Drew Allar, Aaron Rodgers & the Future of Penn State Football | State Wide

Christian Hackenberg and Brian Tripp are back for Episode 2 of State Wide, your home for all Penn State sports coverage.This episode looks at the end of the 2025–26 Penn State athletics season, the modern challenge of building rosters through recruiting, the transfer portal, NIL, and revenue sharing, plus what Penn State programs can learn from a year filled with both adversity and major individual accomplishments.Hack and Trip also discuss Drew Allar’s next chapter with the Pittsburgh Steelers, what learning behind Aaron Rodgers could mean for his development, and the unique pressure that comes with being the starting quarterback at Penn State.Plus, Penn State volleyball’s Caroline Jurevicius joins the show to talk about winning a national championship, building her media career, the future of Penn State volleyball, and why Big Ten opponents should be worried. Penn State linebacker Kooper Ebel also joins later to discuss transferring from Iowa State, playing for LBU, learning from Dan Connor, and what fans can expect from the new-look linebacker room.Chapters: 0:00 Welcome to Statewide Episode 22:13 Penn State’s 2025–26 sports season comes to a close3:17 Penn State lacrosse, Princeton, and getting over the hump5:00 How college athletics must adapt to the NIL7:05 Why programs must “protect their floor”9:04 Penn State’s dominant year across multiple sports11:23 PAM Health partner message12:16 College sports as a business portfolio13:56 Michael Anderson’s historic Penn State baseball season18:19 Why recruiting still matters more than the portal21:39 Penn State volleyball player Caroline Jurevicius joins the show23:21 Penn State’s national title whirlwind24:51 Balancing volleyball, media, and school29:20 Megan Easy’s impact on the program35:42 Caroline’s dream job in sports media40:28 What fans can expect from Her State45:36 Hackenberg reflects on his Penn State experience50:18 How Aaron Rodgers can help Drew Allar with the Steelers53:14 Matt Campbell’s impact and Penn State’s new football energy55:56 Kooper Ebel joins the show57:00 Kooper Ebel on growing up in Iowa as the oldest of seven58:36 What LBU means to Kooper Ebel59:27 Learning from Dan Connor and Penn State linebacker legends1:00:07 Playing in D’Anton Lynn’s defense1:03:06 How the transfer portal rebuilt Penn State’s linebacker depth1:04:34 What’s next for State WideFOLLOW STATE MEDIA HERE:► TWITTER | ⁠https://twitter.com/StateMediaPSU⁠► TIKTOK | ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@statemediapsu⁠► INSTAGRAM | ⁠https://www.instagram.com/statemediapsu/⁠► YOUTUBE | ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@StateMediaPSU?sub_confirmation=1⁠► FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558183472272#PennState #PennStateFootball #WeAre