Penn State’s Special Teams Needed More Space, so Matt Campbell Renovated His Office

When he first walked into his office at Penn State’s football building, Matt Campbell immediately winced. The place was so big that it made him feel uncomfortable.

“There was so much space in there, I said, ‘Holy smokes, what are we doing here?’” Campbell recalled of that initial tour.

As he got to know the Lasch Football Building, Campbell also realized that it needed more meeting space, particularly for the special teams. Last year, the kickers, punters and returners watched film in whatever empty room they could find.

So after spring drills, Campbell had a construction crew build a wall in his office to make it smaller. And he turned that new space into a multi-purpose room, where the special teams now have some designated square footage to watch film.

Of course, the players reacted as you’d expect upon hearing about possibly the first head coach in history to reduce the size of their office.

“I honestly didn’t believe it,” kicker Ryan Barker said. “I was like, really?”

This is what makes those who know Campbell, like offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, simultaneously call him a “special, authentic guy” and “way funnier than people think.” What could be more humble, or potentially more funny to some people, than to give up office space for the kickers and punters? But that’s what Campbell did.

“We have limited staff room here, so obviously we would like to have a staff room and also use it for our punters and kickers and specialists to have a meeting room,” Campbell said. “So I think it’ll be a great opportunity.”

It already has been. Penn State’s specialists called it not only a welcome space for them to work but also a signal from their coach that they matter.

“It’s awesome,” Penn State special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said. “What a great message it sends to the players. It’s humility No. 1, and then selfishly, it’s the importance of special teams, and that’s so critical for these guys.

“A lot of these kids that come from high school and are maybe in their first year playing for us don’t understand how important special teams are, not only to the team’s success but for their future to play in the NFL and those things.”

Campbell is investing in a special teams unit that already has proven itself successful. During a 2025 season in which very little went right, Penn State’s special teams ranked No. 1 nationally, according to the ESPN College Football Power Index.

The Nittany Lions recorded an efficiency rating of 72.7, nearly 4 points higher than second-ranked Georgia Tech. Barker, a preseason Lou Groza Award nominee, tied for the nation’s best field-goal percentage last season (94.7 percent). He went 18-for-19 on field-goal attempts, missing only when a long-range attempt was blocked.

Penn State punter Gabe Nwosu finished with the Big Ten’s second-best average (46.03 yards), and long snapper Tyler Duzansky signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Blaise Sokach-Minnick, who will take over the long-snapping role, said Campbell’s gesture resonated with the players on special teams.

“It speaks for itself,” he said. “He’s always going to be a players’ first coach, and I’ve seen it over and over during the past seven months. He will do anything to make us successful, and we are at the core of who he’s trying to make better. It’s an awesome feeling knowing the level of investment that he has in us, and it’s awesome knowing that he has our backs no matter what.”

The new room isn’t fancy, Barker said. Just a few rows of chairs, some film-watching eqiuipment and enough space for everyone. “We don’t need to do all the flashy stuff,” he said.

But Barker also said that Campbell’s gesture generated an additional layer of pressure that the players are willing to absorb.

“It shows us that special teams isn’t a joke to him, and he’s not going to mess around with it,” Barker said. “And what goes with that is kind of feeling more responsibility to be as elite as possible. If he’s giving us as many advantages and as many resources as possible, we feel the weight on our shoulders to perform.

“If he’s going out of his way to do this stuff for us, it’s exactly what we want to see as a player. The fact that he’s instilling that belief system of, ‘Special teams matters to us from day one,’ that’s awesome.”

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