Delco native Anthony Becht, who starred at Bonner-Prendie, is watching his son, Penn State QB Rocco, follow in his footsteps

A week before signing day in 1995, West Virginia called Bonner-Prendergast senior tight end Anthony Becht.

Becht had no scholarship offers, only walk-on opportunities. Division I schools told him he wasn’t fast enough to play receiver or big enough to play tight end. But the Mountaineers were desperate after the tight end they wanted backed out of his commitment at the last minute.

So West Virginia went back and watched Becht’s tape. The coaches’ conclusion was that he could help on special teams as a junior or senior, which didn’t sound promising. Becht said yes anyway.

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“I had a chip on my shoulder, and I went from somebody that couldn’t get on the high school field to being a first-round draft pick in the NFL,” Becht said. “I just proved everybody wrong.”

The rest is history — Becht finished his collegiate career as second all-time in receiving yards by a tight end (1,173) for the Mountaineers before playing 11 years in the NFL for the Jets, Buccaneers, Cardinals, and Chiefs. Now, he’s the head coach of the Orlando Storm in the United Football League while his son, Rocco, quarterbacks Penn State after learning to play football from his father.

Growing up in Drexel Hill, Anthony Becht played a bunch of sports. He was a good baseball player, while basketball and football were more “auxiliary” for him.

Becht got into sports somewhat on his own, as his father didn’t really play them and his mother wasn’t into sports much either.

“I was just somebody that bloomed into dedication of playing multiple sports,” Becht said. “And one of them popped for me.”

His family was blue-collar, with his dad working every day and his mom staying home. Becht saw himself as any other normal kid who was just “better than average” at sports.

Eventually, Becht stopped playing baseball after playing on varsity as a his sophomore, but stayed with basketball despite being the sixth man because of his love for the sport and the people around him.

It was pure luck, Becht said, that football was what he made a living in. He showed up at Bonner-Prendie as a freshman thinking he was the “Barry Sanders of football” after playing running back in his youth league.

“I showed up to practice my freshman year, the first day, and there were two freshman running backs already practicing with the varsity,” Becht said. “I was like, ‘Man, maybe I’m not that good.’ So you start questioning yourself.”

Becht switched to wide receiver and spent his first year on the bench for the freshman team. A junior-year growth spurt changed everything for him, as he then switched to tight end and earned an opportunity after the player ahead of him on the depth chart broke a leg during a scrimmage.

A year later, Becht earned 1994 All-City, All-Catholic League, and All-County honors after catching 47 passes for 693 yards, and Bonner-Prendie won the Catholic League championship for the first time since 1961.

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“That’s my only championship or championship game I’ve ever played in,” Becht said. “So as I go back and I think about what was important that year, and I talked about guys coming together and a very mature, experienced team, and the way you hang with each other and grow those bonds, that really stuck with me.”

After Becht left Bonner-Prendie, he continued to give back to the school, hosting golf events and football camps for about 20 years.

His football camps would be kids who ranged from fourth to eighth grade, eager to learn from Becht. But one kid stood out — Becht’s son Rocco, who was just 5 years old.

“He would run around, hit the bags, jump in line,” Becht said. “He’s been around football, NFL drills his entire life. It was ingrained to him as a sport that hopefully, he’d grow and love and play.”

Even though his dad was a professional tight end, it always seemed like Rocco was meant to be a quarterback. Becht said Rocco was “the one little kid in flag football when he started playing that could competently throw a football.”

Becht has mentored his son since those flag football days. He coached Rocco and was having those teams run NFL-style plays. It was a learning experience for Rocco, who still speaks with his dad every day.

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“We’re about as close, father, son, best friends, whatever you want to call it,” Becht said. “I ain’t going to lie, Rocco will roll his eyes about certain things, right? Because I got to be a dad, too.”

This offseason, Becht visited Penn State, staying at Rocco’s townhome while his son was in a hotel for fall camp after following coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State to Happy Valley. Rocco said he’s come to visit him during the summer the past three years.

But Becht doesn’t come as the starting quarterback’s dad. Instead, he’s there soaking up information and watching how Campbell runs his program.

“He doesn’t sit in the quarterback meetings,” Rocco said of his father in August. “He’s usually sitting in the tight end meetings, the O-line meetings. He loves to listen to football. Loves to hear about blocking schemes and all that type of good stuff. It’s honestly great to have him here.”

Becht doesn’t know how long he wants to continue coaching, but his dream is to be a collegiate head coach. He’s turned down NFL positional coaching offers so he can continue going to all of Rocco’s games, but his son’s time in college is dwindling, potentially signaling a change in scenery for Becht.

“Right now is the right place for me as I grow and learn to become the best head coach I can,” Becht said. “I think from that standpoint, once Rocco’s done, that’s where I think maybe my door opens to maybe OK, what else is out there?”