The magic of new Penn State football quarterback Rocco Becht

STATE COLLEGE − The new Penn State football quarterback met a hoard of media members here in Beaver Stadium for the first time, calm and cool, oozing confidence.

Just as expected for Rocco Becht, who’s been described as a great connector, an exquisite leader of college football men.

“What’s up, guys? I thought my table was down there,” he said, smiling wide and getting a few laughs, to start a Wednesday winter interview session. He wore a blue Penn State sweatshirt, a signature blue baseball cap with his initials, and talked at ease for 20 minutes and more.

“This is awesome. I’m happy to be here. I’ve had a really good time since I’ve been here.”

While Becht, one of the most successful returning quarterbacks in all of college football, says he transferred to Penn State, to continue playing under new head coach Matt Campbell and staff, several of his teammates made sure to note how Becht was a “domino” in their own decisions to come here, in building toward this 2026 season.

Becht was one of the very first of two dozen former Cyclones to make his transfer commitment official. He announced his decision to join PSU on Jan. 4, beginning an unprecedented run of 40 total transfer additions.

He’s also another prime Penn State player recovering from injury, similar to linebacker Tony Rojas. Becht played the second half of last season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and a joint sprain in his right.

(He had offseason surgery to repair that non-throwing left shoulder. He says he expects to begin throwing again on Saturday and should participate in the second half of spring drills, which start next month).

Why do teammates love him so much?

“His heart rate’s probably 60 beats per minute. Super composed,” said senior Gabe Burkle, one of three Iowa State tight end transfers.

“He’s a guy you want to play with. He’s a guy you want to be your QB. We all know how he plays and how good he is.”

Take it from new junior receiver Brett Eskildsen, who caught passes from Becht at Iowa State the two previous years.

Eskildsen talked of his throwing arm, how his “accuracy is insane, especially down the field, something I’ve never seen before.” But he quickly swerved to his work ethic, demeanor and dynamic leadership. How he can rarely beat Becht to football headquarters, no matter how early each morning.

What quarterback Rocco Becht brings to Penn State football

His best story comes from two years ago at Central Florida after Becht threw one interception that was returned for a touchdown and nearly a second.

The Cyclones trailed by five with less than two minutes left.

“And he pulls us off to the side, stadium’s rocking, and he’s just like, ‘Hey, this is what we practice for, this is what we’re built for.’ It just settled everyone down,” Eskildsen said. “I’m a freshman and I’m like, ‘We’re good, there was no doubt in my mind we’re going to go down and win this game.'”

And Becht delivered, doing much of it with his legs, including running in the game-winning touchdown.

He was “taking big hits, breaking tackles,” Eskildsen said. It was, “wow, this dude is a true leader, competitor, he’s not backing down.”

Becht talked about it all here on Wednesday, Feb. 25, from battling through those injuries last season to meeting, learning and leading his new teammates to finally being close to family again.

The injuries created “probably the lowest place I’ve been in my collegiate career mentally and physically. There was a four-game stretch when we lost all four games. That was pretty tough on me. I had to look to my family and some friends and talk to them to get myself out of it.

“The only reason I kept playing was because I wanted to do it for my team. It was my responsibility to give them everything I have.”

Coming to Penn State, following Campbell, also provided an unexpected gift. Becht’s father’s parents and family are from the Philadelphia area. His mother’s family is from West Virginia.

“It’s a special thing to be around family, to be around friends, to surround yourself with people who love you and trust in you. It’s the biggest thing for me.”

Finally, he gets to throw football again after serving as a de facto coach during recent Saturday pass-catching workouts in Holuba Hall.

And so the bonding and leading and rejuvenating a new Penn State offense takes the next step, seven months before he can officially open the final chapter of his college career.

“I felt like the culture that we had at Iowa State was awesome, and that was just built off the past four years of what we’ve done,” Becht said. “And I think bringing that over the Penn State was the best thing that happened.

“Talking to all the Penn State players that have stayed, they tend to tell me that they feel a sort of change in the locker room, in the facility. And I’m just happy to hear that, because I was trying to come in and not really step on anybody’s toes but just get used to everything and get to know guys. And they’ve kind of just opened arms and brought us all in.”

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football QB Rocco Becht talks injury, family, new teammates