How Penn State QB Rocco Becht used spring ball to improve, grow off the field
Penn State is undergoing a massive overhaul this offseason — one that saw a new coaching staff come in for the first time in over a decade. And one that also saw a new quarterback in Rocco Becht come in and immediately take over as the starter and one of the team’s leaders.
That can put a lot of pressure on a player, especially when two programs, Iowa State and Penn State, are essentially blended together along with a mix-in of several additional transfers from outside of Ames and State College. And it can be even harder when an injury — he had surgery on the labrum of his non-throwing shoulder this offseason — limits what the quarterback can do on the field.
But for Becht, it just created an opportunity to focus on everything else.
“I would say my spring went really good,” Becht said following Saturday’s Blue-White Practice at Beaver Stadium. “In the beginning, I wasn’t able to do a lot on the field, and so I think building that chemistry in the film room and being a leader on and off the field for me was a huge step in my leadership role. And so I thought I had a good spring to develop in that way, develop in the offense, learning more of the protections, learning the run game. And so I think I did a really good job of that.”
Becht is going to play a massive role in dictating what this season looks like for Penn State. He’s the undisputed starting quarterback and a veteran of the position who has operated under offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser for the last three years as a starter.
He’s been tasked with doing a lot of the translating for teammates, but there are still aspects of the offense that are different, even if it’s almost all familiar to him.
“For me, there was a lot more 11 personnel, which is one tight end on the field,” Becht said. “ Obviously that could be because we have a couple tight ends down. I thought it looked really good when we did have it. But, honestly, it was the same. A little verbiage is different, but that’s about it.”
Still, even with the familiarity, there’s no guarantee that spring ball will go exactly as expected. Becht has played plenty of big-time college football before, but this is still a new program for him and a new atmosphere to work in.
That’s why Penn State head coach Matt Campbell was so happy to see him get the reps he did, even if he isn’t quite cleared to be full-go just yet.
“I probably would have been really nervous had Rocco not been able to get the reps that he got through the spring,” Campbell said following the Blue-White Practice. “Really, I thought by the last three weeks, I think he’s really had quality reps, to be able to work with our receivers.”
Adjusting to Penn State
While the Beaver Stadium crowd for the Blue-White Practice was not nearly as packed as it usually is for a Blue-White Game — which also doesn’t usually include a downpour for the entirety of the event — that doesn’t change that getting reps in Beaver Stadium in front of fans was going to be very important for this team.
And even with the limited crowd, players who are new to the program were still impressed by what they saw from the Penn State fans.
“I was surprised even walking in how many people showed up,” linebacker Caleb Bacon said after the practice. “It was really sweet, the [team arrival]. Then just being able to hear little crowd pops every so often on big plays, it was really cool.”
There was no announced attendance, and the crowd likely could’ve been measured in the thousands rather than the tens of thousands like it usually is. But even Campbell, who has emphasized how impressed he’s been with the fan base since he got to Penn State in December, made positive note of the crowd.
“To be in a downpour today and to see this crowd and the amount of people that came out to support our program — it’s just taking every opportunity to show our young men in our program how special it is to play here at Penn State and what it means,” Campbell said. “... Just understanding it’s bigger than me, it’s bigger than our players. What we get to represent and what we are training to be able to represent every fall Saturday is really powerful.”
What comes next
With spring ball in the rearview mirror, the Nittany Lions will now go to work in determining what they learned and what they need to adjust moving forward to the 2026 season. Fall camp is still over three months away, which will give Campbell and his coaching staff plenty of time to adjust to what they saw over the last 15 practices on both sides of the ball.
And they intend on using that time to do just that, in order to prepare for their first regular season at Penn State.
“I think the key is everyone being aligned to where is the growth,” Campbell said. “... We’ll put a lot of time and effort into, schematically what we do to be prepared with when we come back in July and August. And really try to pound away more as we get ready for the early part of the season.”
The 2026 season kicks off Sept. 5 with a home opener against Marshall.
