Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: #3 Rocco Becht
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The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place vote worth nine points, and so on. Up next is quarterback Rocco Becht.
How He Got Here
Becht was a three-star recruit in high school, coming out of Wiregrass Ranch in Zephyrhills, Florida. The quarterback committed to Matt Campbell’s Iowa State squad ahead of his freshman year in 2022 and has remained loyal to the head coach ever since. He made it official in early January that he’d play out his final season of eligibility at Penn State.
Becht comes to Happy Valley with the highest winning percentage and most snaps among active quarterbacks in college football. He was poised for an excellent redshirt junior season before suffering a torn labrum, which limited his mobility and throwing motion through much of Iowa State’s 2025 season. He still threw for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns last season but did not touch his 2023 high-water mark of 3,505 yards and 25 touchdowns.
What to Expect in 2026
All the stars now align for Becht to have an extremely productive 2026 season. His favorite target, Benjamin Brahmer, joined him at Penn State, and his relationship with Campbell is perhaps deeper than any other quarterback-head coach duo in the country. All signs point to the shoulder recovery going according to plan and, if that was the true reason for his down season last year, there’s no reason he can’t return to his highly productive levels of years past.
However, there were lots of moving parts in the offseason, and Happy Valley certainly isn’t Ames. Becht’s success will also depend on how quickly Campbell can build this airplane as he flies it. Everyone is saying all the right things in the preseason and all the lights have turned green, but there’s a reason why Becht isn’t a Heisman favorite at the moment.
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