Noah Pauley was among the five on-field coaching assistants Matt Campbell brought to Penn State. But the excitement didn’t last long. Almost two weeks back, Pauley followed the trend and joined the Green Bay Packers as their new WR coach. His exit was abrupt, as it occurred just a day after he was formally introduced to the media. However, instead of sulking, Matt Campbell found a replacement.

As per sources, Penn State is expected to hire Colorado State’s Kashif Moore as wide receivers coach. Moore is known to be both an outstanding player and a wide receiver specialist at his alma mater, UConn. During his 2023–2024 tenure at UConn, he coached Skyler Bell into becoming a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2025.

While Bell missed out on the award to USC’s Makai Lemon, it highlighted Moore’s wide receiving knowledge both as a tutor and player. Moore has a fixed spot among the top-10 wide receivers in UConn’s history. He completed his college career with 126 receptions for 1,699 yards and 13 touchdowns. During UConn’s first-ever bowl game appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, Moore was a key contributor.

Moore’s 62 receiving yards led the team that night against a powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners squad. By initiating his hire, Matt Campbell has brought in a hero for PSU’s WR room. It’s because long before one-handed catches became a weekly occurrence in the NFL, Moore completed it at the college level. In the 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl, UConn quarterback Zach Frazer threw a high, contested pass into the end zone.

Moore made a high jump and wrapped his left hand around the ball before a South Carolina defender got all over him. However, Moore didn’t lose control as he completed the 37-yard touchdown. Going to the pros, Moore didn’t lose his touch. During the 2011 NFL combine, Moore gained attention by recording the highest vertical jump of the year at 43.5 inches and running a fast 4.41-second 40-yard dash.

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Between 2012 and 2016, Moore played in two different leagues. He signed many lucrative deals with the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kansas City Chiefs. He even played for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL. After being cut by the Chiefs in 2016, he initially worked as a district manager for a fitness company for nearly three years. Moore began hic coaching career in 2019 when he started coaching the players of Conard High School.

At Happy Valley, Kashif Moore will get a lot of weapons to work with under offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser.

Jam-packed wide receiver room at Happy Valley

Kashif Moore will work with some elite talent at Penn State ahead of the 2026 season. Among the transfers he has:

• Chase Sowell (R-Sr.): A versatile wideout who previously played at Colorado, ECU, and Iowa State.
• Brett Eskildsen (Jr.): An honorable mention All-Big 12 pick in 2025 at Iowa State, who led the Cyclones in receiving yards that season.
• Keith Jones Jr. (R-So.): A high-potential transfer from Grambling State.
• Zay Robinson (R-Fr.): A former three-star recruit who redshirted at Iowa State in 2025.
• Karon Brookins (R-Fr.): A 6-foot-5 target who also redshirted at Iowa State during the 2025 season. 

Among the fresh talent, Moore will have two people at the wideouts. Omaha native, Amarion Jackson, flipped his commitment from Iowa State to PSU after Matt Campbell switched his job. After that, 6-foot-2 freshman from Virginia, Ben Whitver, also flipped his commitment from JMU to PSU.

Apart from the new faces, Kashif Moore will also have some homegrown talents to work with:

• Koby Howard (So.): Considered a “key returner,” keeping Howard at Penn State was one of Campbell’s initial priorities.
• Peter Gonzalez (R-So.): Looking to return to full health after injury-marred early seasons.
• Lyrick Samuel (R-Fr.): A talented recruit from the 2025 class who did not see playing time as a true freshman.