Former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht transfers to Penn State

6 days ago 2

Rocco Becht is following Matt Campbell to Penn State.

According to ESPN, Becht will play his final season of college football in State College. Penn State hired Campbell, the longtime Iowa State coach, after a 54-day coaching search that concluded at the end of the regular season.

Becht has been Campbell’s starting quarterback for the past three seasons. The son of former NFL tight end Anthony Becht has appeared in 42 games across four seasons at Iowa State. In 2025, he was 205-of-339 passing for 2,584 yards and 16 TDs with nine interceptions.

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His numbers were down from 2024, when Iowa State had current Houston Texans wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins on the roster. A season ago, Becht was 271-of-456 passing across two more games for 3,505 yards, 25 TDs and nine interceptions.

Penn State was entering the 2026 season needing a starting quarterback as Drew Allar returned to school in 2025 for his final season of eligibility. However, Allar suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season and Ethan Grunkemeyer took over as the starter.

Grunkemeyer entered the transfer portal himself after the Nittany Lions’ Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson.

Becht will be a bridge starter for Campbell at PSU with one season of eligibility remaining. He’s also not the only quarterback coming over from Iowa State, either. Alex Manske, a three-star recruit in the class of 2025, is also transferring to Penn State.

Additionally, tight ends Gabe Burkle and Benjamin Brahmer have committed to Penn State from ISU. Brahmer was the team’s leading receiver with 37 catches for 446 yards and six scores, while Burkle had 26 catches for 302 yards over nine games.

Iowa State went 8-4 in 2025 as Campbell completed a decade with the Cyclones. He’s the winningest coach in school history with a career record of 72-55 since coming over from Toledo after the 2015 season. Penn State hired Campbell to replace current Virginia Tech coach James Franklin after Franklin was fired following a three-game losing streak that dropped the Nittany Lions to 3-3 halfway through the season.

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