Rocco Becht may be the headliner in Penn State’s transfer haul, but the Nittany Lions brought in far more than one name worth watching.
Ari Wasserman of On3 put Becht at No. 5 on his list of the most impactful Big Ten transfers for the upcoming season, and that recognition fits. Penn State needed a proven quarterback, and the senior from Iowa State arrived with the kind of experience that can steady a team looking for answers under center in 2026.
Still, Penn State added 39 transfers in the offseason, and several others could shape this team in a hurry once the games start. The group includes a tight end with All-Big 12 honors, a senior receiver who already knows Becht well, and a handful of defenders and linemen who fill obvious needs.
At tight end, Benjamin Brahmer stands out immediately. He was Penn State’s highest-rated transfer in the offseason, even ahead of Becht.
Brahmer earned All-Big 12 second-team recognition in 2025 and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award after catching 37 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games and 10 starts. Over his Iowa State career, he finished fifth in school history in receiving yards with 977 and ranked among the program’s best at tight end with 75 receptions.
Penn State didn’t overhaul that position group because it was broken, but it did need more help. Andrew Rappleyea can’t shoulder everything alone, and Brahmer brings exactly the kind of red zone presence that should pair well with Becht as the Iowa State contingent settles into the Big Ten.
Wide receiver remains a work in progress for Penn State, and Trebor Pena is the transfer who could help push it forward. His 2025 production - 32 catches for 500 yards and two touchdowns - doesn’t jump off the page, but the Nittany Lions are banking on reliability and familiarity. Pena is viewed as one of the top senior wideouts heading into 2026, and with Becht back and healthy, there’s a clear path for those numbers to rise.
The backfield also got a boost from Carson Hansen, who arrives with real momentum. He’s in competition with Ohio State transfer James Peoples for the starting job, but Penn State needs more than one runner either way, especially after losing Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Hansen rushed for 952 yards and six touchdowns on 188 carries in 2025, and he posted five straight 100-yard games, the most in program history since 2020.
Defense got its share of help too, starting with linebacker Alex Bacon. In 2025, he was a semifinalist for the Comeback Player of the Year award after starting all 12 games and piling up 68 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass breakups and one forced fumble. With Tony Rojas already in that room, Bacon gives Penn State a linebacker duo with real bite after a season that exposed too many defensive flaws.
The secondary needed attention as well, and safety/defensive back Marcus Cooper brings versatility that matters. He has played both safety and cornerback and returns to safety with three years of NCAA experience there. Cooper tied for sixth among active FBS players with 30 career passes defended and tied for 10th in Iowa State history with eight interceptions.
Penn State also leaned on experience up front. Defensive lineman Siale Taupaki doesn’t have a huge starting résumé, but he started eight games from 2024-25, including one this past season, and recorded 15 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery in 12 games. His familiarity with defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe matters too, since Malloe worked with him at UCLA.
On the offensive line, Nolan Riker looks like a steady fit at center. At Texas State, he started 12 games at center as a redshirt freshman and did not allow a sack in pass protection.
At 6-foot-4 and 291 pounds, he gives Penn State a sturdy option in a room that is still sorting out its new chemistry. He’ll have a chance to learn behind redshirt senior Dominic Rulli while helping replace Nick Dawkins, who anchored the position for the last six seasons.
And then there’s Zane McPherson, a sophomore transfer from Colorado who brings both upside and special teams value. As a true freshman in 2025, he posted 16 tackles, six quarterback hurries, one blocked punt and half a sack.
With Dani Dennis-Sutton now in the NFL, Penn State will need young defensive ends to step up, and McPherson’s background at IMG Academy suggests he’s been on the path to this level for a while. He led his high school team in sacks and tackles for loss.
Becht may be the name everyone knows, but Penn State’s transfer class is deeper than one quarterback. The Nittany Lions added pieces at tight end, receiver, running back, linebacker, safety, the defensive line and the offensive line, and several of them could end up mattering fast.
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Penn State Staff Sees Real Promise In Rocco Becht And Real Concerns
Penn States quarterback evaluation of Rocco Becht has a familiar blend of praise and polish-the-rough-edges realism. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser and quarterbacks coach Jake Waters pointed to the traits that make Becht stand out ahead of the 2024 season, starting with his competitiveness and the way he processes the game. They also liked the arm talent and the deep-ball accuracy that lets receivers run under throws, which is the kind of trait coaches notice quickly when theyre trying to project how a passer will handle bigger moments.
Waters and Mouser also saw a quarterback who can make smart decisions in tight spaces and trust himself when the windows close. Still, the conversation around Becht was not all upside, because the staff was just as direct about the areas that still need work before he can fully match the promise they see. How he handles those details in the months ahead will go a long way toward determining whether the flashes become something more dependable. [Read more 🡒]