Who will lead Penn State football’s offense in 2026? Projecting the stat leaders
Penn State is going into the 2026 season with a completely revamped offense, featuring a new coordinator in Taylor Mouser and a slate of new starters at nearly every position.
Who will lead the group in the major statistical categories this year? Let’s take a look.
Projected passing leader
Rocco Becht (2026 projections): 387 attempts | 3,273 yards | 27 TDs
No surprises here. Becht is the team’s starting quarterback and, barring injury, will be all season. His stats are more a matter of just how good he can be in his final season of eligibility rather than if he’ll play enough.
Becht has averaged roughly 3,000 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns in his three years as a starter, with last season being the low end in both categories with 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns. He dealt with a labrum injury in his non-throwing shoulder that limited him, and now that he’s recovered he should be the player he was in the year prior when he set career highs in yards (3,505) and touchdowns (25) — if not better.
The senior quarterback will have the benefit of familiarity with his top targets, and that should help him statistically. It’s fair to bake in some regression because of the jump from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, but that shouldn’t stop him from getting close to career highs in his final year as a college athlete.
Projected rushing leaders
James Peoples (2026 projections): 174 attempts | 766 yards | 5 TDs
Carson Hansen (2026 projections): 132 attempts | 568 yards | 7 TDs
Quinton Martin Jr. (2026 projections): 83 attempts | 448 yards | 2 TDs
This is going to be much more of a mixed bag, with three players expected to rotate snaps — James Peoples, Carson Hansen and Quinton Martin Jr.
Peoples (Ohio State) and Hansen (Iowa State) transferred in after having large roles at their previous schools, while Martin showed off his big-time potential with his 20-carry, 103-rushing yard performance against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl to end last season with the Nittany Lions. If there’s one player who could surprise and end up being the starter with an impressive camp and start to the 2026 season, it’s him. Regardless, he’ll factor in as a pass catcher and should get plenty of carries, too, even if he doesn’t lead the team in carries, yards or touchdowns.
That leaves Peoples and Hansen as the safest choices to lead the way. Hansen has the benefit of his familiarity with the offense and coaching staff, while Peoples has produced at the highest level, getting 61 carries for 344 yards last season with the Buckeyes. He gets the nod as the starter by season’s end, allowing him to rack up attempts and yards, while Hansen hangs on to the goal-line job to score more touchdowns.
Projected receiving leaders
Chase Sowell (2026 projections): 53 receptions | 713 receiving yards | 4 TDs
Brett Eskildsen (2026 projections): 41 receptions | 746 receiving yards | 6 TDs
Ben Brahmer (2026 projections): 44 receptions | 528 receiving yards | 8 TDs
Neither Penn State nor Iowa State had any pass catchers eclipse 600 receiving yards in 2025, but the reasons behind why that happened are very different. The Nittany Lions have struggled at wide receiver for a few years and the passing offense has suffered because of it, including in 2025. The Cyclones, on the other hand, had an injured quarterback in Becht, which caused them to lean on their rushing attack more than the passing game.
This year’s Penn State team has the top-two receivers and the top tight end (Chase Sowell, Brett Eskildsen and Ben Brahmer) coming from that Iowa State offense, but they should all see an uptick in their opportunities with a healthy quarterback at the helm.
Sowell is the prototypical outside receiver with the size and speed to be a true No. 1 — with a real chance to lead the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Eskildsen is a big-time speed threat who can make plays down the field and create explosive plays with the ball in his hands. And Brahmer is a big target at tight end at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds and established himself as one of Becht’s favorite targets last year.
Those three are highly likely to lead the way for the offense as pass catchers, and it’s possible for all three to lead in any of receptions, yards or touchdowns.
