Hutchens: I asked Matt Campbell the 2 toughest questions I could think of. Here's why

At Big 10 Media days Tuesday, Campbell’s first appearance as Penn State’s coach, he stuck to some of the phrases and sayings that Iowa State fans got familiar with over the past 10 years and that helped make him the winningest coach in school history.

“Young man” and “Young men” appear 21 times in Campbell’s transcript, often with the context of finding people who stand for the right things. Campbell said the word “culture” three times in his opening remarks, clearly still leaning on that concept. 

Those are the things observant ISU fans probably expected to hear from their former coach. I wanted to skip all of that flawless coach-speak and ask the questions I think, deep down, every Cyclone fan wants asked.

I’ve spent part of this summer writing about Campbell’s introductory PSU press conference, his food desert comments and what advice former Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht had for ISU quarterback Jaylen Raynor. Some Cyclone fans have responded to those stories with the same refrain: Why are you talking about Matt Campbell, Penn State and the players who left? They are no longer Cyclones and we don’t care about them. 

To that, I say the fact you are taking time out of your day to emphasize how little you care about Matt Campbell is evidence you do care about Matt Campbell. Also, it’s OK if you are interested in watching how a former head coach and 24 former players do with a new team. That interest doesn’t make you any more or less of a Cyclone fan. 

There is even an argument ISU fans should care about how PSU fares this season. The success of how 24 former Cyclones do in the Big 10 could have ramifications on how the public and voting committees view ISU’s football program. By no means is this a perfect comparison, but James Madison’s football team feels more respected and has more name recognition now that 13 of its players helped win the 2025 National Championship after transferring to Indiana. 

With that out of the way, here are the two strongest questions I could think to ask Campbell and his responses. Continue reading if you like, or don’t, after all, it’s a free country. My guess is you will keep scrolling.

Q: Could Iowa State have done anything to get you to stay?

A: “I think those are tough questions,” Campbell said. “We moved on so fast and moved ourselves forward. I just felt like the alignment and the unification of the Penn State program at the time was probably the right fit for myself and our family at that time.” 

My motivation for asking this question was because, to my knowledge, Campbell hasn’t been asked this directly in the seven months after he left ISU. It needed to be asked, even if it was probably unfair to expect Campbell to give something other than a boilerplate response. 

If there was something ISU could have done to keep him around, he’ll talk about it in a book after he’s retired, not at a podium with games kicking off in a month. 

Q: 10, 20, 30 (years down road) after you’ve finished coaching, would you ever want to come back to Iowa State for a game?

A: “I think the young men that I got the opportunity to coach, what we were able to do, our experience, the relationships, the friends we made as a family,” Campbell said, “to watch what we were able to accomplish as a football program was nothing short of special in my life. So there’ll be a point in time when we can look back and be a part of that, but I’m really proud of what it meant to coach at Iowa State and what it meant to coach the young men that I got the opportunity to have great relationships with.”

To my knowledge, Campbell hadn’t been asked this, either. The motivation here was to broach what kind of feelings Campbell still has for ISU. It sounds like there’s still warmth there and that a reunion at some point in the future is a matter of when, not if. 

Reading Campbell’s words likely stirs something up in Cyclone fans. Angry, sad, sentimental and bitter are all acceptable emotions. I’m not here to tell you how to feel, only that you shouldn’t feel guilty for caring.