Penn State football is ushering in what it hopes is a program-altering era on Monday, as it introduces new head coach Matt Campbell to University Park. Though, before the team moves full speed ahead with its new leader, it had to handle an awkward situation. Fourth-year athletic director Pat Kraft addressed critical comments he made about Oregon and Michigan, which recently came to light via leaked audio. He sang a different tune at the press conference.
“What I will tell you about that is I'm embarrassed,” Kraft told reporters, per Daniel Gallen of 247 Sports. “I apologize to anyone I might have offended with that video that leaked. Personally, it's been challenging for me. But I am very passionate about Penn State. … I fell short of the standard that I should represent.”
The AD was having an “open and honest conversation” with nine or 10 football players when he made the now-viral remarks. Kraft labeled Oregon “frauds” and seemingly referred to the locals as “weirdos.” He also took aim at Michigan, calling the team “a joke” that cheated its way to a national championship during the 2023-24 campaign — obviously referencing the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the sport.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, the fan bases of those respective schools have plenty of material to counter Kraft's rant. Penn State football has consistently melted under the bright lights, repeatedly losing to Ohio State, Michigan and other high-profile squads. The underachievement reached a boiling point this year. A roster that many people dubbed the best in the country dropped an overtime heartbreaker to the Ducks at home and proceeded to lose five additional games in a row.
Pat Kraft, amid overwhelming public dissatisfaction, opted to fire HC James Franklin in October. Besides ripping the Lions' rivals, he made sure to emphasize the importance of picking the right man to lead this program. Everyone with an affiliation or allegiance to Penn State desperately hopes that Campbell is the one to raise the team back to truly towering heights. If he does, people will quickly forget about what Kraft said.
