Penn State tight end Andrew Rappleyea saw what was happening, and he wasn’t the only one.
Rappleyea noticed that one particular player on PSU’s offense was “hooping” during practice leading up to Saturday’s game against Purdue.
That player was Cam Wallace.
For His Community, For His Journey: Cam Wallace’s Perseverance Pays Off
Now, Wallace isn’t the type to go to the coaches and advocate for himself. But Rappleyea, who came into Penn State in the same 2023 recruiting class as Wallace and lived with him during the 2024 season that became a miserable one for both of them, knew that Wallace deserved a shot.
Wallace got a shot, and considering he torched Purdue for 135 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, it’s fair to say he made the most of it.
‘HE’S GOT TO PLAY HIM’
Penn State’s running back rotation is a collaborative effort between running backs coach Savon Huggins, offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser and, of course, head coach Matt Campbell.
Through four games of Big Ten play, the results weren’t there.
No back had broken off a run of 10 yards or more, and no back had rushed for more than 67 yards in any of the four games.
While all of this was going on, Wallace mostly stood on the sideline, totaling two carries in Big Ten play, with both coming against Wisconsin.
But Wallace stayed motivated, and it impressed his teammates.
“I’m saying, he can be hooping, man,” Rappleyea said. “He’s got to play him. And I mean, just watching him, like today, like I don’t think the first guy that hit him made a tackle one time.”
Indeed, Wallace forced six missed tackles per Pro Football Focus, and 107 of his yards came after contact, showing the country what Rappleyea, Campbell and company saw during practice.
‘THE SHINING STAR’
Campbell described what he saw from Wallace during practice.
“I think last Tuesday and Thursday, in the bye week, inside runs, scrimmage opportunities, this guy was the shining star,” Campbell said. “I said it Wednesday in our team meeting. I said it Thursday, and then we went out to practice again on Thursday, and again, he was the shining star.”
Campbell had a clear message for the coaching staff during their meeting Sunday.
“He’s going to play,” Campbell said. “This guy’s earned the right to get on the field. If you saw Cam tonight, (he) earned the right to play. He had the same kind of momentum for himself and had some really great plays.”
The biggest play happened on Penn State’s second drive of the game, where Wallace exploded for 48 yards to get PSU into the red zone, where it capitalized with a touchdown.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.That was Wallace’s official signal to those who weren’t watching practice that he had arrived.
“I think it’s been really awesome for him to get rewarded tonight with the game that he had,” Campbell said.
TEARS OF JOY
After the win, Wallace got emotional.
“He was crying in the locker room after,” quarterback Rocco Becht said.
The tears were about more than just one great day.
Two years ago, Wallace broke both of his legs on the same play against Kent State, and has already proven a lot by working to get back.
Becht was still at Iowa State when Wallace got hurt and came back, but has gotten to know him well over the course of this season.
“I’m just so proud of that dude,” he said. “He’s a faithful guy. He’s a humble guy, and he’s a teammate. And he just wanted to go out there and help this team win, and that’s what he did tonight.”
Wallace helped Becht a great deal as well.
With top receivers Koby Howard and Chase Sowell out with injuries, the Penn State passing game faced an uphill challenge.
Having a dominant running game made that challenge much easier to overcome, and Wallace and Carson Hansen (96 yards, TD, 17 carries) gave Penn State just that.
Seeing what the performance meant to Wallace rubbed off on Becht.
“Man, you love it,” he said. “You start tearing up yourself because the work that he’s put in, the work that I see that he puts in, never complains, never talks back to anyone, and he just continues to go the work and be a great teammate. And he showed out tonight.”
‘I CAN’T WIPE THE SMILE OFF MY FACE’
On many nights, Hansen would have been the story, going off for almost 100 yards and averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
But Hansen knows as well as anyone else that Saturday, Oct. 31 was Cam Wallace’s night, and he’s more than ok with it.
“I’m so proud of him,” he said. “I can’t wipe the smile off my face because he’s just he’s been through a lot.”
