Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
MAY 2026/VOL. 41, NO. 9 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stu Coman Cathy Jones Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Manuel, Mark Selders, Frank Hyatt COVER PHOTO Steve Manuel DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Beverly Taylor MARKETING COORDINATOR Elena Rehberg ADVERTISING SALES Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 421-7751 Shelby Cragg, Cathy Jones, Elena Rehberg BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Co., a division of On3 Media, Inc., located at 922 Broad St., Suite D, Durham, NC 27705. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $75.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address correc- tions/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription information call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON ROCCO BECHT'S OUTLOOK COMING OUT OF SPRING PRACTICE … Rocco just seems gritty. He reminds me of Trace McSor- ley (though maybe a little less intense). Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I am bullish on Rocco this season, and I think he could be one of the top performers at quarterback in the conference. — gavin.psu26 Not sure about his talent ceiling, but the kid is a baller. He played the majority of last year with a partially torn la- brum in his nonthrowing shoulder and then the latter part of the season with an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder. The fact that he played through these injuries tells me a lot about his character. I am very interested to see him perform next season in the Big Ten. — Itraindogs I grew up playing sports with guys [who were reminis- cent of] Matt McGloin, Trace McSorley and Rocco Becht, and they are the exact kind of guy I want leading my team as QB. These are gamers. They are usually underestimated and always punch way above their per- ceived weight class, and I think this is key to motivating the rest of the team. — Karl_Havok I think between Becht and the new wide receivers and coach, our passing game should be much better. Also looking forward to what the tight ends can do. — bbrown ON THE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM'S ONGOING STRUGGLES … Penn State, by neglecting the men's and women's basketball programs for many years in my opin- ion, will eventually lose revenue from this neglect. The Big Ten just received $70 million from the NCAA for the men's and women's participation in both 2026 NCAA basketball tournaments. That $70 million will be split equally among the 18 conference schools. The Big Ten has discussed unequal revenue sharing that will eventually come to pass. I can eventually see the other programs in the Big Ten and the Big Ten itself saying, why are we giving Penn State a share of this revenue when they make no effort to field competitive teams in the conference that can get into and participate in the NCAA tournaments? — UNCPSUFAN We've gone from simply being a bad program to now a perpetual loop of starting over each sea- son. The exodus of our young roster in the past two seasons is enough proof that it's a waste of time/ money/energy for us to recruit kids out of high school. Any players who have potential are going to portal out after their freshman season. Besides, it's been well demonstrated that we can't compete in the Big Ten with 18-year-old bod- ies. We should pursue an all-portal and European pro team. We'll acquire mostly average players, at best, but how much worse can it get than 3-20 (counting the losses to Pitt and Providence) replete with multiple halftime blowouts. — DSCP Basketball is never hopeless. [Fortunes] can change on a dime with one right roster build. — WeAre06 I wonder what the average Penn State fan would sacrifice in terms of football wins to have men's basketball go from basement dweller to NCAA Tournament team. My guess is that it's between 0 and 1. — 432PSU The thing is, you don't have to sacrifice. Basketball is a revenue sport. — SeamusPSU It's not about sacrificing wins of one for the other. It's about maximizing your ability to generate revenue. A winning men's basketball team makes more money than it spends, including NIL. It improves exposure for the university, which improves revenue through corporate sponsors and NIL support. — Locopsu The answer is right in front of us: Hire the Iowa State coach. It's worked for wrestling, looks positive for football. What the heck? — o_C1976 4 M A Y 2 0 2 6 Becht is set to take the reins of Penn State's offense after serving as the starting quarterback at Iowa State the past three seasons. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER