My Observations

[Bvillebaron]

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

Typical comment Lando. You claimed he was a great RB once again moving the goalposts when you are losing an argument by now claiming he is not elite. Your bowl game claim probably is the dumbest thing you have posted here and that covers a LOT of ground.

 

[KingLando]

Those were Grunk’s first 3 career starts

And...

 

[KingLando]

Typical comment Lando. You claimed he was a great RB once again moving the goalposts when you are losing an argument by now claiming he is not elite. Your bowl game claim probably is the dumbest thing you have posted here and that covers a LOT of ground.

He is a great back--I never said he was elite. Not once or close to it. There's very few elite back. Q nor People nor anyone else on the roster is Barkley
With a playoff, what does the outcome of a bowl game matter in the gran scheme of things? Why do players opt out but no one (other than Beau who's too stupid to comprehend rules) opt out of playoff games?

 

[TigersandLions]

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 thought what I heard was one announcer say that Barry Sanders was Hansen's favorite running back - and something about Hansen watching old YouTube clips of Sanders or something given that he's not old enough to have seen Barry actually play. Then maybe that announcer asked the other if he saw any comparison between Hansen and Sanders. And the other announcer was like -- uhhhh no.

 

[DaytonRickster]

I will say it again, I don’t care who plays, I would just like to see someone who can break off a 15 or 20 yard run every once in a while or doesn’t stutter step before they get to the LOS. I don’t care which of the four backs that is, but so far it hasn’t been Hansen. I have no allegiance to any of them and I’m not sure why that’s your only argument against people who want to see more out of our featured RB. If your argument had any credibility wouldn’t everyone want Becht to not be the QB or Brahmer not be the TE?

I was at the game. I appreciate Hansen in that he gets positive yardage. That said, my seat was in the endzone, row three, able to clearly see holes open. Hansen hesitated too many times and the opportunity was gone. Someone in that RB foursome has to step forward and run more decisively. A disappointment I had with running plays is there were rarely any outside runs. I really think Peoples, Martin, and Wallace can run outside and make some good yardage.

 

[KingLando]

I thought what I heard was one announcer say that Barry Sanders was Hansen's favorite running back - and something about Hansen watching old YouTube clips of Sanders or something given that he's not old enough to have seen Barry actually play. Then maybe that announcer asked the other if he saw any comparison between Hansen and Sanders. And the other announcer was like -- uhhhh no.

Yeah, I think we all had that same reaction--good clarification/summary of the back and forth

 

[WaffleShopper]

I believe you need a tailback that's a threat to take it all the way or at least a long break away. Without that scheming against you is much easier

Yup. If we only had Hansen and Peoples then that’s not a bad 1/2 combination with JP the home run threat. Neither one has all the tools though and the defense can plan accordingly.

Martin was the highest rated recruit of the 3 and he basically has Hansen’s size with People’s explosiveness. I’d love to find out if he can be a great, every down back. Maybe if he puts on 8-10 lbs he can be that guy, IF he sticks around next year.

 

[bdgan]

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.

I understand unrestricted free agency and the money but I think players form a bond with their current coaches and teammates. I think most players would rather stay unless they're not going to start or unless they're moving up from FCS to FBS (or their coaches leave). Isn't that why Peoples came to PSU? Besides it's a pain in the arse to transfer. New coaches, teammates, playbook, academics, etc.

You could certainly be correct in Borque's case because I seriously doubt that Grunk ill enter the draft.

 

[WaffleShopper]

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.

ESPN shows Rocco with the 4th highest passer rating in the country so far this year. I’m sure Campbell will pull him aside and address the fact that he’s playing so poorly.

 

[Ludd]

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

Should I type slower…I don’t care, just find someone who gives us more than we’re getting at the moment. As someone said earlier, 3-4 yards against Temple and Marshall is going to be 0-1 against better teams.

 

[Ludd]

I was at the game. I appreciate Hansen in that he gets positive yardage. That said, my seat was in the endzone, row three, able to clearly see holes open. Hansen hesitated too many times and the opportunity was gone. Someone in that RB foursome has to step forward and run more decisively. A disappointment I had with running plays is there were rarely any outside runs. I really think Peoples, Martin, and Wallace can run outside and make some good yardage.

The problem is no one else gets the opportunity to step up…hopefully we see all four get some significant carries next week.

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

ESPN shows Rocco with the 4th highest passer rating in the country so far this year. I’m sure Campbell will pull him aside and address the fact that he’s playing so poorly.

Didn't say he's played poorly overall - said he had a really bad 1st QTR against Temple that literally cost his team 10 points. He made some seriously bad decisions throughout the 1st QTR last Saturday that shouldn't have happened given his experience level. He was trying to do to much in situations that didn't call for it.

Happen to think he's played pretty well overall, but he had a really, really poor 1st QTR this past Saturday which was a bit surprising given his experience level and how avoidable the mistakes were (for instance, getting overly hyped on the Rappleyea play and winging an off-target fastball [way behind him] rather than setting himself and making a simple, easy throw to Rappleyea who was insanely wide open on a shallow crossing pattern - no one near him.

 

[AvgUser]

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.

We sucked just as bad for three games lastyear

Glass houses.

 

[AvgUser]

ESPN shows Rocco with the 4th highest passer rating in the country so far this year. I’m sure Campbell will pull him aside and address the fact that he’s playing so poorly.

Overall it was a good day, but his decision making in Q1 was something less than desirable

 

[bbrown]

Hansen probably isn't the best we have, at least I hope he isn't.

My guess is he's the best we have at doing everything well and that he isn't going to lose you the game. He probably does all the important things well but in general is not going to be a great RB. He does what the paly calls for, you can bet if the play is designed to go up a certain gap Hansen is going to hit it. But rarely will you ever see him bounce it to make a good play out of one that was going to get stuffed. JoePa would have loved him.

Hansen reminds me of someone maybe Bob Nagle a good back but was never going to be a difference maker but he was rock solid.

He would have been an excellent FB on some of Joe's teams.

 

[bbrown]

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

"explosiveness" isn't his biggest issue. He has no vision, I mean it's tough to see holes when you run with your head down.

 

[bbrown]

We sucked just as bad for three games lastyear

Glass houses.

Way worse. We actually have options if the Run game isn't working. I like these WR's and TE's.

 

[Rocco3]

Way worse. We actually have options if the Run game isn't working. I like these WR's and TE's.

I can see us becoming a Rocco centric offense where we could be throwing more than running.

 

[Moogy]

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

Hansen is an explosive back ... if he just had bad Chipotle a few hours before gametime.

 

[royboy]

We sucked just as bad for three games lastyear

Glass houses.

Sorry "Glass houses" doesn't fly

It's a new season; the Head Coach from 2025 was fired if you hadn't heard

 

[Marshall2323]

Hansen 30 carries
Peoples 15 carries
Wallace 12 carries
Martin 10 carries
Possible conclusions: Martin is a bit banged up (but he played special teams I believe).
This staff is likely not impressed with the Pinstripe Bowl (really both teams had many opt outs) and he isn't lighting it up in practice to date. Even going into the Bowl, Martin was not planned to be the go-to back, I believe there were injuries (so that staff didn't have him tagged as top dog).
Football seasons are fluid and things can turn on a dime. But, it's reasonable to assume from the empirical evidence that coaches who evaluate him every single day are not rating him as highly as some here.
Also, I wouldn't take anything away from a game with Buffalo. We'll see what the plan is vs. Wisky.

 

[KingLando]

Hansen 30 carries
Peoples 15 carries
Wallace 12 carries
Martin 10 carries
Possible conclusions: Martin is a bit banged up (but he played special teams I believe).
This staff is likely not impressed with the Pinstripe Bowl (really both teams had many opt outs) and he isn't lighting it up in practice to date. Even going into the Bowl, Martin was not planned to be the go-to back, I believe there were injuries (so that staff didn't have him ted as top dog).
Football seasons are fluid and things can turn on a dime. But, it's reasonable to assume from the empirical evidence that coaches who evaluate him every single day are not rating him as highly as some here.
Also, I wouldn't take anything away from a game with Buffalo. We'll see what the plan is vs. Wisky.

It could be as simple as Hansen is the most established, is the best in pass protection and has the best hands...plus he knows the offense best. If Temple didn't hang around those number would be more balanced

 

[Patterson825]

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.

Also hilarious some of you guys guys think Grunk is a lock to be a great college QB meanwhile hasn’t proved anything besides throwing 4 yard passes.

 

[psu0408]

If there's a game to give each back a few series to see what they can do, it's against Buffalo. So far, Hansen is a poor man's Zack Zwinak. I'd rather see Peoples, Martin and Wallace get more 1st and 2nd down opportunities, with Hansen playing on 3rd or short yardage situations.

 

[Marshall2323]

Also hilarious some of you guys guys think Grunk is a lock to be a great college QB meanwhile hasn’t proved anything besides throwing 4 yard passes.

I think what is hilarious is your dismal reading comprehension skills.

 

[Marshall2323]

If there's a game to give each back a few series to see what they can do, it's against Buffalo. So far, Hansen is a poor man's Zack Zwinak. I'd rather see Peoples, Martin and Wallace get more 1st and 2nd down opportunities, with Hansen playing on 3rd or short yardage situations.

Someone forgot to tell Campbell that he doesn't get to decide who plays and how much.

 

[bdgan]

Also hilarious some of you guys guys think Grunk is a lock to be a great college QB meanwhile hasn’t proved anything besides throwing 4 yard passes.

Nobody said he's a lock to be a great college QB but he certainly has a good resume.

8th rated QB in the country with a .95 rating
69% completion rate in 2025 with a 143 rating
77% completion percentage so far in 2026 with a 173 rating


Allar's best year (2024) was a 153 rating. I for one would like to have Grunk on the roster for 2 years after Becht is gone. But that's just me.

 

[o_PSUALREADYKNOW]

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

Werent

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 am pretty sure they asked him historically “who his favorite player was” or “who he tried to play like” and he said Barry Sanders and the announcers politely laughed and compared him to a less shifty back while not undermining his quality overall.

Edit: Mea Culpa…this was addressed after I made my response .