Iowa State QB recruit Alex Manske transfers to Penn State football
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A lot of attention during Penn State football’s work in the transfer portal has gone to how many players will follow Matt Campbell from Iowa State, and rightfully so.
Over a dozen players, including former Cyclones starting quarterback Rocco Becht, will be relocating to State College before next football season. But one of the more underrated transfers is the backup quarterback Alex Manske.
Manske, who will likely be a redshirt freshman in 2026 after only playing three games in 2025, was a 4-star prospect and the No. 2 player in Iowa in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports Composite. In his lone season in Ames, he completed 4-of-5 passes for 28 yards and had 33 more yards on the ground.
He won’t be a name discussed much Campbell’s first year leading the Nittany Lions, but Manske making the move means that Campbell believes he can be the future of the quarterback position. That’ll be especially crucial on two fronts.
First, the most obvious one, Becht will be a redshirt senior in 2026, so he’s done collegiately after next season. So finding the successor in this situation is more of a “when” than an “if,” and if Campbell thinks he has the answer, he’s just saved himself and the program a lot of time and energy working with a more known commodity than getting another transfer or choosing the unpredictable route of high school recruiting for right now.
The second one, which isn’t unrelated, is that if Manske is the guy after 2026, then the rebuilding curve has beem shortened dramatically. Manske would have two full seasons in Matt Campbell’s system, so he would arguably be more polished if he becomes the starter after Becht. Nothing can replace live reps, but it’s a lot easier to stomach those when the quarterback is already comfortable with the playbook.
After watching the immediate aftermath of the post-James Franklin era, Pat Kraft, the administration and the fans want to see results sooner than later, which includes high level success. Having the QB room solidified goes a long way in reaching that goal.
It isn’t a guarantee that this plays out as predicted, but if Campbell didn’t think Manske was a real option, he probably wouldn’t have followed him to Penn State. This could be the move that hopefully secures a cornerstone of Penn State football for the next 3 years.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Iowa State QB recruit Alex Manske transfers to Penn State football
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