Penn State Nittany Lions in hot pursuit of the last ingredient for an elite defense heading into the 2025 college football season
The Penn State Nittany Lions have a tremendous defense on paper heading into the 2026 college football season. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is walking into a lot of talent in Happy Valley, with a ton of talent on all three levels. Some of the impact players to know include Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, AJ […]
The Penn State Nittany Lions have a tremendous defense on paper heading into the 2026 college football season. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is walking into a lot of talent in Happy Valley, with a ton of talent on all three levels. Some of the impact players to know include Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, AJ Harris, Zakee Wheatley, and Tony Rojas.
While Coach Knowles is a tremendous defensive play caller, with his resume speaking for itself during his time with Oklahoma State and the Ohio State Buckeyes, he doesn’t have a difficult job in front of him. With so much future NFL talent on the defensive roster, there aren’t a ton of holes in the lineup. The one exception comes at MIKE linebacker, where Kobe King was very good for the team last season.
The early projections have Dominic DeLuca shifting over to the middle, but he has done his best work playing in space during his Nittany Lions career. Finding a natural inside linebacker could be the last missing ingredient for an elite defense, and the Penn State staff is on the lookout. That’s where former UNC standout Amare Campbell comes in.
On Monday, Campbell is on campus visiting Penn State. The Nittany Lions have quickly become one of the teams to know for the talented linebacker, who was just at SMU for a visit prior. The 6-0, 230-pound defender isn’t the biggest linebacker of all time, but he brings a lot of playmaking potential to the middle linebacker position.
Campbell is coming off of a tremendous season for the Tar Heels. In 13 games, he finished the season with 76 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks. Just a junior, Campbell having two years of eligibility remaining is another huge bonus.
Earlier this offseason, Campbell briefly contemplated the transfer portal. After Bill Belichick was hired as the head coach, Campbell decided to let the process play out and remove his name from the portal. It appears the situation did not make him more confident for the immediate future, and once again decided to see what opportunities are out there.
It’s far from a done deal, but Penn State is trending quickly for Campbell. The thought of putting Campbell on the second level with DeLuca and Rojas is a lot of speed, and a ton of upside. In a lot of ways, Campbell could be the last missing ingredient to the best defense in college football in 2025.
Penn State hopes to add to program's elite lineage of linebackers by poaching Bill Belichick's biggest star
The Penn State Nittany Lions have done their best to replicate Ohio State's all-in approach from 2024. Bringing almost all of their best stars back from last season gave James Franklin an unusual amount of veteran talent to build around. Now, he's trying to fill any remaining holes with stars who can help alleviate the […]
