Penn State’s quarterback picture took another hit on Sunday when three-star 2027 commit Will Wood flipped to Boston College and Bill O’Brien. After a Saturday loss to Michigan, the Nittany Lions are now trying to figure out how to add more body count to a room that suddenly looks thin for 2027.
Wood’s exit doesn’t really change the top-end plan. Alex Manske is still the likely successor to Rocco Becht next year, and highly touted 2028 four-star James Armstrong is already lined up for the class after that.
But with Wood gone, Penn State is down to just two quarterbacks expected on the 2027 roster: Manske and 2026 three-star Kase Evans. Peyton Falzone, a 2026 four-star, has since moved to tight end.
That leaves Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer with a pretty clear problem. The transfer portal looks like the likeliest fix, but there are a few high school names worth at least monitoring before early signing day in December.
One obvious long shot is Peter Bourque, the four-star Virginia Tech commit. Penn State reportedly offered four quarterbacks in the 2027 class: Bourque, Wood, Will Mencl and Keegan Croucher.
Of that group, Bourque was the closest thing to a real target, with the Nittany Lions twice being named a finalist. The ties that once helped Penn State get in the mix with him seemed to follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech, but it still might be worth a call, even if the odds are steep.
Another possibility is Brady Edmunds, a four-star Ohio State commit. That one would require a chain reaction.
Ohio State was rumored to be chasing five-star Trae Taylor, the top quarterback in the 2027 class, who is committed to Nebraska. If Ryan Day ramps that back up after Julian Sayin’s injury and a longer look at the backup situation, and if Ohio State pushes Nebraska hard enough to put pressure on Taylor, Edmunds could suddenly be in a strange spot.
In that case, Penn State might look better than simply being the fallback if Taylor shakes loose. It’s a thin reed, but it’s at least a scenario.
The most realistic name on the list may be Aaron Strader, a three-star Kent State commit. He’s the top quarterback in Pennsylvania, according to the 247Sports composite, and Penn State may simply need another arm in the room.
Strader holds offers from Pitt and Syracuse, ranks No. 119 among quarterbacks nationally and No. 48 overall in the state, and he’s a Western Pennsylvania prospect tied to an important recruiting area. He also throws to four-star Khalil Taylor at Pine-Richland, who chose Nebraska over Penn State this summer.
At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, he doesn’t project as a Power 4 starter, but as a depth option, he at least makes sense.
Other quarterbacks in that same bucket include Boston College commit Ben Rolapp and James Madison commit Matthew Baer, both from Connecticut, plus Collin Boff and Kaden Estrep, lower-ranked Ohio quarterbacks committed to Bowling Green and Miami (OH), respectively.
It’s late in the process to be chasing committed quarterbacks, especially at a position that usually gets settled early. Penn State also doesn’t have much momentum right now on the field. Maybe the coaching carousel opens a door somewhere else, with Maryland commit Williams Jackson and Baylor commit Luke Babin as possible names to watch, but that kind of move would have to land just right on timing, interest and NIL resources.
In Other News...
Penn States Big Ten Position Just Got Much More Uncomfortable
Week 7 of the 2026 college football season shook up the national picture in a hurry, and the ripple effects reached well beyond the biggest headlines. With half of the AP Top 10 going down, including Georgia and Notre Dame, the sport suddenly feels a lot less predictable, and the Big Tens pecking order got harder to read by the hour. A weekend full of upsets and quarterback absences turned what had looked like a fairly stable race into something much messier.
Ohio State now has its own concern after Julian Sayin was sidelined for several weeks, a development that changes the leagues balance in a hurry. Around the conference, teams such as Rutgers, Minnesota, UCLA and Oregon posted notable results while also dealing with the growing reality of backup quarterbacks being forced into bigger roles. For Penn State, the broader takeaway is obvious: the path through the Big Ten just got more crowded, more unpredictable and a lot less comfortable. [Read more 🡒]
Rocco Becht Faces A Penn State Question Fans Can't Ignore
Rocco Bechts season has become one of the biggest reasons Penn States offense has stalled during a four-game losing streak. Through seven games, the quarterback has dealt with turnovers and uneven play, even as his completion percentage has climbed from last season. The bigger concern is that the improvement has not translated into cleaner overall production, especially on the short throws that are supposed to keep an offense on schedule.
Penn State has not done him many favors either. The running game has been weak, and injuries to key receivers have left Becht operating with less margin for error than he would like. Even so, the questions around him are growing because the underlying issues are showing up in the same places week after week, and the Nittany Lions still need a way to turn a frustrating stretch into something more sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States QB Faces Mounting Pressure After Painful Michigan Loss
Rocco Bechts latest outing left Penn State with plenty to sort through after a 21-18 loss to Michigan, a game in which the quarterbacks mistakes helped tilt the second half. Becht was part of a messy afternoon that featured two interceptions and a lost fumble, the kind of turnover-heavy performance that can linger after a tight road loss and raise questions about how a team moves forward.
Matt Campbell, though, did not sound ready to shift away from his starter. He pointed to Bechts competitiveness and the room he still has to grow, while Becht acknowledged the challenge and said he believes in himself and in the work ahead. For Penn State, the storyline now is less about one bad night than whether its quarterback can steady things quickly enough to keep the season from slipping into something more complicated. [Read more 🡒]