Kirk Herbstreit reacts to expected hire of Matt Campbell by Penn State

Per reporting as recently as Friday morning, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell could end up being the next head coach at Penn State. That’d be quite the change for him, both in location and in program expectations, if he were to leave the Cyclones for the Nittany Lions.

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit thought so, too, when discussing Campbell being the new top candidate in the search at Penn State on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday. It’d actually be a surprise to him if he were to end up leaving, considering how long he has been and how much he has accomplished in Ames. But, if he does, Herbstreit would give credit to Penn State for finalizing a way to get him to University Park.

“I was under the assumption that he was almost untouchable at this point, you know. And I know Penn State can pay whatever that is they need to pay if this ends up happening. But, I kind of thought, you know, maybe five years ago when he built Iowa State up, I thought that maybe somebody is going to come in and swoop him up. But I thought Iowa State has done a pretty good job of making it pretty clear, hey, the buyout is ridiculous, no one can come in here and take him, he’s our guy,” Herbstreit said. “So, if this happens, that would be a major effort by Penn State to make this happen.”

As of yesterday, Campbell appeared to become the focus of what’s been a long, ongoing search for Penn State. That has seemingly progressed further this morning, with reporting that the Nittany Lions are trying to get this finalized with Campbell.

As for the resumé, Herbstreit finds it to be an interesting fit for Campbell if he were in Happy Valley. That’s as he built what he did at Iowa State, where he’s the Cyclones’ all-time winningest coach after a decade there with a record of 72-55 (.567), in a different way than he’d be expected to do it if he were to coach at Penn State.

“Obviously, he’s going to go in this have-and-have-not world? He’s done so much in Ames, Iowa, where he’s had to kind of, like, develop, get this guy who’s a tight end and we’re going to turn him into a tackle. And, now you’re going to Penn State, where he’s our NIL, very competitive. Our goal is Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon. We’re shooting for the stars,” Herbstreit said. “So, he goes from being, like, we’re going to be tougher than them, we’re going to be gritty, and now he’s going to have ridiculous talent.”

This still needs to get finalized for Campbell if he does end up leaving the Cyclones for the Nittany Lions. But, considering all things, Herbstreit says that’d eventually work out in what he thinks would be one of the better hires made so far this offseason by Penn State.

“It’s going to be fun to see. Again, I don’t know if he’s going to take it,” Herbstreit said. “But, if he went there? Nothing against Iowa State, but I’d love to see Matt Campbell in State College. If they close the deal on that, that would be as good a hire, in this very volatile coaching carousel? That would be as good a hire that I think’s been made.”