Evaluating Matt Campbell's First Offensive Coaching Staff At Penn State

Penn State coach Matt Campbell spent nan past period deliberately rebuilding a Nittany Lions roster that underperformed to a 7-6 grounds successful 2025. However, he besides moved quickly to combine his first Penn State shot coaching staff.

Campbell retained only 2 Penn State coaches successful salient roles — subordinate caput coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith and typical teams coordinator Justin Lustig —  but still filled his unit to nan brim pinch value fits. 

Let’s get to cognize Penn State’s caller violative coaches.

RELATED: Evaluating Matt Campbell's first transportation people astatine Penn State

Taylor Mouser: Offensive coordinator/tight ends

Mouser spent nan past 10 seasons pinch Campbell astatine Iowa State, nan past 2 arsenic violative coordinator. In 2024, Mouser’s first play moving nan offense, nan Cyclones averaged 31.1 points per game, nan fifth-most successful schoolhouse history.

He helped create NFL receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, who some lend extensively for nan Houston Texans. FootballScoop names Mouser arsenic its 2025 tight ends coach of nan twelvemonth successful his last play pinch nan Cyclones.

Campbell brought Mouser pinch him from Toledo to Iowa State successful 2016. Mouser spent clip arsenic a postgraduate adjunct and successful nan scouting and value power departments astatine Iowa State earlier becoming tight ends coach successful 2021. He besides was Campbell’s adjunct caput coach for a season. 

Interestingly, Mouser was a protect lineman astatine Division II Adams State from 2009-13.

Ryan Clanton: Offensive line

Clanton was Iowa State’s violative statement coach nan past 3 seasons and nan program’s run-game coordinator successful 2024. Under Clanton, nan Cyclones’ crushed onslaught continued to grow, jumping from 108. rushing yards per crippled to 160.5 successful 2024 and 174.5 past season.  

Clanton’s violative statement allowed conscionable 51 mixed sacks from 2023-25, nan eighth-fewest among Power Four teams successful that span. He developed violative tackle Jalen Travis, who past twelvemonth became nan first Iowa State violative lineman drafted since 2013.

In a five-year stint astatine Northern Iowa, Clanton helped create tackle Trevor Penning, a first-round prime successful 2022 by nan New Orleans Saints, and correct tackle Spencer Brown, a third-round prime by nan Buffalo Bills successful 2021.

Clanton played astatine Oregon arsenic a near tackle, near defender and correct defender nether Chip Kelly, spending 3 seasons pinch nan Ducks. 

RELATED: Where Penn State stands successful nan way-too-early 2026 assemblage shot rankings

Jake Waters: Quarterbacks

Waters spent nan past six seasons pinch nan Cyclones, including 2 years arsenic their quarterbacks coach. He helped create caller Penn State backmost Rocco Becht, who has thrown for 9,274 profession yards, including a career-high 3,5050 successful Iowa State’s 11-win 2024 season.  

He was a two-year starting backmost astatine Kansas State from 2013-14, going 17-9 and earning All-Big 12 honors. 

Waters began his coaching profession arsenic a unpaid quarterbacks coach astatine Iowa Western Community College, wherever he played earlier transferring to Kansas State. Penn State fans mightiness retrieve erstwhile Nittany Lions coach Bill O’Brien recruiting Waters successful 2013.  

Noah Pauley: Wide receivers

Pauley was nan wide receivers coach astatine Iowa State from 2023-25, which included a two-year stint arsenic nan pass-game coordinator. FootballScoop recognized Pauly arsenic its receivers coach of nan twelvemonth successful 2024, erstwhile he mentored Higgins and Noel to go nan first duo successful Cyclones history to tally 1,000 receiving yards successful a season. 

Wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, who followed Pauley and Campbell to Penn State, earned All-Big 12 honorable mentions successful 2025 nether Pauley’s stewardship. Pauley was a four-year starting receiver astatine Minnesota-Duluth from 2007-10, winning 2 Division II nationalist championships. Pauley besides was UMD’s violative coordinator for 3 seasons earlier joining nan North Dakota State unit successful 2019.

RELATED: How agelong will Matt Campbell request to make Penn State a playoff team?

Savon Huggins: Running backs

Huggins is nan lone violative coach who didn’t activity astatine Iowa State past season. He joined Campbell’s unit aft 4 years astatine Boston College, which included nan 2023 play erstwhile nan Eagles ran for 2,584 yards and 4.71 yards per transportation (198.8 yards per game). 

Huggins’ stint pinch Boston College began successful 2021 arsenic nan adjunct moving backs coach, and he was promoted to moving backs coach successful 2022. Huggins began his assemblage coaching profession astatine Buffalo successful 2020, moving pinch nan receivers. 

Huggins was a apical imaginable from New Jersey, who Penn State recruited, but who yet chose Rutgers. He yet rushed for 842 profession yards pinch nan Scarlet Knights and missed his elder twelvemonth owed to an injury. Huggins past transferred successful 2015 to Northern Iowa, wherever he ran for 232 yards successful his last season. 

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