Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546586
1 8 O C T O B E R 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 Benjamin Brahmer's first catch as a Nittany Lion went for a touchdown. On a third-and-7 play in the second quar- ter, the senior tight end found some open space right in front of the goal post and grabbed a 9-yard scoring pass from red- shirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht, giving the Lions a 24-0 lead over Marshall in a game they would go on to win, 45-0. Brahmer came to Penn State to make plays like that. The Pierce, Neb., native had spent the first three seasons of his college career at Iowa State, where he won second-team All-Big 12 notice in 2025. In December, the Nittany Lions hired Matt Campbell away from the Cyclones to be their head coach, and Campbell brought offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser along with him to State College. Mouser doubled as Iowa State's tight ends coach, a role he was set to reprise with PSU. Brahmer wanted to keep playing for him, so he entered the transfer portal in January and quickly resurfaced with the Lions, joining a strong position group highlighted by redshirt junior returnee Andrew Rappleyea and another Iowa State expat, redshirt senior Gabe Burkle. A preseason Mackey Award watch- lister, Brahmer recently spoke to Penn State beat reporters about his transition to PSU. QUESTION: What did it feel like to score your first touchdown in Beaver Sta- dium? And can you walk us through the play and how you got open? BRAHMER: "It was a pretty good play call by Mouse. I was pretty open. "It was an awesome experience. To have all my family there and get my first touchdown in Beaver Stadium, and just to see the atmosphere there, it was really cool. I'm excited for the big games coming up to see what it's really like in there when it gets rowdy." QUESTION: You caught a lot of passes from Rocco Becht during your time at Iowa State. How has the relationship between you two guys grown over the past three or four years? BRAHMER: "We just trust each other and know that we're on the same page. I know what he's thinking at all times on the field. We've just been building that over the years, and we're having fun out there with each other." QUESTION: What has it been like to watch Rocco adapt from Iowa State to Penn State, and how do you think he handled his first game? BRAHMER: "He's really stepped up as a leader. He's grown in that role ever since he started at Iowa State. Just seeing him on the field [against Marshall] … he wasn't nervous out there. He was just go- ing out and playing his game. "I'm his roommate in the hotel pregame the night before, and we were both talking to each other. We were kind of nervous on Friday night, just because it's a new place, new stadium. You've got to get used to it. But when Saturday came, I could tell his nerves went away, and he was just ready to roll." QUESTION: What's it been like get- ting to know Andrew Rappleyea and working with him? And how have you guys quickly formed that relationship? BRAHMER: "He's a great guy. He's a hard worker, a really hard worker. I've been learning from him and just seeing his mentality every day and going out there with no fear and sprinting everywhere on the football field. It's really fun to watch him and learn from him." QUESTION: Coach Mouser and Coach Campbell are both really ap- preciative of the tight ends and spoke highly of you guys after the Marshall game. What are some of the values and approaches that they preach to the tight ends week in and week out? BRAHMER: "Mouse believes it, and we believe it — the tight ends are the heartbeat of the offense. If we don't have any juice in the tight ends room, the offense won't have it. So, no matter whether we're getting a ton of catches or we're just blocking that day in the game or in practice, we have to have the men- tality and a positive attitude as a tight end group to bring the offense together, because we're kind of like the center- piece of it." QUESTION: You've been around Coach Mouser for a while now at two different schools. What is it about him, both as your position coach and as your offensive coordinator, that you think al- lows you to be your best self? BRAHMER: "I think it's the trust he has in us tight ends to go out there and do our jobs and have fun. His mentality is just to be tenacious and run off the ball and have fun out there. I love playing under a coach like that because it means I don't have to overthink things. You just have to go out there and play." ■ Sitting Down With Senior Tight End Benjamin Brahmer Brahmer's touchdown catch in Penn State's opener against Marshall was the 10th of his career. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT