New Penn State Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell appears fired up to try and fix the football team's postseason goals.
Speaking to Josh Pate in an exclusive interview, Campbell discussed how he will handle the quarterback position with Drew Allar departing for the NFL and Ethan Grunkemeyer possibly remaining the starter (or a potential backup) should he remain in State College.
“I think, globally, you’ve got to look at our program, and the quarterback piece of it is critical because I still think, whoever is going to be the quarterbacks in our program, they have to be aligned to the head football coach,” Campbell said. "I believe, when the quarterback and the head football coach are aligned in their values, how they’re going to lead the locker room, what they’re going to stand for, then I think great things can happen.”
Campbell is okay with letting the process play out, but said if Grunkemeyer decided to stay, he's looking forward to potentially working with him.
“Yeah, well, the great thing is we get to meet with Ethan here this week,” Campbell said. “And, you know, we actually recruited him out of high school, and have got a really strong relationship from that beginning process.”
Campbell said, though, that getting the position right will take time.
“For us, we start with the individual meetings with the young men in our program, and then we make great evaluation of what’s best for us as we move this football program forward,” Campbell said.
At least spring ball still has a while before taking shape. By then, there should be a little bit more clarity as to what the quarterback room looks like.
For now, though, Campbell is just settling into his new home.