Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell's former quarterback, Rocco Becht, plans on entering the transfer portal.
As Penn State Nittany Lions’ newly-hired head coach, Matt Campbell, continues to fill out his coaching staff, the next step for the highly-touted coach will be to load up his roster for the 2026 college football season through the transfer portal.
Luckily for Campbell and company, a familiar face has emerged as a prime candidate to become the program’s next starting quarterback.
According to On3Sports’ Pete Nakos and Brett McMurphy on Saturday morning, former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht is planning to enter the transfer portal.
Becht, as the starting quarterback for the Cyclones over the past three seasons, put together a solid career under Campbell, throwing for 9,201 yards and 64 touchdowns. In addition to his strong numbers in the passing game, the veteran playmaker also managed to record 497 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
His dynamic play on offense played a key role in Iowa State’s incredible 2024 season, as he led the program to an 11-3 record and a bowl game victory over the Miami Hurricanes.
Now, with Becht entering the portal for his final season, many Nittany Lions’ fans have begun to speculate that he could find his way to State College due to his connection with Campbell.
Former five-star quarterback Drew Allar was Penn State’s starting quarterback entering the 2025 season. Still, after suffering a season-ending injury, Allar is out of eligibility and will shift his focus to the 2026 NFL Draft.
This leaves the door open for Campbell to land his future starting quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason.
One name that has begun to gain traction this week has been former Penn State and Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula, after multiple reports surfaced that he intends to enter the transfer portal.
Pribula spent two seasons as the backup behind Allar, but the former in-state recruit could return home with Allar out of the picture in 2026.
As for players who are currently on the roster, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer showed plenty of promise once he took over the starting quarterback role this season.
The former four-star prospect helped the Nittany Lions win their last three games of the regular season to make them bowl eligible, despite the brutal 3-3 start to the season.