Penn State Preview with Ty Hildenbrandt of the Solid Verbal

One of the longest-running college football podcasters in the country joins BWI for a full Penn State 2026 preview. Ty Hildenbrandt of the Solid Verbal — a Penn State graduate who has been doing the show since 2008 — sits down with Thomas Frank Carr to break down everything you need to know about the Nittany Lions heading into Matt Campbell's first season. Ty makes the case that Penn State is genuinely dangerous this year — a veteran roster, a favorable schedule, and a quarterback in Rocco Becht who may be the most experienced signal-caller in all of FBS. He projects Penn State going 5-0 before their first true test against USC at home, then a road trip to Michigan the following week. From there, the conversation covers the receiver room, Ben Bramer and the tight end engine, how to evaluate Michigan under Kyle Whittingham, USC's defense problem under Lincoln Riley, and where Penn State fits in the national playoff picture. 00:00:00 - Cold Open: Ty's Penn State Playoff Prediction 00:01:35 - Introducing Ty Hildebrandt of the Solid Verbal 00:02:20 - Ty's Penn State Journey: From Notre Dame Fan to Nittany Lion 00:03:37 - Was It Time for James Franklin to Go? 00:04:16 - How Campbell Fell Into Penn State's Lap 00:04:50 - Big 12 Offense at Penn State: Will the Translation Work? 00:05:57 - Rocco Becht: The Most Experienced QB in All of FBS? 00:06:50 - Building the Scheme Around the Player, Not Vice Versa 00:07:36 - Campbell Gets More With Less: His Biggest Coaching Strength 00:08:07 - Iowa State's Offense Left You Wanting — Will That Change? 00:08:54 - The Blended Family Roster: How It All Comes Together 00:09:43 - Campbell as a QB Developer: The Purdy & Rocco Template 00:10:21 - Rocco vs. Drew Allar: Two Very Different Situations 00:11:54 - Why Rocco Is the Leader: He Knows the System Cold 00:12:56 - James Franklin Just Wasn't Good at Developing QBs 00:13:51 - Sponsor: Way Fruit Farm 00:14:27 - D'Anton Lynn on Defense: Ty's Early Assessment 00:15:23 - Penn State's Defense: Better the Further Back You Go 00:16:47 - The New Defensive Line Template: Size Over Speed Rushers 00:19:00 - Schedule Breakdown: The Three Games That Matter 00:19:31 - Ty's Full Penn State 2026 Projection 00:22:23 - Carson Hansen as a Bowling Ball: What the Offense Will Look Like 00:23:31 - The Receiver Room & Why the Tight End Is the Engine 00:25:05 - Ben Brahmer & the Tight End Room: The Offense Runs Here 00:26:21 - Michigan Under Whittingham: How Beatable Are They? 00:27:14 - Bryce Underwood's Spring Game & What It Signals 00:30:03 - USC Preview: Lincoln Riley's Defense Problem & Gary Patterson 00:32:42 - 10-2 Might Not Make the Playoff: The Crowded Big Ten Problem 00:33:28 - National Playoff Picture: Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame & the Big 12 00:36:23 - How Ty Builds His Team Previews in the Portal Era 00:38:54 - Where Penn State Ranks in the Big Ten Tier System 00:39:16 - Washington as a Dark Horse: Most Underrated Big Ten Team? 00:40:12 - Brendan Sorsbu Ruling: A Really Bad Precedent for College Football 00:42:07 - Gambling in College Football: The Pervasive Culture Problem 00:44:25 - Where to Find the Solid Verbal Podcast Subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3KzEcqK Check out the site too! - https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/ Get 20% off and free shipping at Fanatics with our affiliate link: https://fanatics.93n6tx.net/OeZg2z Use Code BWI20 to get 20 percent off Rhoback’s Gameday Collection: https://rhoback.com/collections/pennsylvania-state-university-licensed-collection Want breaking news like this delivered straight to your inbox for FREE? Sign up today for the BWI breaking newsletter! You’ll also get daily updates with the top headlines of the day five times a week. Click here to sign-up! https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/newsletter/join/ #PennState  #NittanyLions   JOIN Blue White Illustrated: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/?plan=annual SUBSCRIBE to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and enable alerts - new highlights and videos uploaded regularly: https://www.youtube.com/c/bluewhiteillustratedvideo?sub_confirmation Bookmark our homepage: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/ Subscribe to BWI Magazine and Newsletters:  https://bluewhiteonline.com  Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BlueWhiteIllustrated/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/PennStateOn3 Music and SFX from Zapsplat.com  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.