Matt Campbell has spent enough time around quarterbacks to know the real thing when he sees it.
At Iowa State, he won with all kinds of passers. Kyle Kempt helped deliver a No.
3 Oklahoma State upset in Norman in 2017 after arriving as a former fourth-stringer. Campbell’s staff helped shape Brock Purdy into a college star and eventually one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
And then there was Rocco Becht, the latest in that line - a quarterback who started 39 games, won 26, and kept growing into the kind of leader Campbell wanted in the room.
That’s why Campbell’s description of the position cuts straight to the point.
The head coach and quarterback, he said in early December, “better be linked at the hip because I feel like the quarterback has gotta have the leadership ability, the toughness and the grit, to control the locker room.”
He added, “I think you’re always looking for the right intangibles that way,” and then made the distinction that really matters.
“Everybody likes fast, everybody likes arm strength, but those things don’t win.
“What wins is grit, toughness, character and the ability to lead others around you. And the locker room always knows who the quarterback should be.”
Those are the traits Penn State is banking on with Becht in 2026. The 6-1, 208-pound quarterback brings production, a track record of winning, and the kind of toughness that stood out last season when he played through a pair of shoulder injuries during Iowa State’s closing stretch, including one that required surgery. He never missed a start, even while he was nowhere near full strength.
“It was definitely painful,” Becht said recently when asked about the injuries.
“It was definitely a dark patch in my career. Honestly, I’m glad that I went through it.
“I found myself and I know I can overcome it the next time it happens.”
Penn State’s returning players have not yet taken a snap with him, but the Cyclones who came with him to State College already know what kind of presence he brings. So does Charles Davis, the CBS lead college football analyst, who spoke with PennLive in late July.
“To get a Rocco Becht coming in to play quarterback, that experience pays off,” Davis said.
“I don’t think it’s much of a leap to Rocco Becht (to) Brock Purdy. I don’t think it’s a big leap only because of experience, understanding, been in the fire, you know what I mean?”
He pointed to the kind of steady command that matters once the game starts speeding up.
“No one was in on Brock Purdy until later,” Davis continued.
“I’m not talking about NFL. I’m talking about, this guy knows how to run a football game.
He knows how to deliver. He knows what’s expected of him.
That kind of experience leading your team in a new place? Invaluable.”
The praise from former teammates is just as direct.
Penn State guard Trevor Buhr, one of Becht’s bodyguards at Iowa State in 2024 and 2025, said, “Rocco’s great,” and laid out why.
“He is always the first one to say something if something’s going on, good or bad.
“He leads the entire offense, makes sure everyone is following the high standards that we set.”
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen, who was often on the receiving end of Becht’s throws during Iowa State’s 2025 season, said, “He’s always doing the right thing.”
“He just doesn’t lead himself -- he leads others,” Eskildsen said.
“He’s a role model I can look up to. Like, okay, how do I need to workout?
What does my attitude need to be like? You can look to Rocco.”
Ohio State transfer running back James Peoples has already seen that side of him too. Peoples is competing with Quinton Martin Jr. for the backup job behind starter Carson Hansen, and it didn’t take long for him to recognize Becht’s work habits and how he handles people.
“He’s a great leader,” Peoples said.
“He leads by example, which is huge. He’s a leader that you can really count on. He’s somebody that does everything right.
“He’s somebody that’s going to sit down and talk with you. He’s somebody that’s going to stay here when nobody’s in the building, and he’s somebody that’s going to take ownership when anything goes wrong, no matter if it was his fault or not.”
That leadership didn’t come out of nowhere. Becht grew up around it, with his father, Anthony Becht, setting the standard.
Anthony starred at Monsignor Bonner High School in the Philadelphia area, played tight end at West Virginia from 1995 to 1999, and was a first-round pick of the New York Jets in 2000 before playing for New York, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Arizona and Kansas City and retiring in 2011.
Rocco said his father drilled into him what the quarterback role really asks for.
“As I continued to get older in high school and continued to play much better in high school (at Wiregrass Ranch in Florida), my dad started to speak that wisdom of what the quarterback role holds,” Rocco Becht said.
“What you have to do, what you have to sacrifice as a quarterback to lead a team.
“I think over time, all that continued to build up.”
Penn State quarterbacks coach Jake Waters said Anthony’s influence is easy to see in the way Rocco carries himself.
“He grew up in a locker room with his dad playing in the NFL. (Rocco’s) been around it, so he knows what it’s supposed to be like,” Waters said.
“He knows how people are supposed to act. (Former NFL quarterback) Chad Pennington is one of his mentors, played with his dad. He leans on him a lot, how to handle things, how to prepare -- good, bad, everything.”
That mindset showed again when Becht talked about playing through the shoulder issues last season.
“I want to win for my team, I want to win at all costs and I want to be there for my guys,” Becht said.
“If I was able to go out there and throw a ball, I was going to go do it. Hopefully, the team respected it.
“At the end of day, I’m just trying to prove myself, prove to myself that I can do what other guys can’t. I just continue to go out there every single day and grow.”
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