Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545675
A U G U S T 2 0 2 6 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Q U A R T E R B A C K S / / / / / / / staff. And he's got the ability to use his voice to set the standard: What are the expectations? What are we doing, and how are we doing it? "I just couldn't think of a better leader of men to be able to link arms with and continue to build a football program." Penn State hasn't had a one-year starter at quarterback since 2005 when Michael Robinson led the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory over Florida State. Becht knows his mo- ment in Beaver Stadium's spotlight will be brief, and he's excited for it to begin. Campbell brought him to State College to have an on-field representation of how the program will operate going forward. The work ethic, the attention to detail, and the team-first mentality could come from any of the Iowa State transfers who had lived it in Ames in recent seasons. But no player embodies that vision more than Becht. Soon, it will be time to turn those attributes into action. ■ Quick Facts Position coach: Jake Waters (first season) Returning starter: None Departing starters: Drew Allar (35 career starts), Ethan Grunkemeyer (7) Projected new starter: Rocco Becht Top reserves: Connor Barry, Alex Manske Newcomers: Barry, Becht, Manske, Kase Evans, Peyton Falzone 2025 vs. 2026: Stock Up Or Down? Between them, Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 67.1 percent of their passes last year, totaling 2,439 yards, 16 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Except for the completion per- centage, which was actually quite good, those numbers weren't what Penn State was hoping for. But, of course, there were exten- uating circumstances, with Allar suffering a season-ending ankle injury just five games into the campaign and Grunkemeyer receiv- ing a sudden promotion to the starting lineup. It's unclear whether Grunkemeyer had any interest in staying at Penn State once deposed head coach James Franklin resurfaced at Virginia Tech along with quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien. But even if he did, it became a moot point when Iowa State's Rocco Becht announced in December that he planned to enter the trans- fer portal. With Becht clearly intending to follow Matt Campbell to Penn State, Grunkemeyer joined Franklin and O'Brien in Blacksburg. His exit cost the Nittany Lions a promising young signal-caller who could have stabilized the position for the next two to three seasons, but they gained the best-equipped player in all of college football to run the offense the way Campbell and coordinator Tay- lor Mouser want it run. If the Lions can keep Becht healthy, that was probably a pretty good bargain. X-Factor Can the Lions keep Becht healthy? There's no higher priority this season. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound redshirt senior is coming off a season at Iowa State in which he played through two shoulder injuries, one of which required offseason surgery. He's clearly got the kind of gamer mentality you want to see in a team leader. But if he's limited, or if he's out of action for any length of time, Penn State's outlook changes substantially. The Lions have only one experienced backup on the scholarship roster — senior Connor Barry, formerly of Christopher Newport University, whose most recent game was a 42-28 loss to Susque- hanna in the second round of the Division III playoffs last Novem- ber. Otherwise, it's freshmen all the way down. Alex Manske did see action in three games as a true frosh at Iowa State last year, but he missed spring practice with an unspecified health problem, and his availability this fall is uncertain. Freshman Outlook Three of the five quarterbacks on Penn State's scholarship roster will have freshman eligibility this fall, so we can't rule out the pos- sibility of a newcomer earning snaps. But the staff would surely prefer to redshirt true freshmen Kase Evans and Peyton Falzone. And while Manske is probably the early favorite for the starting job in 2027 when Becht and Barry will be gone, he needs to be medically cleared before the staff can think about putting him on the field this fall. It's not known when that will be. A three-star recruit out of Lexington, Texas, Kase Evans is one of three freshman quarterbacks on Penn State's scholarship roster. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS