Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542734
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K .C A R R @ O N 3 .C O M W ith the future of Penn State's quarterback position uncertain in late December, fans spent weeks debating the merits of the two apparent candidates for the job — Rocco Becht and Ethan Grunkemeyer. The former entered the transfer portal two weeks after Matt Campbell was hired by Penn State, while the lat- ter faced a stay-or-go decision after finishing his redshirt freshman season with a strong performance in the Pin- stripe Bowl. As expected, Becht opted to follow Campbell from Iowa State to Penn State, while Grunkemeyer headed to Virginia Tech to reunite with James Franklin and quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien. With Becht now the unquestioned starter, we can focus on what he brings to the Nittany Lions as a redshirt senior rather than measuring him against Grunkemeyer. One of the main assets Becht offers is deep-ball accuracy. While there will be plenty of quick-game, intermedi- ate passing and checkdowns under coordinator Taylor Mouser, the calling card of this offense will be downfield aggression, specifically to fast, explo- sive wide receivers. In this area, Becht shines. His deep-ball placement, tim- ing and accuracy are all exceptional. Yet deep passing plays sometimes fail. The receiver may not get the separation you want, or there may be a safety in the way. Becht's accuracy and timing can solve these problems, but he can't generate separation or create a step for the receiver. In those situa- tions, you can't run dead plays. The biggest issues with the Nittany Lions' offensive philosophy under James Franklin had to do with the idea that someone will be open on every play. That may have been true, but if someone is always open, you're prob- ably sacrificing some deep shots. Luckily, there is a fix for this. It's called the back-shoulder pass. While most col- lege quarterbacks struggle to throw into zone windows with anticipation, Becht shows the ability to hit his first read with quality timing. I don't think you'll find a better deep-ball passer than the three- year Iowa State starter. Confidence and moxie are positive traits for Becht. It's been a while since Penn State had a quarterback with both of those assets. Yet it's a double-edged sword. Becht's completion rate is 59.9 percent over the past two seasons. Of the 16 Big Ten quarterbacks with at least 200 passing attempts during the 2025 campaign, only two — Maryland's Malik Wash- ington (57.7) and Purdue's Ryan Browne (58.9) — had lower rates. In Becht's case, the problem is partly that he struggles to consistently hit the easy targets in the offense. In addition, he dealt with shoulder injuries last fall. While he played in all 12 of Iowa State's games as a redshirt junior, it's reason- able to think that he was hindered to some degree. However, those two factors do not account for all the misses in his film. He also throws off-platform too often when he doesn't need to, and he strug- gles with pocket poise and not overre- acting to phantom pressures. It's likely that Penn State will get the good and the bad next fall, sometimes on the same play. That willingness to throw off-platform also generates some in- credibly positive plays. Becht has shown that he's able to hit impressive shots with good arm strength from multiple plat- forms and from muddy pockets. There was a play from Iowa State's 41-27 loss to BYU in October that en- capsulates the entire Rocco Becht ex- perience. The Cyclones had a chance to complete a throw deep in Cougars terri- tory, but Becht moved around a little too much in the pocket, missed his first read and ended up scrambling in the oppo- site direction. Despite having to go deeper into his progression, he still found an open receiver inside the 5-yard line. The receiver ended up dropping the pass, but it was an accurate throw and could have been a touchdown. Becht didn't make the right read initially, but he made up for the mistake on the back end. The goal for Penn State is to build an offensive line around Becht that manages some of his issues. Keeping him clean and free of consistent pressure should help alleviate his worst tendencies. Still, it's on Becht to elevate his game in 2026 and prove that he's an NFL quarterback. With transfer receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell fol- lowing Becht from Iowa State to PSU, and rising sophomore Koby Howard coming back, his receiving options should be up to the task of getting him good looks. Then, it's bombs away. ■ Rocco Becht Will Bring Big-Play Ability To PSU Despite being bothered by shoulder injuries in 2025, Becht started all 12 games for Iowa State and threw for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETICS Upon Further Review