Is Penn State’s Alex Manske better with a football in his hands or a golf club?
The answer, at least around the program, seems to lean pretty hard toward the fairway.
Manske’s Penn State bio barely leaves a breadcrumb trail, but it does give away the kind of all-around athlete the backup quarterback is: “Also played baseball, basketball and golf and competed in track & field.”
For now, though, football is the job. And Manske made his Penn State debut in the Lions’ win over Marshall, stepping in for a useful look in a 45-0 victory. He completed six of eight passes for 57 yards and added one carry for six yards.
That outing mattered for more than just the box score. The 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman, who played at Iowa State in 2025, is the backup to redshirt senior Rocco Becht and is viewed as his likely replacement in 2027. He’s also working his way back after recovering from open-heart surgery earlier in the year.
“I do think him getting critical reps, the guy hasn’t played a ton of football,” Penn State head coach Matt Campbell said of Manske on Wednesday.
“That was the most meaningful snaps that he played last Saturday, probably since his last game of his high school career.
“The fact of him getting in, getting those reps, it’s so critical for us.”
Penn State offensive guard Cooper Cousins saw the same thing from the sideline. He said there was no real dip when Manske took over.
“There wasn’t a drastic drop-off with Rocco and Manske,” Cousins said on Tuesday.
“He commanded the huddle really well, got us up and ready for tempo when a tempo play was called. He executed well.”
Still, the buzz around Manske inside the program goes beyond what he’s doing on Saturdays. He’s the kind of athlete who shows up in multiple sports, having played five sports in high school, and his golf game has become a talking point.
Penn State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser summed it up in early August.
“He’s got a confidence and an edge to him,” Mouser said.
“He’s a guy that’s good at everything. He’s a scratch golfer. I asked him the other day at lunch, ‘Have you ever been bad at anything?’”
Cousins has seen that side of him up close, too. He’s played with Manske and says the only place the 320-pound lineman has an advantage is off the tee.
“Manske’s the best golfer I’ve ever seen,” Cousins said.
“I think (tight end Ben) Brahmer told me once we got back -- I think it was from spring break or summer break -- that Manske didn’t shoot over par the entire time.
“I think I shot over par every time.”
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