Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
M A Y 2 0 2 6 2 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M rep. He's got an iPad at home, and he can continue to watch the film and just stay in touch." Being the leader of the offense, Becht has taken a strong interest in Manske's development and well-being. Despite the setback, he said his understudy's outlook has remained positive. "He's doing good," Becht said. "Obvi- ously, he wants to be out here. But I text with him every single day to see how he's doing, and he's in good spirits." Becht has had to show patience, too. When Campbell was asked in mid-April whether the veteran starter was healthy enough to play in a real game, he de- murred. However, he expressed confi- dence that Becht will be fully prepared to face the Thundering Herd on opening day. "He'll be ready to rock and roll," Campbell said. "The fact that we've gotten this much out of him [in spring practice] — we're way ahead of where we probably thought we would be. That's really big for him. His leader- ship out on the football field and in this locker room is critical for us." ■ Despite bringing two quarterbacks with them to Penn State, the former Iowa State offensive staff was in a bit of a pickle this spring. Both signal-callers — redshirt senior starter Rocco Becht and redshirt freshman backup Alex Manske — were limited due to offseason surgery. While Becht was back in action by the end of the sessions, Penn State started out with just four quarterbacks, led by former Division III signal-caller Connor Barry. The Nittany Lions tried to overcome that knowledge gap in part by using their "QB Lab," a project initiated by former head coach James Franklin. The lab is located in the Lasch Building and fea- tures high-tech equipment designed to help quarterbacks improve even when they're not on the practice field. The device that came in most handy this spring was a virtual reality headset running software developed by a German company called Cognilize. The firm describes its product as "an AI-powered software platform for immersive, neuroscience-driven decision-making training." Quarterbacks coach Jake Waters said the VR technology can help accelerate a quarterback's learning curve. "Every pass play that we're going to run at practice, we'll have it on that [device], so they can get a ton of reps before the actual practice," he said. "And then they're using it anytime they want. They can come in and grab it and take it. Connor had over 300-400 reps the first week and a half, just doing it on his own." VR headsets will never be able to replace real-world reps, but they can serve as a supplemental resource that helps quarter- backs visualize plays. The staff can also monitor a player's progress within the system, collecting data on their performance in the simulation. "We can track and log," Waters said. "We can go back and see them actually taking the reps, too, to see where they're throwing the ball, how they're reading it. It's a really cool thing." Becht was able to use the headset to stay mentally sharp while he was limited in what he could do in practice. "I can't get all the reps on the football field, but I can go on the VR headset and get the reps on there," he said. "You can change the speed so that you're going faster, looking at the defense faster, and processing the defense faster than you would on the field." Going forward, quarterbacks will be able to use the headset to prepare for games in every way, including getting used to the en- vironment. Waters said the technology is one of the most helpful tools he's had at his disposal. "We can get the stadium we're playing in, if it's at home or away, and the type of defenses [we'll face]," he said. "They can tweak the defenses, run the plays. And then, you don't get a million reps in practice, so it's important for the starter to go and get more. And then also, the guys who don't get that many reps in practice, they can still get those mental reps there." Quarterbacks will be able to work on more subtle aspects of the game, such as knowing where to look for the play clock or what the passing views will be like in the environment. The headset will even be able to simulate different weather conditions. Waters said he found the realism disorienting at first, but the device's usefulness was readily apparent. "It's like you're in Beaver Stadium," he said. "I almost threw up the first time because I'm not a virtual reality guy. You can spin around the whole way and see the whole stadium. If it's supposed to snow, they can put snow in there." It may not prepare quarterbacks for how cold that snow will feel when it's swirling around the stadium, but Penn State's VR tech- nology can get them ready in almost every other way possible. — Thomas Frank Carr 'QB Lab' Uses Technology To Help Prepare PSU's Signal-Callers Quarterbacks coach Jake Waters said Penn State's virtual reality headset can simulate defensive formations, stadium environments and even weather conditions. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER