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STATE COLLEGE -- Penn State football coach Matt Campbell was asked the other day to name his top performers of fall camp, and he proceeded to list half the roster.
"We're going to rotate a lot," he said leading into today's season opener with Marshall (3:30 p.m., FS1). "We'll play a lot of guys."
With so much roster transition - more than half the team is new, including 24 transfers who came with Campbell from Iowa State - fans will definitely need a roster to become familiar.
In fact, this was probably a year to depart from tradition and put the names on the jerseys.
As for who the Lions will count on when it matters most, that will be a work in progress.
They should be able to manage their non-conference schedule - Marshall, at Temple and Buffalo - and distribute plenty of playing time.
The Big Ten schedule that dawns with Wisconsin's visit on Sept. 27 will begin to provide an inkling on where Campbell and his staff see this roster.
"I've always felt like the more guys that can have a role on your football team, the healthier your football team is," he said. "Who, when the game is on the line and it matters the most, is in the game?"
One of the buzzwords Campbell embraces is "trust."
He's based his program around it ever since he became head coach at Toledo in 2011 - at 32 years old, the youngest in the nation at the time among FBS schools.
"From the first team meeting that I ever had here, to the start of fall camp, to every kid and every parent of our program, everybody wants to know who's going to play," he said. "The number one value is you have to be trusted. There's like six categories of who plays, but the first one's 'trusted.'''
Campbell believes trust is earned and stems well beyond the field.
"I think 'trusted' means your ability to do everything right on and off the football field," he said. "We're not going to win at all costs, we're going to win the right way, we're going to win with guys that do the right thing, that carry themselves the right way on the field, but they carry themselves right off the field. If not, you're only going to get beat anyway."
While trust will determine who plays and when, today will also bring a first glimpse into Campbell's game-day style and strategy - how he uses timeouts, how aggressive he is on fourth down, playcalling efficiency, substitution patterns, management of the kicking game and sideline demeanor (with players and officials) along with, finally, post-game interviews.
Penn State followers aren't used to much coaching turnover so all that's new will be interesting.
NITPICKING
• The "Paterno Experience Room," just unveiled, makes sense in PSU's all-sports museum and should help the university further heal the wounds of the brutal ending to JoePa's career and life. Mistakes were made, obviously well exposed and paid for. The replica of his office, his desk and artifacts, will draw traffic to the museum, and if the decision comes to restore placement of the statue, this would be the ideal location.
• Campbell, incidentally, has ingratiated himself with the Paterno family: He has a framed picture of Paterno in his office and invited Sue Paterno to address the team, which she did last week.
• Unlike PSU's last full-time head coach, expect Campbell to get a huge pre-game reception today when he's introduced on the scoreboard with the starters.
• Given all the angst about James Franklin's teams lacking a vertical passing game these last few years, it would be funny if the Lions' first play today has Rocco Becht chucking one deep.
• Let's see if the coaching transition affects Pat Kraft's visibility. He stood in very close proximity to Franklin during games for the past few years, often in the same TV shot, which seemed to be a little much.
• TCU didn't look good in last week's opener vs. Bill Belichick and North Carolina. But the Horned Frogs were driving in the second half when they were flagged 15 yards after one of their receivers signaled first down following a reception. It's a point of emphasis with officiating this year, and keep an eye on it considering most receivers have done it for years.
Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.