Penn State Nittany Lions: 5 Players to Watch in 2026
By Rory Daniels
Penn State pulled off one of the major coups of the off-season in college football. Wrestling Matt Campbell away from Iowa State was something high-profile college and NFL teams had failed to do previously. The opportunity finally felt right for Campbell, but initially he will lean heavily on his Cyclones past to hit the ground running. Twenty-four players followed the Head Coach to Happy Valley, and that should immediately bring familiarity with Campbell’s playbook and system. That’s why this five to watch has a transfer-heavy look.
There is no stronger relationship than Head Coach – Offensive Coordinator – Quarterback, and Matt Campbell preserves that link from his Cyclone days. Taylor Mouser will call plays for Rocco Becht, who enters his fifth season with plenty to prove. Having played through injury last year and without NFL-caliber receivers, Becht’s performance dipped. There will be familiarity at receiver for Becht, which could be good or bad. Existing relationships can be built on, but is the quality good enough to take Becht’s play to playoff level?
If there’s one player that will hope to ease the burden on Becht it will be running back Carson Hansen. After his breakout season in 2024, Hansen was effective again last season with 952 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged over 5 yards per carry and somewhat epitomises Campbell’s ethos. While not flashy, he is consistent and tough. He should provide the baseline that keeps the offense moving in the right direction.
The tight end position is often the comfort blanket for a quarterback and that’s exactly the reason Matt Campbell made sure Benjamin Brahmer followed Rocco Becht to Penn State. Although he only had 446 receiving yards in 2025, he led the Cyclones in targets and receiving touchdowns. In the big spots when Becht needed a reliable target, more often than not Brahmer was his weapon of choice. Brahmer will face competition from Andrew Rappleyea for the TE1 gig but his receiving ability could give him the production edge come the end of the year.
Rojas is our only hangover from the previous regime in this article. However, retaining the linebacker’s services should be seen as a major coup for Campbell, who can effectively build the defense around his leadership. Rojas had 58 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, a sack and 3 interceptions in 2024 and was expected to establish himself as an elite Power-4 linebacker, only for 2025 to be derailed by injury. An ACL injury in September put pay to that, and the hope is he returns at full strength to anchor this unit in his senior season.
If Rojas isn’t the leader of this defense then the next most likely candidate is a Campbell disciple, Marcus Neal Jr. He had a breakout sophomore season with 77 total tackles, including 11 for loss and 3 interceptions. He has the potential to be one of the leading safeties in the Big 10 and an early draft pick if he continues his upward trajectory. With Neal and Rojas, the spine of the Penn State defense looks to be in a fairly healthy spot.
Rory-Joe Daniels
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
AS A LONG-SUFFERING CINCINNATI BENGALS FAN, RORY HAS FOLLOWED THE NFL FOR OVER 20 YEARS. HIS PASSION FOR THE DRAFT LED HIM TO GET ENTANGLED WITH COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND HE HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT PROSPECTS AND THE CFB LANDSCAPE EVER SINCE.