Rebuilding the base

[bdgan]

PSU lost most of it's 2026 recruiting class and finished ranked 64th. The 2027 class looks better but is still very weak by PSU standards. So where do we go from here? Who do we hope to keep to develop a base before hitting the portal?

The players I can come up with that we need to keep to develop a base
QB: ??
RB: Two of Peoples, Martin, Wallace
WR: Howard, Robinson
TE: Rapp
OL: Three of Goodman, Donkoh, Alcience, Cousins
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Arrington,
DT:
DB: Four of Dixon, Zayas, Joseph, Neal, Toure
K: Barker

That's 16 players worth prioritizing IMO.

Add: 2026 recruits: Ford & Reeder (DEs)
Add 2027 recruits: Tarawallie & Montgomery (DL) and Telfair (CB)

That's only 21 players out of a roster of 85+ so we've got a long way to go.

Most important portal priorities:
1 QB
1 WR
1 TE
2 OL
1 DE
3 DT
3 LB

PSU needs a top QB and a total rebuild at DT & LB. That might get us to 7 or 8 wins at best.

 

[BobPSU92]

Fire everyone. Then start over. Or don’t bother.

 

[Nitt1300]

The march to irrelevance has begun. it won't take long.

 

[BobPSU92]

The march to irrelevance has begun. it won't take long.

Will it happen before the stadium renovations are done?

 

[Catch1lion]

Going to be tough.. Not a stretch to say 2026 shot, 2027 rebuild continues, and 2028 home schedule looks rugged. Going to be hard to sell those luxury boxes, and suite tickets.

2028 Conference Opponents​

Home/Away	Opponent
Home	Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA
Away	Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, USC

 

[Nitt1300]

Will it happen before the stadium renovations are done?

before yesterday's beer gets stale

 

[Catch1lion]

Will it happen before the stadium renovations are done?

Renovations ? 2029 campus tours will include a walk by our former stadium like it was Machu Picchu.

 

[BobPSU92]

99% 49% 19% of programs would love to be in our position.

 

[Blair10]

PSU lost most of it's 2026 recruiting class and finished ranked 64th. The 2027 class looks better but is still very weak by PSU standards. So where do we go from here? Who do we hope to keep to develop a base before hitting the portal?

The players I can come up with that we need to keep to develop a base
QB: ??
RB: Two of Peoples, Martin, Wallace
WR: Howard, Robinson
TE: Rapp
OL: Three of Goodman, Donkoh, Alcience, Cousins
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Arrington,
DT:
DB: Four of Dixon, Zayas, Joseph, Neal, Toure
K: Barker

That's 16 players worth prioritizing IMO.

Add: 2026 recruits: Ford & Reeder (DEs)
Add 2027 recruits: Tarawallie & Montgomery (DL) and Telfair (CB)

That's only 21 players out of a roster of 85+ so we've got a long way to go.

Most important portal priorities:
1 QB
1 WR
1 TE
2 OL
1 DE
3 DT
3 LB

PSU needs a top QB and a total rebuild at DT & LB. That might get us to 7 or 8 wins at best.

This 2026 roster is so talent deprived across the board, Campbell now has a full blown 2-3 year rebuild project.

Our DEs are just terrible. The LBs are collectively a disaster. The RBs are worse than the infamous 2021 RB room. None of the current RBs are B1G caliber.

Top 4 priorities should be:
1. LB (3)
2. RB (2)
3. DE (2)
4. Safety (2)

 

[LMTLION]

This 2026 roster is so talent deprived across the board, Campbell now has a full blown 2-3 year rebuild project.

Our DEs are just terrible. The LBs are collectively a disaster. The RBs are worse than the infamous 2021 RB room. None of the current RBs are B1G caliber.

Top 4 priorities should be:
1. LB (3)
2. RB (2)
3. DE (2)
4. Safety (2)

If we had competent DEs alone we probably win that game despite all the other warts. One Chop Robinson rushing the qb all night wins the game. That position is my #1. lB definitely the next priority.

 

[LMTLION]

PSU lost most of it's 2026 recruiting class and finished ranked 64th. The 2027 class looks better but is still very weak by PSU standards. So where do we go from here? Who do we hope to keep to develop a base before hitting the portal?

The players I can come up with that we need to keep to develop a base
QB: ??
RB: Two of Peoples, Martin, Wallace
WR: Howard, Robinson
TE: Rapp
OL: Three of Goodman, Donkoh, Alcience, Cousins
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Arrington,
DT:
DB: Four of Dixon, Zayas, Joseph, Neal, Toure
K: Barker

That's 16 players worth prioritizing IMO.

Add: 2026 recruits: Ford & Reeder (DEs)
Add 2027 recruits: Tarawallie & Montgomery (DL) and Telfair (CB)

That's only 21 players out of a roster of 85+ so we've got a long way to go.

Most important portal priorities:
1 QB
1 WR
1 TE
2 OL
1 DE
3 DT
3 LB

PSU needs a top QB and a total rebuild at DT & LB. That might get us to 7 or 8 wins at best.

Krafty’s failure starts with losing that 2026 class. His #1 job at that point should’ve been keeping the infrastructure together in the background and he lost both the 2026 and 2027 classes. In a bad situation you start playing your young talent, well there’s not really young talent on the squad because we didn’t really have a recruiting class for 2026. It’s too bad his buyout is very prohibitive because he absolutely should be fired. He can’t even get the effing jersey patch deal done yet. Our competitors are raking in 15 mil plus a year on those deals and he hasn’t landed a single deal. He’s an idiot.

 

[MtNittany]

One of the problems w/ a portal QB is that you really need all the other pieces sort of in play - like Indiana has had. Without other players, a one or even two year QB isn't going to get anything done.

 

[Nitt1300]

One of the problems w/ a portal QB is that you really need all the other pieces sort of in play - like Indiana has had. Without other players, a one or even two year QB isn't going to get anything done.

add to that the fact that a QB with NFL aspirations is going to go somewhere where he can win

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

before yesterday's beer gets stale

Kraft is an abysmally bad AD, but his demolition skills are top notch.

 

[bdgan]

This 2026 roster is so talent deprived across the board, Campbell now has a full blown 2-3 year rebuild project.

Our DEs are just terrible. The LBs are collectively a disaster. The RBs are worse than the infamous 2021 RB room. None of the current RBs are B1G caliber.

Top 4 priorities should be:
1. LB (3)
2. RB (2)
3. DE (2)
4. Safety (2)

II'm surprised you don't prioritize DT. Nnodim, Blanding, and Cook are probably our best bets. I think we need DTs more than we need DEs. I still have some hope for Kemajou and Granville at DE but I agree we have to add one.

 

[LMTLION]

II'm surprised you don't prioritize DT. Nnodim, Blanding, and Cook are probably our best bets. I think we need DTs more than we need DEs. I still have some hope for Kemajou and Granville at DE but I agree we have to add one.

If Granville can stay healthy, the potential is there to become the next great edge rusher here. Two acls are really rough to return from. All reports are that he is a really good character kid. Hope he can stay positive and work back from it.

 

[Blair10]

II'm surprised you don't prioritize DT. Nnodim, Blanding, and Cook are probably our best bets. I think we need DTs more than we need DEs. I still have some hope for Kemajou and Granville at DE but I agree we have to add one.

The DTs would be in my top 5 at number 5 in terms of need.

I don’t think Kemajou is very good. He can’t contain the edge and is too slow to get to the QB on a consistent basis. That’s why the edge rushers are so critical to Penn State. They have zero pass rush capabilities with this roster.

I have given up on Granville mostly because of his medical challenges and availability issues. Penn State can’t afford to put all their DE chips on Granville.

 

[pendal1]

A

The DTs would be in my top 5 at number 5 in terms of need.

I don’t think Kemajou is very good. He can’t contain the edge and is too slow to get to the QB on a consistent basis. That’s why the edge rushers are so critical to Penn State. They have zero pass rush capabilities with this roster.

I have given up on Granville mostly because of his medical challenges and availability issues. Penn State can’t afford to put all their DE chips on Granville.

Agreed. Our front seven is very slow. No twitchy defensive linemen and nobody who can win a one-on-one. The linebackers are awful and Rojas is a nice player but half the time he's invisible.
The safeties are bad too. Can't cover and can't tackle.
I've given up on Tasch and Granville. If you're not available you're useless and these two are never available. They should both donate their nil to charity.
I thought becht played a solid game. He has no run game and a below average offensive line to go along with his best receiver is out. And on top of that the defense sucks.
And I'm also not impressed with Lynn. This three man line crap is atrocious. And on top of that the three men rushing are three defensive tackles who couldn't touch the QB in a phone booth. I'm not impressed with Lynn at all. No adjustments and the scheme is awful.

 

[royboy]

This 2026 roster is so talent deprived across the board, Campbell now has a full blown 2-3 year rebuild project.

Our DEs are just terrible. The LBs are collectively a disaster. The RBs are worse than the infamous 2021 RB room. None of the current RBs are B1G caliber.

Top 4 priorities should be:
1. LB (3)
2. RB (2)
3. DE (2)
4. Safety (2)

Agree on the positions focus.

And major priority -- recruit PA!
Going 0 for 10 on best instate prospects is disastrous. 5 or 6 out of 10 is a realistic goal. JF did well in-state.

 

[BCS PSU]

The DTs would be in my top 5 at number 5 in terms of need.

I don’t think Kemajou is very good. He can’t contain the edge and is too slow to get to the QB on a consistent basis. That’s why the edge rushers are so critical to Penn State. They have zero pass rush capabilities with this roster.

I have given up on Granville mostly because of his medical challenges and availability issues. Penn State can’t afford to put all their DE chips on Granville.

Amen about Granville. One time is an accident and the second time is a trend. Some bodies just can’t withstand the rigors of playing this sport.

 

[BobPSU92]

It could be worse. We could be oregon. All that Nike cash money, and they are now unranked. Campbell laughs at lanning.

 

[Steve JG]

PSU lost most of it's 2026 recruiting class and finished ranked 64th. The 2027 class looks better but is still very weak by PSU standards. So where do we go from here? Who do we hope to keep to develop a base before hitting the portal?

The players I can come up with that we need to keep to develop a base
QB: ??
RB: Two of Peoples, Martin, Wallace
WR: Howard, Robinson
TE: Rapp
OL: Three of Goodman, Donkoh, Alcience, Cousins
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Arrington,
DT:
DB: Four of Dixon, Zayas, Joseph, Neal, Toure
K: Barker

That's 16 players worth prioritizing IMO.

Add: 2026 recruits: Ford & Reeder (DEs)
Add 2027 recruits: Tarawallie & Montgomery (DL) and Telfair (CB)

That's only 21 players out of a roster of 85+ so we've got a long way to go.

Most important portal priorities:
1 QB
1 WR
1 TE
2 OL
1 DE
3 DT
3 LB

PSU needs a top QB and a total rebuild at DT & LB. That might get us to 7 or 8 wins at best.

cannot expect freshmen at key power positions O an D line in particular to be big contributors. These players have to come from portal after spending 3 years in some other team weight room

 

[MacNit]

PSU lost most of it's 2026 recruiting class and finished ranked 64th. The 2027 class looks better but is still very weak by PSU standards. So where do we go from here? Who do we hope to keep to develop a base before hitting the portal?

The players I can come up with that we need to keep to develop a base
QB: ??
RB: Two of Peoples, Martin, Wallace
WR: Howard, Robinson
TE: Rapp
OL: Three of Goodman, Donkoh, Alcience, Cousins
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Arrington,
DT:
DB: Four of Dixon, Zayas, Joseph, Neal, Toure
K: Barker

That's 16 players worth prioritizing IMO.

Add: 2026 recruits: Ford & Reeder (DEs)
Add 2027 recruits: Tarawallie & Montgomery (DL) and Telfair (CB)

That's only 21 players out of a roster of 85+ so we've got a long way to go.

Most important portal priorities:
1 QB
1 WR
1 TE
2 OL
1 DE
3 DT
3 LB

PSU needs a top QB and a total rebuild at DT & LB. That might get us to 7 or 8 wins at best.

P-A-Y

 

[Bvillebaron]

Kraft is an abysmally bad AD, but his demolition skills are top notch.

 

[DaytonRickster]

II'm surprised you don't prioritize DT. Nnodim, Blanding, and Cook are probably our best bets. I think we need DTs more than we need DEs. I still have some hope for Kemajou and Granville at DE but I agree we have to add one.

Granville is too injury prone to count on. Must bring in two DT, two DE, and two LBer starters from the portal.

 

[DaytonRickster]

If Granville can stay healthy, the potential is there to become the next great edge rusher here. Two acls are really rough to return from. All reports are that he is a really good character kid. Hope he can stay positive and work back from it.

I don't doubt Granville's character but he can't get on the field because of injuries. Once again he'll miss Spring practice.

 

[ApexLion]

Fire everyone. Then start over. Or don’t bother.

But Kraft stays to "sell" logos for the uniforms, don't forget that.

 

[ApexLion]

In all seriousness, well maybe not, I haven't been serious about PSU football since 2016. Here's my latest idea: hire Belichick. I'm serious about Hoodie. I've watched him up close here in Chapel Hill. He could care less what anyone thinks and he coaches the heck out of his team, despite no talent. He's like a human AI. He just coaches football. I think he could do it. Would be a big step in PSU's evolution and we could full bore into a pro style program.

In all seriousness, we are in limbo. We are not a college program and we are not a new style NIL program. We are just hanging out and it shows.

 

[psu0408]

It's tough to pontificate on what to do with the roster, as we don't know who is getting paid what, but here's how I'd break down what's left on the roster:

• Must Retain: Koby Howard, Zayas, Manske (depending on what they do in the portal), Dixson, Tatsch, Rojas, Rapp, Cousins, M. Goodman. You lock up WR 1, CB 1 & 2, LB 1, TE 1 and two of the top OL
• Should Retain at the Right Price: Kemajou, Q. Martin, Blanding, Donkoh (if he doesn't declare early), Barker, Toure, Sexton, D. Cook, Granville, Riker, C. Smith, Z. Robinson, Ikakoula
• Underbid: Eskildsen, Nnodim, Carnell, Buhr
• Should Let Walk: Peoples (can't imagine he's getting less than $1m), Brezina, Brookins, M. Neal, McPherson, Vakalahi
• Young and Unproven but Should Keep: Lavar II, X. Thomas, Manske, J. Ford, K. Evans, E. Reeder

As far as the portal:

• Aggressively pursue: 1-2 DT, 1-2 LB, 1 QB
• Look to upgrade: 1x RB, IOL

In recruiting, the right freshman can make an immediate impact at RB and WR. Is there anyone on the horizon they could increase offers to who could come in and compete right away?

 

[Psumatt85]

It's tough to pontificate on what to do with the roster, as we don't know who is getting paid what, but here's how I'd break down what's left on the roster:

• Must Retain: Koby Howard, Zayas, Manske (depending on what they do in the portal), Dixson, Tatsch, Rojas, Rapp, Cousins, M. Goodman. You lock up WR 1, CB 1 & 2, LB 1, TE 1 and two of the top OL
• Should Retain at the Right Price: Kemajou, Q. Martin, Blanding, Donkoh (if he doesn't declare early), Barker, Toure, Sexton, D. Cook, Granville, Riker, C. Smith, Z. Robinson, Ikakoula
• Underbid: Eskildsen, Nnodim, Carnell, Buhr
• Should Let Walk: Peoples (can't imagine he's getting less than $1m), Brezina, Brookins, M. Neal, McPherson, Vakalahi
• Young and Unproven but Should Keep: Lavar II, X. Thomas, Manske, J. Ford, K. Evans, E. Reeder

As far as the portal:

• Aggressively pursue: 1-2 DT, 1-2 LB, 1 QB
• Look to upgrade: 1x RB, IOL

In recruiting, the right freshman can make an immediate impact at RB and WR. Is there anyone on the horizon they could increase offers to who could come in and compete right away?

Pat Krafts got this.

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

Playing Hansen over Peoples, Martin and Wallace isn't going to help recruiting with PA kids nor will it help bring in transfers seeing how Peoples transferred in and wasn't being used as he should, and Campbell isn't a great recruiter. You wanted this coaching upgrade Penn State savants you got it!! Penn State Nebraska'd themself.

 

[rigi19041]

Campbell is a disaster. He is not a good enough tale t evaluator or recruiter to fix this mess.

Wr was a problem with Franklin. Year one with campbell and every position group is a problem.

 

[BCS PSU]

Playing Hansen over Peoples, Martin and Wallace isn't going to help recruiting with PA kids nor will it help bring in transfers seeing how Peoples transferred in and wasn't being used as he should, and Campbell isn't a great recruiter. You wanted this coaching upgrade Penn State savants you got it!! Penn State Nebraska'd themself.

You say that he isn't a great recruiter, but there currently are 19 ISU players playing in the NFL, and ISU never has been known as a football factory. If he was a good enough recruiter to have 19 ISU players on NFL rosters right now, then you would think that he would be able to recruit well enough at a traditional football school to do even better.

 

[94LionsFan]

The march to irrelevance has begun. it won't take long.

You could plausibly say we were already irrelevant before Campbell came on. Ask OSU how relevant we were.