Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
3 0 J U N E / J U L Y 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 caliber passer who can compete at the highest level of college football. This offseason, Becht spoke about re- turning to the mindset he had in 2024 — having fun and loving the game. While that likely refers in part to his Cyclones going 11-3 rather than 8-4 with a four- game losing streak, he still has room to grow. In 2024, with future NFL receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel around him, Becht managed a 59 percent com- pletion rate. Even using PFF's adjusted completion percentage, which accounts for throwaways, drops and other non- accuracy factors, he completed just 69.3 percent of his attempts, ranking 75th out of 94 college quarterbacks tracked. It might seem contradictory, but Becht is far too accurate to be that inaccurate. His throwing motion and fundamentals are sound, but his pocket mechanics and throwing platform can get sloppy when he's out of rhythm. This is the season to prove he can command the pocket consistently and deliver the football to his playmakers without the unnecessary misses that have held him back. DEFENSE Yvan Kemajou | DE Take your pick of the defensive ends; Penn State needs all of them to step up. Campbell and his staff did an excellent job mixing veterans and developmental players at nearly every position on the roster this offseason. The one spot where they failed to land a proven veteran was off the edge. Kemajou, a 6-3, 254-pound sopho- more, is the team's best all-around pros- pect in that context. He has the size to fit new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn's scheme. While he isn't as twitchy or explosive as redshirt sophomore Max Granville, he is a fluid and flexible edge rusher, boasting a combination of body control and strength that can translate to explosive speed with the right technique. It won't happen all at once, but Ke- majou needs to develop the pass-rush moves to win with his hands and his mind. The complication is that he missed part of spring practice with an injury, costing him valuable develop- mental reps. Making up for that lost time is critical. Marcus Neal Jr. | S Penn State is certainly in a reasonable spot if a player of Neal's caliber can make this list. The pseudo-linebacker is a force in the run game and figures to be a prom- inent presence around the line of scrim- mage. A 6-1, 218-pound junior, he can blitz, play gaps in the run game and chase plays down from anywhere on the field. That said, Neal has areas to address. His coverage skills need to take a step forward in his junior season to give Penn State more flexibility in its back-end looks. Lynn can scheme around Neal by placing him in specific roles within coverage, but at some point, opposing offenses will test him in one-on-one or deep coverage situations. Neal hasn't seen that very often in his career, and when he has, he's struggled. Players without elite speed can still play fast with a strong understanding of their assignments and the ability to anticipate. Neal has the football DNA to become that kind of player with more time in the system. Feedback from the spring suggests he turned a corner as camp progressed and began playing with greater consistency. Tony Rojas | LB Rojas has had a bumpy three-year run at Penn State. He flashed elite traits in his freshman season, but since then it's been nothing but injuries and frustration for the redshirt junior. Rojas has said he'll be fully cleared this summer to return from the knee injury that forced him to miss the last nine games of PSU's 2025 season. There are certain things in the weight room he can't fully compensate for, but he can put in the extra work to get comfortable with his role in Penn State's defense. Once Rojas masters his primary as- signment — which he was at least able to work on in noncontact periods this spring — Lynn can begin deploying him as a chess piece across the defense. It may feel unfair to say, since players can't control injuries, but Rojas needs to stay healthy and return to form this summer. Or as close to it as possible. Daryus Dixson | CB The Penn State defense is actually in a fairly strong spot on paper, so we're get- ting into nitpicking territory once we get beyond Rojas. Dixson had a strong freshman sea- son and broke out by year's end, filling in capably for departed transfer cor- nerbacks ahead of him in the Pinstripe Bowl. Now he needs to keep that mo- mentum going in his sophomore sea- son. He's learning a new defense that may ask more of him, including playing press-man coverage. Based on what he's shown so far, Dix- son has the potential to be an All-Big Ten player at some point in his career. Hav- ing two lockdown corners on the outside would give Lynn a significant advantage — and Dixson is the key to making that a reality. After showing potential as a true freshman, Daryus Dixson is projected to start at the boundary cornerback position. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER