New quarterback Rocco Becht faces scrutiny with a troubling national ranking. Can he overcome injuries and lead Penn State's resurgence?
Last spring, Penn State expected to have some of the best quarterback play in the country with Drew Allar returning.
Allar only played in six games before suffering a season-ending injury to his left ankle. By the time he was ruled out for the season, the campaign was in the toilet, as PSU went 3-3 to start the year.
New head coach Matt Campbell brought quarterback Rocco Becht with him to Penn State. The Big Ten will be a big transition for Campbell and Becht this season.
Becht is recovering from the multiple injuries he played through at Iowa State last season. How he plays in the fall could determine if PSU can get through a favorable schedule and compete for a College Football Playoff appearance.
Bill Connelly had an interesting ranking for the new PSU quarterback. He thinks Becht is the No. 34 quarterback in the Power 4.
"Becht will lead the Penn State Cyclones in 2026 as one of what felt like 100 ISU-to-PSU transfers," Connelly wrote.
"At this point, we have a pretty good idea of how good he is: In three years starting in Ames, he produced QBRs of 69.1, 69.4 and 64.3, respectively, with completion rates that were always around 61% and interception rates that were always around 2.2%. The ultimate high-floor, not-so-high-ceiling guy."
It's a fair assessment for Becht. He's not expected to be at the top of the conference like Oregon's Dante Moore, Ohio State's Julian Sayin, or even Indiana's Josh Hoover.
Becht is planning to practice as hard as he can during spring football, given his recovery from a surgery to repair his left shoulder and a sprained AC joint in his right (throwing) shoulder.
“The process has been going really well,” Becht said earlier this year. “Shoulder's feeling great. Right shoulder fully healthy. And left shoulder is almost there. I’m expecting to be in play time for over half of spring ball.”
Becht threw for 2,584 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season despite the injuries. His best season came in 2024, when he threw for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.