This time last year, Penn State was gearing up to face Nevada to kick off what was expected to be a potential national-championship season. But things have changed a lot since then, and the Nittany Lions are a completely different team in 2026.Matt Campbell is entering his first season as Penn State’s head coach after James Franklin and the Nittany Lions collapsed from a preseason No. 2 ranking to a 7-6 record, causing Franklin to be fired after six games.This season, Penn State doesn’t nearly have the same expectations. The Nittany Lions’ relatively easy schedule clears the path to a College Football Playoff appearance, but a record around 9-3 could be the team’s realistic outlook.Campbell brought in a brand new coaching staff for Penn State, which revamped the roster through the transfer portal. This makes Campbell feel like everyone is undergoing change ahead of the 2026 season.“Everybody's in an earn it position,” Campbell said at Penn State’s local media day. “Everybody's either in a new team, got a new place, got new coaches, and everybody's pouring in with kind of the same starting line as me. You got to go prove it. You got to go earn it. And to be honest with you, on good teams, on great teams that I've been a part of is championship football, you got to earn your job every day.”Penn State's brand new roster— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 21, 2026There’s not much overlap between last year’s starters and this season’s projected starting lineup, and that’s no surprise. Not only did multiple key contributors on the 2025 team depart for the NFL but Campbell also added 55 new players to this season’s roster.Notably, quarterback Rocco Becht is taking the reins of the offense after Drew Allar was the starter for the past 2½ seasons. Becht is in his final year of college football and was with Campbell and Penn State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser at Iowa State.Becht headlined the group of 24 former Cyclones who transferred to the Nittany Lions with Campbell. On the defensive side, former Iowa State safeties Marcus Neal Jr. and Jeremiah Cooper are projected starters with linebacker Kooper Ebel and defensive end Ikenna Ezeogu. Even some of the returners to the program will have new roles as projected starters, including right guard Cooper Cousins and left tackle Malachi Goodman. Receiver Koby Howard figures to be a more predominant player on offense after flashing his potential on seven catches during his freshman year.Howard also changed his jersey number to No. 6, and all the other transfers will be in new jerseys this season, too. Penn State fans will need to learn the roster all over again with so many new faces and jersey numbers on the team.Penn State's defensive adjustmentsPenn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn talks to reporters during football media day in Holuba Hall. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectCampbell’s long-time defensive coordinator at Iowa State and Toledo was Jon Heacock, who retired this offseason instead of following Campbell to Happy Valley. Heacock led the Cyclones in a 3-3-5 defensive scheme, so Campbell had to adjust what he was accustomed to on defense.Jim Knowles, Penn State’s 2025 defensive coordinator, moved to Tennessee, one of many coaching staff changes this offseason. Campbell hired former Nittany Lion cornerback and USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn for the same role.As Campbell and Lynn adapt to Penn State, they now plan to use a four-man front as part of their base defense. During practices, the Nittany Lions’ first-team defense is operating out of a 4-2-5 scheme instead of a three-man front. It also is showcasing defensive tackles with significantly more size; four of the interior transfers are 319 pounds or bigger. Matt Campbell's culture changes— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 21, 2026Campbell brought his own way of leading a program to Penn State. For starters, the practice schedule is different, as Campbell leads morning practices instead of the afternoon sessions that Franklin preferred. Campbell began morning practices during the 2020 season while at Iowa State. He said he thinks it’s more beneficial for players to start the day with practice.When the Nittany Lions are in their team meeting room in the Lasch Building, Franklin’s core values of a positive attitude, work ethic, competing and sacrifice are gone, as are references to "1-0.". Instead, Campbell installed a pyramid of values and a “Nittany Lion Code of Conduct” on the walls.The "Nittany Lion Code of Conduct" sign hangs in the team meeting room at Penn State's Lasch Football Building. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SIPenn State players have also talked about Campbell making community service a priority. For example, the Nittany Lions went on a retreat to a western Pennsylvania kids camp before training camp. Penn State also will host Victory Day on Aug. 28, a tradition Campbell brought from Iowa State that invites children with disabilities and their families to spend a day at the team facilities.Campbell’s first Penn State squad is building chemistry differently than previous Nittany Lion teams as the program navigates all the new changes ahead of the 2026 season.“In our football building, all of us are going through … a common thread, and it's change,” Campbell said. “Until you go through change and really know who we are and what we are, you may have been one thing at Ohio State or one thing at Iowa State or even one thing here. But we're all going through the same common denominator, and that common denominator we're going through is change.”Sign up to our free Penn State Nittany Lions newsletter and follow us on social media.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow