Penn State Football Enters the Matt Campbell Era: Staff, Portal, and Bowl Decisions

The Penn State Football team is undergoing the expected metamorphosis with new head coach Matt Campbell at the helm. The team has hired several on- and off-field coaches in the last seven days, with more to come. Today on the BWI Live Show, we’ll take stock of where things stand right now and what is left for Campbell to decide. We’ll also track the latest recruiting additions over the weekend in Fitz’s Recruiting Update. Penn State also plays Clemson on the 27th in the Pinstripe Bowl. We’ll discuss the players who have opted out of the game and which players still have to announce their intentions for the final game of the 2025 Penn State football season.

Join us for all of that and more! We’ll be taking your questions on today’s show and discussing whatever else is going on with Penn State football. Subscribe to the BWI YouTube Channel right now so you don’t miss any breaking news, commitment videos, or live shows as we enter the Christmas season.

Note: The BWI Live schedule will be truncated over the next two weeks due to Christmas and New Year’s. Check out this week’s episodes for an updated schedule.

Transfer portal is heating up two weeks before it opens, Penn State staff updates

Penn State has yet to be hit hard by the transfer portal, but the news is likely coming. Today, we’ll discuss the flurry of quarterbacks that entered the portal in the last several hours. Should Penn State be interested in any of them to join its 2026 roster?

Of course, the biggest news in the first week of Campbell’s tenure at Penn State is his staff choices. So far, there have been far more off-field decisions than on-field coaching announcements. We’ll review the coaches who have officially joined the staff from Iowa State in the last week, discuss the retention plans we know about for the current staff, and then discuss what remains to learn about the staff in the coming days.

Pinstripe Bowl Opt Outs

Next, we’ll review the news surrounding the current team’s status for the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27. So far, four seniors have announced that they will not play in the upcoming game. Two of those players, Zane Durant and Zakee Wheatley, will attend the Senior Bowl in Mobile next year. Two more, running back Kaytron Allen and Dani Dennis-Sutton, have not made a decision on the Pinstripe Bowl so far.

We’ll discuss why players would opt out of a bowl game, but then play in the Senior Bowl for fans upset with the lack of participation in the season-ending game against Clemson. We’ll also list the seniors remaining who have yet to announce their intentions.

Finally, we’ll review the team’s latest recruiting wins in Fitz’s recruiting udpate.