Penn State lands transfer portal commitment from UNC linebacker Amare Campbell

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, linebacker Amare Campbell has committed to Penn State out of the NCAA transfer portal. Campbell was one of the top available players, being a big-time addition for head coach James Franklin. Linebacker is a position with a ton of history in Happy Valley too, as Campbell looks to add to the legacy.

“Amare Campbell has committed to Penn State, per the @APSportsAgency,” Thamel said via X. “One of the top linebackers available this spring.”

Campbell spent the first two seasons of his college career in Chapel Hill with North Carolina. Through 24 games played, he has recorded 90 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, and 7.5 sacks. Two PBUs and a forced fumble pop up on the stat sheet, with most of the production coming during the 2023 campaign.

The On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings had Campbell as a four-star recruit and the No. 58 overall player to enter this cycle. Only one player was ranked ahead of him when looking at linebackers, being ahead of a few players North Carolina signed themselves.

Following the 2024 season, Campbell actually entered the transfer portal during the winter window. However, he withdrew his name and decided to come back for spring practice. April 22 saw Campbell’s name pop back up and go through with leaving the program.

Penn State is a team with the expectations of competing for a College Football Playoff national championship this season. A few big-time additions have been made to the roster through the portal, mainly to help out quarterback Drew Allar.

However, Campbell is a great late addition for the defense. New DC Jim Knowles will be getting somebody with a good amount of experience and even more importantly, production at the power conference level.

Joel Klatt compares Penn State to past two national champions

FOX’s Joel Klatt released his post-spring top 25 on Monday, giving Penn State the nod at No. 1. Ahead of the likes of Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, and Clemson — Klatt believes James Franklin has a special team heading into the 2025 season. And roster retention is a huge reason why.

The last two national champions also came from the Big Ten, Michigan and Ohio State. Klatt sees plenty of similarities between those two and what Penn State brings to the table this upcoming year. Veteran players will be all over the field with something to prove.

“They are following the blueprint of the teams that just won the national championship,” Klatt said. “This is why I am putting them in this spot. You look at what Michigan did in 2023, you look at what Ohio State did in 2024. Both of those teams had a core group of veteran players stay. They stayed and they won a championship.

“Both of those teams had veterans at quarterback, they had veterans on both sides of the ball, they were excellent on both lines of scrimmage, they had chips on their shoulders from the way they were bounced from the postseason in years prior. All of that is true about Penn State.”