Newcomer Rocco Becht has been on the shelf all spring, but what he has seen from one of his weapons has him excited.
It's hard to be the new guy in any scenario. Whether it is the new kid at school, the new kid in the neighborhood, or the new kid on the team its tough. For Penn State's new quarterback, Rocco Becht, it is especially hard because he is expected to take over as the man for the Nittany Lions.
Becht and new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell have been hand in hand over the last few years. Becht was Campbell's starting quarterback for the Iowa State Cyclones for the past three seasons.
His time at Penn State has gotten off to a rough start as he has actually had to sit out all of Spring Ball as he recovers from shoulder surgery. So, as an invested bystander, Becht has been able to take in his new team and his new environment.
When asked about it, Becht called out one player in particular. That player was wide receiver Koby Howard.
Howard is a very promising young prospect who, by all accounts, has taken the proper next step in his development.
Howard is entering his second season in Happy Valley and is looking to make an impact. He hails from Pensacola, Florida, and in his first season in 2025, he notched just seven catches but did get 133 yards on the season.
He appeared in five games last year, and his lowest yard total was just 14 yards against Iowa. He had catches against Ohio State and Indiana. His best game was in the Pinstripe Bowl against the Clemson Tigers, where he had two catches for 34 yards.
Becht, who has been around the block more than a few times, knows what a good player looks like and, more importantly, knows a hard worker when he sees one, too.
Becht's exact quote about Howard was, "What he's been able to put on film over the past couple of practices has been unbelievable. The work I've seen from him since I got here is off the charts."
This is important for Penn State because the story around the Nittany Lions has always been that they don't have legitimate threats at the wide receiver position. That has been an area that they have lacked, and the hope is that under Campbell, those days are going to become a thing of the past. Koby Howard might be the first player to help get them there.
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