Former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht transfers to Penn State
Rocco Becht follows Matt Campbell to Penn State.
According to ESPN, Becht will play his final season of college football at State College. Penn State hired longtime Iowa State coach Campbell after a 54-day coaching search that ended at the end of the regular season.
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Becht has been Campbell’s starting quarterback for the past three seasons. The son of former NFL tight end Anthony Becht appeared in 42 games in four seasons at Iowa State. In 2025, he completed 205 of 339 passes for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
His numbers were down from 2024, when Iowa State had current Houston Texans receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins on the roster. A season ago, Becht completed 271 of 456 passes in two other games for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Penn State entered the 2026 season in need of a starting quarterback as Drew Allar returned to school in 2025 for his final season of college football. However, Allar suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season and Ethan Grunkemeyer took over as the team’s starter.
Grunkemeyer entered the transfer portal himself following the Nittany Lions’ Pinstripe Bowl victory over Clemson.
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Becht will be a transition starter for Campbell at PSU with one season of eligibility remaining. He’s not the only quarterback coming 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 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 in nine games.
Iowa State went 8-4 in 2025 as Campbell finished a decade with the Cyclones. He is the winningest coach in school history with a career record of 72-55 since arriving 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 at midseason.
