Matt Campbell made some history in his head coaching debut on Saturday, but his focus was all on doing whatever it takes for his program to record a win. Maybe Campbell took a few minutes to soak everything in as he made his head coaching debut with Penn State in a packed Beaver Stadium, but he did not seem to let that get in the way of the job at hand.
"It was really special to be a part of this for the first time, and you know so many people say how special it is to play football here, but it was really special to coach here today," Campbell said in his postgame press conference following Penn State's 45-0 victory over Marshall. "The environment was second to none."
As far as reflecting on the moment for Campbell, that was about as much as he was willing
to dish to the media before shifting his focus on to the success of the team on the field.
"I know everybody’s looking for that magic answer, and I hate to tell you this, that was awesome early, but now you’re responsible for the game and for me, this team, and earning the right to at least get to a game," Campbell continued to say in his postgame press conference. "I was so anxious of watching who this football team could be, and where we could respond, and obviously we know just a little bit, but we got great videotape evidence now in a chaotic game environment."
Campbell explained that he let one of his staff members, Jordan Hill, help take the charge in getting his team ready to play in front of the Beaver Stadium environment in a real game. With so many transfers and new faces on the roster, it helped for Campbell to have a former Nittany Lion who understands this place to deliver that message throughout the week.
"Jordan Hill leads, he works with our leadership group, with myself and Jordan, and I thought he did a great job on Monday talking to our players about this is a special place to play football, and it means something to this crowd and this fanbase," Campbell said in his postgame press conference."
"To want to come out and watch our fans and watch what this place feels like and maybe look up and you see those teams on the scoreboard or on our press box and what it's meant to our great coaches and players to play here," Campbell said. "You're just grateful to have the opportunity as a football team to continue to try to represent the past of this program."
Campbell will now get a chance to see what it is like to coach Penn State on the road in Week 2. Penn State travels to Philadelphia to take on Temple. Lincoln Financial Field will likely be a bit like a home-away-from-home environment, with Penn State fans helping to pack Temple's home stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Why Matt Campbell says his Penn State coaching debut was special
