasn’t healthy at all.

Definitely could be a lot worse, we could be Oregon who supposedly has Top 5 talent and just lost to a team on a 12-game losing streak (and has lost 21 of their last 22) and ranked as one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, teams in FBS.

 

[Bvillebaron]

That wasn't my metric for Allar to start with. Allar was set up to fail by the scheme and you're evaluation of his play in big moments and under pressure is false

The fact anyone here even thought for a second Martin was going to get meaningful carries this year is terrifying. As I said when he stayed, selfishly that was great but it didn't make any sense. Martin is RB4 for the second year in a row. That's not a fluke.

Hansen is the best...he's established that. He's not playing out if loyalty. He wasn't all Big XII out of pity.

Players also don't need to play in the NFL to be great in college

Please stop Hansen is not even CLOSE to being a great RB. Hard working smart player who makes the most of his ability—absolutely but not great.

A bowl game is a scrimmage hence the opt outs
Hansen was All Big XII which isn't "at best" above average.

Ah yes more nonsense according to the self-anointed “King”. Frequently wrong but never in doubt.

 

[Marshall2323]

Definitely could be a lot worse, we could be Oregon who supposedly has Top 5 talent and just lost to a team on a 12-game losing streak (and has lost 21 of their last 22) and ranked as one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, teams in FBS.

I'd trade PSU'S Roster for Oregons' in a heartbeat.

 

[olelion]

You're overstating Hansen's skills to try to fit your narrative. He's a good, tough runner who will be just fine for us.

The problem is Penn State fans are used to having an elite RB. Barkley, Sanders, Journey Brown when healthy, Kaytron, and that's just in recent years. Forget about Warner, Johnson, Thomas, Kijana, etc. Hansen is not on any of their levels.

Can Martin reach that level? We don't have enough data to say just yet. It's that simple.

I do think some fans are denigrating Hansen a bit too much given that both Marshall and Temple stacked the box and focused on stopping the run first. I think Hansen will be solid, just not elite by any means.

I believe you need a tailback that's a threat to take it all the way or at least a long break away. Absent that type of RB makes it much easier to scheme against you

 

[Bvillebaron]

I'm sure you also said Allen wasn't explosive. The announcers compared him to Barry Sanders which was insane but you're undeevaluing him as much as they're exaggerating his worth. He's our best back. Sorry you dislike him.

I don’t dislike Hansen at all. I have said repeatedly that he is not a great RB but a valuable workmanlike back. You may very well be right that he’s the best RB on the team but if so that will be a problem when Penn State plays teams with a pulse. I hope you are not comparing Hansen to the Fatman.

 

[KingLando]

Please stop Hansen is not even CLOSE to being a great RB. Hard working smart player who makes the most of his ability—absolutely but not great.

Ah yes more nonsense according to the self-anointed “King”. Frequently wrong but never in doubt.

How am I wrong?
How many All Big XII RBs have even been "at best above average" which indicates you think that's a reach
It's okay to simply admit you just want to see Q
We dealt with the same nonsense here regarding Singleton and Allen--it will just continue
If I'm wrong why is Q RB4?
Oh and a bowl game is absolutely a scrimmage

 

[Bvillebaron]

I know it's early but it looks like the best scene for everyone.

You may well be right.

 

[KingLando]

I don’t dislike Hansen at all. I have said repeatedly that he is not a great RB but a valuable workmanlike back. You may very well be right that he’s the best RB on the team but if so that will be a problem when Penn State plays teams with a pulse. I hope you are not comparing Hansen to the Fatman.

He's like Allen in the fact he's underrated because of the kind of back he is
You may not dislike him but biased towards another back and it's a ****** problem because it's blinding you from reality
Hansen has earned the starting job--accept that fact--not opinion; FACT

 

[Bvillebaron]

How am I wrong?
How many All Big XII RBs have even been "at best above average" which indicates you think that's a reach
It's okay to simply admit you just want to see Q
We dealt with the same nonsense here regarding Singleton and Allen--it will just continue
If I'm wrong why is Q RB4?
Oh and a bowl game is absolutely a scrimmage

(1) Claiming Hansen is a great back and
(2) Constantly making the asinine claim that a bowl game is a scrimmage this time but I am sure there will be more from you since you never “disappoint”.

 

[KingLando]

(1) Claiming Hansen is a great back and
(2) Constantly making the asinine claim that a bowl game is a scrimmage this time but I am sure there will be more from you since you never “disappoint”.

1--he was All Big XII--he's better than "at best above average"--not calling him elite here
2--yes, a bowl game is nothing more than a scrimmage--hence the opt outs and the lack of interest

 

[Ludd]

How has he not proven it?
What team doesn't go into the season with a primary back?
Then no veteran should ever stay--and who says they're fairly equal?
He stayed this year--why would he transfer with the RB1 leaving? But, at least you're now admitting this is about Q not Hansen
He's doesn't have to be killing it--he just has to be the best which he is and has proven
You would have benched Allen last year apparently for Q

It’s not about Q…man, you’re persistent even if you’re wrong.

 

[Bvillebaron]

And what was his TD to INT rate in those 3 games? I'm not anti Grunk but experience at QB is valuable and Becht has had success

Those were Grunk’s first 3 career starts

 

[Ludd]

You're saying the words man
Instead of talking about Peoples you talked about Martin--why is that?
Just be honest and I don't have to speak for you--this about Martin not Hansen

It’s about anyone…I’m fine if it’s Peoples. But if no one shines, then play the youngest.

 

[KingLando]

It’s not about Q…man, you’re persistent even if you’re wrong.

Who do you want as the starting RB?

 

[KingLando]

It’s about anyone…I’m fine if it’s Peoples. But if no one shines, then play the youngest.

So, you want every junior and senior to transfer every year
If you're fine if it's Peoples that would indicate that's not your first choic
Try stating what you actually mean for once--it's clear who you want and who the board want so say it