Rocco Becht, a familiar face in Penn State head coach Matt Campbell's system, steps into a starting role. Meanwhile, a heated quarterback battle brews elsewhere following coaching changes.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to give the starting quarterback job to Rocco Becht, who transferred form Iowa State after an 8-4 season.
Becht is familiar with new head coach Matt Campbell's system. Alex Manske also transferred to PSU from ISU. He's expected to earn the starting role before ethe 2027 campaign.
Ethan Grunkemeyer likely would have been an option for Penn State this season to follow in the footsteps of Drew Allar had the program not fired James Franklin last season.
Grunkemeyer followed Franklin to Virginia Tech, and he's locked in a quarterback battle before training camp starts this summer.
Paul Myerberg of USA Today noted that Grunkemeyer is facing stiff competition for the starting job by Troy Huhn.
"The Hokies went into spring workouts with Grunkemeyer as the heavy favorite for the starting job," Myerberg wrote. "The sophomore was the primary starter at Penn State last season after Drew Allar's injury and followed former coach James Franklin, joining a quarterback room that lost starter Kyron Drones to graduation and needed an overhaul.
"But even as Grunkemeyer remains the odds-on pick to start the opener, Tech will enter Saturday’s scrimmage with a tighter competition thanks to Huhn’s strong performance in the spring. A true freshman, Huhn was verbally committed to Penn State but switched to Tech after Franklin was hired."
Earlier this spring, Franklin made it clear that he wants to delay naming a starting quarterback as long as possible, hoping to increase competition.
"I also want to keep competition at every position as long as we possibly can, going into the season," Franklin said, via Sports Illustrated. "I just think that's in everybody's best interest. Once you make that decision, you say that the second team and the third team guys should still be preparing like the starter, but it usually takes some time to get over that and then move on.
"So I'd like to keep it alive as long as we possibly can, not just at the quarterback position, but really in every position. And the reality is, it's not like I have to say something, right? The guys see it, right? They kind of have an idea."
It's hard not to think that the current quarterback battle with Huhn and Grunkemeyer at VT is exactly what Penn State would be dealing with if Franklin hasn't been fired.
Fortunately, Penn State has a starter ready to go in Week 1 via Becht.
He's coming off two shoulder injuries which has slowed his development this spring, but he's a savvy veteran that should have the team win games.