When most fans watch a football game, they usually only remember a few highlight-reel plays and the final score.
When Tyrone Area High School graduate Brayden Sloss watches a game through the lens of his camera, he is looking for something more: the emotion on the sideline, the nervous energy before a snap, or the celebration after the final whistle.
A junior majoring in film at Penn State, Sloss works as a photographer, videographer, and multimedia journalist for Penn State Athletics.
“Emotion in sports is what it’s all about,” Sloss said. “Highlight reels can be fun to make, but trying to capture emotion is why I do it, and it is definitely my favorite part of the job because you get very unique experiences that you can’t get through other niches of videography.”
Sloss’s eye for storytelling has taken the 2023 TAHS graduate from filming Tyrone athletics at a nearly empty Gray Field during the COVID-19 pandemic to shooting Penn State football games in front of more than 110,000 fans at Beaver Stadium.
Long before he stood on the sidelines at Penn State, Sloss was experimenting with a video camera.
In elementary and middle school, he was “that kid” making videos for fun and spending hours editing just to see an idea come to life.
But by the time he reached high school, that early creative spark had faded into the background.
During his freshman year, when the COVID-19 pandemic kept students and fans out of the stands, it created an unexpected opportunity for Sloss.
Sloss volunteered to help live-stream Golden Eagle football games for the Eagle Eye, rekindling his interest in video and combining it with his lifelong love of sports.
Around the same time, Sloss also began his own media project, Tyrone Sports Central, an Instagram page dedicated to promoting Tyrone Area High School athletics.
What started as a way to help the community follow local sports quickly became a training ground for a future professional.
With each post, Sloss refined his eye for timing, framing, and storytelling. Tyrone Sports Central developed into a brand and became the first visible piece of a legacy he didn’t yet realize he was building.
By the time he graduated, Tyrone Sports Central had grown to around 700 followers.
Instead of letting the account fade, he chose a successor: Logan Rumberger, a younger student who shared his love of sports and drive to create.
“I think he’s done a great job,” Sloss said of handing the page over to Rumberger. “I wanted to give it to him specifically because I knew that he had the drive and the talent to run the page well and with passion.”
Rumberger took the responsibility seriously and never forgot who opened the door for him.
“Sloss really taught me the way,” Rumberger said. “He showed me how to pay attention to the small details and always strive to make my work better. He was a true mentor. I’m grateful for everything he taught me, and I’m glad to see him succeeding.”
When Rumberger graduated in 2025, he passed the account to its current manager, senior Brayden Parsons, who has helped grow the number of followers to more than 1,300.
Parsons is now mentoring junior Carter Gwinn to take over after he graduates, continuing the tradition that began with Sloss.
“Sloss really set the standard for what Tyrone Sports Central could be,” Parsons said. “Watching how he told stories through his videos and posts taught me that it’s not just about highlights, it’s about capturing the emotion behind every moment. I want every post to feel like it represents the energy and pride of Tyrone sports.”
Sloss also left his mark on the Eagle Eye, where his work helped raise expectations for sports video and student-created content.
“Brayden took our video production to new levels,” said Eagle Eye adviser Todd Cammarata. “My background is in writing and photography, so Brayden taught me more about video production than I taught him. He definitely raised the bar for sports videos and is one of the reasons that the Eagle Eye has been successful.”
Cammarata said Sloss’s impact on the Eagle Eye went beyond talent. His consistency, reliability, and willingness to put in the time set an example for the students who followed him.
“Brayden was a leader from his freshman to senior year,” Cammarata said. “He was always willing and able to go to games and take the time to edit his material, which is very time-consuming, especially when you are just learning.”
After high school, Sloss began his college career at Penn State Altoona, where he had the freedom to experiment, learn from his mistakes, develop his style, and build his portfolio while contributing directly to the campus athletics department.
His work caught the attention of Connor Gilbert, a communications adviser at Penn State Altoona.
“Brayden’s work was eye-catching,” Gilbert said. “Through both photos and video, he knew which moments to capture and highlight from games. The quality of his work was reflected in how successful it was on our social media platforms, accumulating thousands of views and creating engagement for our channels.”
According to Gilbert, Sloss arrived at Penn State already prepared to work at a high level.
“Brayden’s work was extremely professional. He was a very low-maintenance creator for us,” Gilbert said. “From the very start, he was able to generate high-level content with minimal instructions needed. He has a great attitude and really enjoys what he does, and that shows in the work he produces. He was able to come in right away for us and be an asset to our department.”
For Gilbert, Sloss’s ability to step into the role so quickly was a reminder that the experience students gain before college can make a major difference.
“I’ve found that hands-on experience in the fields of communications, videography, and social media is just as important, if not more important, in some cases, as classroom learning about those fields,” Gilbert said.
“Opportunities to get involved in these areas exist in our athletics department at Penn State Altoona, which we’re fortunate enough to say is growing. Current students here, as well as prospective students from Tyrone and other high schools, can get involved with us in these fields to gain valuable experience.”
After his sophomore year, Sloss transferred to the University Park campus and currently works for Penn State Athletics, where he has traded high school bleachers for one of the biggest stages in college sports.
Sloss has covered everything from Penn State football at Beaver Stadium to basketball and gymnastics at the Bryce Jordan Center to soccer at Jeffrey Field. He has been on the front lines of some of Penn State Athletics’ biggest moments.
“I’ve had the opportunity to shoot football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, volleyball, and gymnastics,” Sloss said. “I shoot all the home football games, and I shot all of the women’s soccer home games. I also shot the gymnastics meets in the winter, along with occasional games in other sports like men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.”
Even after covering so many sports, Sloss says that football is the one that best captures what he loves about sports media.
“My favorite sport to shoot is definitely football because of the atmosphere and emotion,” Sloss said. “Getting to shoot my first White Out game this year with 111,000 fans shaking the stadium was a really crazy experience. Also, being a lifelong Penn State fan, getting to film Kaytron Allen breaking the all-time Penn State rushing record was special.”
His adviser at University Park, Gillian Zahn, said being able to capture those moments is the result of Sloss’s preparation, skill, and willingness to learn.
“When Brayden first arrived on campus, he brought a level of previous knowledge that allowed us to rely on him very early on,” Zahn said. “Having basic skills allowed us to quickly assess what we could push further and what we needed to teach him from scratch. He had potential and showed interest and commitment, which has led him to be a go-to guy for us.”
In a rapidly changing field, Zahn believes students like Sloss will shape the future of sports media.
“The landscape of sports media changes almost daily,” she said. “Students like Brayden, who are committed to pushing further, teaching themselves more, and seizing every opportunity given to them, will continue to be leaders in the field.”
For all the big stages and big moments, Sloss’s motivation still comes back to something simple: helping people feel connected.
“I think it’s really cool to see people enjoying my videos, whether I am giving them content to watch or inspiring them to go out and pick up a camera themselves,” he said. “I also love talking with the upcoming creatives and giving them advice and helping them when I can.”
For current Tyrone students who want to follow a similar path, Sloss advises them to get involved with the Eagle Eye and never pass up an opportunity to learn.
“Just shoot as much as you can and take every opportunity because you never know where they could lead. I would also stress the importance of connections,” Sloss said. “You should always be seeking to connect with more creative people and expand your network.”
Cammarata agrees that the Eagle Eye is a great starting point for students considering a career in journalism, sportswriting, multimedia production, sports marketing, or social media.
“You can get a lot of experience and build a portfolio for college,” Cammarata said. “If you can’t schedule the class, talk to me, and we will get you involved somehow. Being a part of student media is a great way to find out if journalism, multimedia production, sports marketing, or any number of related fields is a good fit for you.”
From Tyrone’s Friday night lights to the packed stands of Beaver Stadium, Brayden Sloss is building a career in sports media rooted in emotion, mentorship, and community.
One frame at a time, he is showing that the best sports stories are not always found in the biggest plays or the final score, but in the moments in between.
Sloss’s work can be found on Instagram and TikTok at @slossgraphics.
Some of Brayden’s favorite photos from the past year are in the slideshow below:
