Former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht has committed to Penn State out of the NCAA transfer portal, following coach Matt Campbell there. He was considered one of the top available quarterbacks in the portal.
Becht is coming off third season as the starter for the Cyclones. His numbers took a slight step back in 2025.
This season, Rocco Becht threw for 2,584 yards with a 60.5% completion percentage. He threw 16 touchdown passes but was picked off a career-high-tying nine times.
Still, his overall experience should be a huge boon for the Campbell offense at Penn State. He should provide some serious familiarity with the system for the players around him, which should help the entire group get up to speed a little quicker.
And Rocco Becht has seen a ton at the college level over the last three years. He has totaled 9,274 passing yards and 64 touchdowns, against 27 interceptions. He has also been the occasional runner, going for 499 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
Campbell knows exactly how good his quarterback can be. And now Penn State fans will start to get a glimpse of that.
More than anything, Rocco Becht knows about the swings a season can have. That was something Penn State struggled with in 2025, which led to the firing of coach James Franklin midway through the campaign.
Iowa State was streaky in 2025, winning five games in a row, losing the next four, then bouncing back to win three straight to close out the year. Becht was proud of his group, and he’ll bring the same kind of energy to the Nittany Lions.
“We’re gonna look back at this season, which had a lot of lows and a lot of highs,” Becht said following Iowa State‘s season-ending 20-13 win against Oklahoma State on Nov. 29. “I’m super proud of this team because it’s really hard to go through a four-game losing streak and come back and win four games in a row.”
Prior to enrolling at Iowa State, Rocco Becht was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 625 overall recruit in the nation, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. He was also ranked as the No. 36 quarterback in his class and the No. 88 overall player from the state of Florida, hailing from Zephyrhills (FL) Wiregrass Ranch.
