Penn State Coach Praises Signing of Former North Carolina Star

"You've got to be grateful you can do that in the college football landscape now," Connor said, according to Sports Illustrated. "That used to be more of an NFL thing to get help like that."

New Penn State linebacker Amare Campbell posted impressive numbers last season

What did Campbell do in Chapel Hill, North Carolina? He put up impressive numbers last season. Campbell, at 6-foot and 230 pounds, collected 76 tackles and 6.5 sacks. The junior also had 10.5 tackles for loss, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

Penn State head coach James Franklin wanted some verification around Campbell as a player. Well, he got some from former Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown and Tony Rojas, who plays for Franklin at linebacker.

"Guys that we trust vouched for him, so all those things kind of helped and, so far, so good," Franklin said. "Sometimes it’s hard to evaluate a linebacker without pads on. It’s a little bit easier to evaluate a wide receiver or someone like that, so we’ll see. But based on first impressions, it’s been good.”

It's clear that Campbell still needs to show a little more proof before Franklin and Connor feel completely solid about him. Early reactions, though, appear to give the new Nittany Lion some high grades.