Former Penn State players Dan Connor and Trace McSorley, assistants on James Franklin's 2025 staff, will work with the linebackers and quarterbacks, respectively, on Matt Campbell's 2026 staff.
The other was a three-year starter at quarterback and a leader on the Nittany Lions’ 2016 Big Ten championship squad.But it did not take new Penn State coach Matt Campbell long to see what kind of impact the duo could make on the 2026 team, and future PSU teams.
Connor, the Lions’ 2025 linebackers coach, will assist Tyson Veidt in coaching PSU’s linebackers this season. McSorley, who holds the title of assistant quarterbacks coach, will work with PSU quarterbacks coach Jake Waters. Campbell, who spent 10 seasons at Iowa State before becoming the permanent successor to James Franklin, went into detail on Wednesday about why he prioritized keeping Connor and McSorley at Penn State. “I think one of the things that I really enjoyed after our press conference, the last time I saw everybody, was really … to interview and to talk to every single coach in our program,” Campbell said. “I met with Dan Connor and it took two seconds to say, this human gets it. He is Penn State football, what he stands for, what he talks about excellence looking like, what’s gone well, what are some of the areas that need to move forward.”Connor finished his PSU playing career with 419 tackles. He played in the NFL with Carolina, Dallas and the New York Giants. After coaching stops at West Chester, Archbishop John Carroll High School and Widener, Connor joined Franklin’s staff as an analyst in 2022. He was elevated to linebackers coach last season. “I think Dan was so articulate in where this program is, why he loves Penn State football, what it did for him, and honestly, how he envisions this program moving forward,” Campbell said.Former Penn State quarterback and current assistant coach Trace McSorley, his wife Kasey and thier son Cade on the field after the Villanova game on Sept. 13, 2025. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.comMcSorley spent time in the NFL from 2019 through 2024 with Baltimore, Arizona, New England, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington.Campbell believes McSorley could be a huge asset for veteran PSU quarterback Rocco Becht, who was a three-year starter for Campbell at Iowa State.“And in my mind, I kept thinking about him and Rocco have very similar traits of, like, the human being and what they’re about and the impact that he could have in a positive way on Rocco. “There’s been times I’ve to Trace, like, ‘Man, what have you seen? Give me some insight on your thoughts on what’s gone well, what hasn’t gone well, how do we move ourselves forward’.”“ Alan Zemaitis has done the same thing, in terms of the recruiting office. We were just talking about Coach Paterno’s camps back in the day and what that looked like and evaluating the East Coast recruiting and some of the things that he talked about, to just the impact that he’s already had on recruiting and what it means to play here. “So, we’re really fortunate. The gentlemen that decided to stay, they’ve been huge inputs, and we’re really grateful that those guys have stayed put because to me, I think there’s a great identification on how do you build program, what do you believe in. Those guys embody it. “For me to be able to have that wisdom, to have that experience, to have living proof of what the power of Penn State excellence looks like on our staff.”
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