Penn State opens its 2026 season in less than two weeks, and we still don’t know why this year’s captains will be.
In the past, Penn State would announce its captains toward the beginning of fall camp.
Now, it’s close to the end, and they haven’t been announced yet.
Matt Campbell explained why at his most recent media availability late Tuesday morning.
WHAT CAMPBELL SAID
“I think we’re still working through how we’ll get to that point,” Campbell said. “At some point, we will have our team vote, and really probably our coaching staff vote. Last year’s situation was unique because we had so many guys get votes that I felt like that captain’s thing, the team always tells you where that’s at. So I think when the time is right here, we’ll have that, obviously, at some point here before the start of the season.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I’d like to get through this week of practice and give the most clarity of who’s practiced to the standard, who’s lived to the standard, who understands the standard of everything we’re doing in our football program. And then, try to make the best decision for the betterment of the team.”
HE HAS OPTIONS
Penn State has plenty of viable candidates to be captains this season. Although there are a lot of new faces, a lot of them have plenty of college experience, such as quarterback Rocco Becht, who will almost certainly be a captain.
Becht is entering his fifth college football season and his fourth as a starting quarterback. He and defensive end Caleb Bacon— who also transferred to Penn State from Iowa State— were the Cyclones’ two permanent captains last season.
The other two captains were added on Gameday, rotating each week.
