Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
2 8 M A R C H 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 2 6 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / passer (redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht), leading rusher (senior running back Carson Hansen), top four pass catchers (junior receiver Brett Es- kildsen, senior receiver Chase Sowell, and senior tight ends Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle) and top four tacklers (junior safety Marcus Neal Jr., senior linebackers Kooper Ebel and Caleb Ba- con, and senior safety Jamison Patton). The Nittany Lions' highest-rated incoming player according to On3 is Brahmer, who ranks 29th overall. One of three tight ends to arrive from Iowa State, Brahmer caught 37 passes for 466 yards and 6 touchdowns for the Cyclones in 2025, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. Brahmer and his fellow Penn State- bound tight ends — Burkle and redshirt sophomore Cooper Alexander — de- cided to join the Nittany Lions even though they'll have to compete for snaps with a rising star in redshirt ju- nior returnee Andrew Rappleyea. The mixture of new and returning talent highlights one of the challenges that Penn State will face this year as it works to essentially blend two teams from different conferences into a cohe- sive whole. Another Iowa State expat, offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, will be responsible for the tight ends. His message to Brahmer, Burkle and Alexander is that no preferential treat- ment will be given to players based on their previous relationship with the coaching staff. "We told them, 'We're not at Iowa State anymore, so don't come here and expect anything,'" Mouser said. "And they haven't. They know the deal. You're going to have to work for every- thing here. And we told that to the [re- turning] Penn State guys, as well." The Reviews Are In The Nittany Lions did not end up with one of the country's more highly rated classes, at least according to On3. They came in 45th overall and 11th among Big Ten teams in the site's portal rank- ings, which use a proprietary algorithm to determine "if a school has improved its overall team talent, stayed the same, or declined in talent during the transfer window." Nevertheless, PSU was cited by On3's Pete Nakos as one of 10 portal winners. Nakos highlighted Becht, Brahmer and Neal, noting that they will give Campbell "a core of experienced talent to lean on who know the system and culture he is trying to build." Meanwhile, ESPN ranked Penn State's class No. 6 nationally behind LSU, Texas Tech, Indiana, Texas and Ohio State. La- beled "the nucleus of the group," Becht figured prominently in writer Craig Hau- bert's analysis. "He started 39 games for Campbell at Iowa State," Haubert wrote. "Penn State will entrust the offense to him, including checks at the line, because he's a quick processor who is also comfortable using D-III Quarterback Will Look To Compete For Backup Job In addition to its 37 scholarship newcomers, Penn State landed three walk-ons during the January transfer window, the most prominent of whom is Division III All-America quarterback Connor Barry. Barry is a former On3 three-star prospect from Vienna, Va., who started his college career at Appa- lachian State in 2022. He transferred to Christopher Newport University the following year and went on to enjoy a record-setting career with the Captains. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Barry was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association last season and was a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is Divi- sion III's answer to the Heisman. He completed 67 percent of his attempts for 2,866 yards, throwing 35 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions for a team that went 10-1 and reached the second round of the D-III playoffs. Barry also had 257 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. "Connor and our offense had a historic season, and he did a great job utilizing his talent and the weapons he had," Christopher Newport head coach Paul Crowley said. In three seasons at CNU, the last two as the team's starting signal-caller, Barry set program records for touchdown passes (55), pass efficiency (185.2), average yards per pass (10.5), average yards per completion (15.9) and passing yards per game (185.4). Prior to his visit to State College in January, Barry told BWI that the Penn State coaching staff was looking for him to compete for a backup job. He has one season of eligibility remaining. Penn State will carry five quarterbacks this fall, but only one of them — redshirt senior transfer Rocco Becht — has any significant experience at the FBS level. Alex Manske, a former four-star recruit, followed Becht from Iowa State to PSU and will be a redshirt freshman this coming fall. The Lions' other quarter- backs are true freshmen Peyton Falzone and Kase Evans and redshirt junior walk-on Jack Lambert. The other walk-on players who joined PSU via the transfer portal in January are safety Hunter Sowell, formerly of Iowa State, and offensive lineman Hunter Albright, formerly of Saint Francis (Pa.). Both will be redshirt freshmen in 2026. Listed at 5-10, 170 pounds, Sowell is the brother of redshirt senior receiver Chase Sowell, another Iowa State import. The Humble, Texas, native played in only one game during his tenure with the Cyclones, seeing action against Kansas last fall but not recording any stats. Albright did not play for Saint Francis in his first season after arriving from nearby Hollidaysburg, Pa. He is listed at 6-5, 310 pounds. — Sean Fitz Connor Barry set multiple program records during his three seasons at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. PHOTO BY SYDNEY SMITH/CNU ATHLETICS