How an unbreakable bond led a ‘true leader’ in quarterback Rocco Becht to Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Rocco Becht grew up in a football family.

His father, Anthony, was a star tight end at West Virginia who played 11 seasons in the NFL across five teams. Becht remembers traveling to his father’s games and becoming so immersed in football that everything around his house became competitive.

While his father, a former Monsignor Bonner star, won nearly every battle, it pushed Becht’s competitive drive and made him a successful quarterback. He spent four years building an accomplished career at Iowa State, where he finished with a 24-12 record as a starter, 9,274 passing yards, and 64 touchdowns.

Now he’s at a different school with the same head coach — and several former teammates. Becht said he is brining the same winning mindset to Penn State, where he hopes he’ll thrive in his final collegiate season. The Nittany Lions began spring practices on Tuesday.

“I grew up around my dad being in the league for a while,” Becht said. “I think that’s where that competitiveness came from. Anything that I do in life, I want to be competitive at. I want to win.”

Matt Campbell left Iowa State after 10 seasons to become the 17th head coach at Penn State. Becht entertained outside offers, but a reunion with Campbell and his staff was always the plan.

“When Campbell took this job, it was the number one priority that I wanted to come here and play for him for my fifth year,” Becht said. “There’s always going to be schools that reach out to you and spit out ideas of what they want to see happen. But at the end of the day, my main decision was just coming to play for Matt Campbell for my final year because I had built relationships with a bunch of the guys here already.”

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In his introductory news conference in December, Campbell lauded Becht’s leadership and poise amid tough situations — characteristics the coach believes are found in all great quarterbacks.

He said a head coach and his starting quarterback should be “tied at the hip.” And with his veteran gunslinger following him to Penn State, that close relationship will continue as the duo looks to build a new culture inside the Lasch Building.

“Rocco has always been a tough, gritty character. He’s as tough and as competitive as any football player I’ve been around,” Campbell said. “I believe Penn State football is about integrity, character, class, excellence, and grit. He embodies every one of those traits.”

After just 15 pass attempts during his freshman campaign, Becht broke through as a sophomore with 3,120 passing yards and 26 total touchdowns. That success continued in 2024, when he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention after leading the Cyclones to their winningest season in program history at 11-3.

In 2025, Becht played through a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, which hindered his production amid a four-game slide. But the Cyclones closed on a three-game winning streak to finish 8-4 in Becht’s final season in Ames, Iowa.

He showcased his toughness last season, Campbell said. The coach shared that Becht “got shot up” every Tuesday and Wednesday just to practice during the last four weeks of the season.

“I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Rocco,” said Brett Eskildsen, a receiver who spent two seasons at Iowa State before transferring to Penn State. “That guy is the ultimate leader and competitor. He’s a hard worker. He’s going to be the first guy in and last one out every day.”

» READ MORE: Why did Iowa State players follow Matt Campbell to Penn State? ‘He grows young men into men.’

Eskildsen recalled during his freshman season in 2024 when the Cyclones trailed by 35-30 at Central Florida. Becht threw two interceptions, one a pick-six in the first half, and faced a two-minute drill in front of a raucous home crowd.

But the veteran QB didn’t blink. He told his guys, “This is what we practice for,” before leading an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive in which he rushed for both the go-ahead touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion.

Iowa State won, 38-35.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to go down and win that game,” Eskildsen said. “[Becht] ended up rushing for yards, taking big hits, breaking sacks. That was the moment of like, ‘Wow, this dude is a true leader and competitor.’ He’s not backing down. He’s going to give it his all, no matter what, for this team.”

Esklidsen said Becht holds everyone to “the standard.”

He gets to the facility before 5 a.m. most days and is typically the last player to leave. Esklidsen said Becht and his starting quarterback have a standing competition to see who can get to the practice facility first.

Becht always wins.

While Becht has the respect of his Iowa State teammates, he’s quickly earning similar respect among his new ones.

Jeremiah Cooper, a defensive back who spent four seasons at Iowa State, says the quarterback knows what the defense is doing before the snap. And even against tight coverage, his accurate ball placement always wins.

“I try to disguise [my coverage] when I’m going against [Becht in practice], but he’s going to know what my drop is, or if we’re in man [coverage], and then he’s going to put it where he wants,” Cooper said. “It’s so hard to guard something like that, where you could see somebody have great coverage, but the quarterback just puts the ball somewhere where only his receiver can get it. And that’s exactly what Rocco does. … Whatever he says, I’m going to do it, just because I literally trust everything he says.”

Becht knows in his lone season with the Nittany Lions that he won’t set any career passing records or go down as the winningest quarterback in program history.

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But he wants to leave his mark. He wants to win a national championship.

“We have our goals in mind, and that’s to win a Big Ten championship and ultimately get to the College Football Playoff to have a chance to win a national championship,” Becht said. “With the team that we have now, I think we’re fully capable of doing that. Everybody just has to buy in, be consistent with the standards, and I think we’ll be in good hands.”