Can Penn State’s Rocco Becht Be Another Brock Purdy?

When it comes to former Iowa State quarterback and current San Francisco 49er star Brock Purdy, can Penn State’s Rocco Becht be QB Too?

The answer is yes, at least at the college level. It’s a Purdy darn good idea.

Purdy was the top QB at Iowa State from 2018-21, starting the final 46 games of his career and guiding the Cyclones to a 30-17 record. Becht arrived at Iowa State in 2022 and was the No. 1 quarterback for the Cyclones from 2023-25. Counting his brief stint so far at Penn State, Becht has started the last 42 games of his college career, with a 29-13 record.

Brock Becht and Rocco Purdy? The two former Cyclone quarterbacks are indeed — and in deed — similar in many fashions, when comparing Becht now with Purdy back when he played for Matt Campbell in Ames, Iowa. 

Becht acknowledged as much on Tuesday, when I asked him about his relationship with the 49ers’ signal-caller, who is the top-ranked QB in passing efficiency in the NFL since he joined the league in 2022. Becht picked Iowa State in part because of what Purdy did and how he did it there under Campbell.

“When I was first looking at schools, that was obviously a reason,” Becht said. “One of the reasons why I decided to go there was because I felt comfortable with the offense. Obviously, they had Brock, who is a similar build, similar play-type. So that was definitely taken into account.”

Purdy was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, earning him the title of Mr. Irrelevant” after being selected in the seventh round as the 262nd pick overall. (Becht’s stock continues to rise, and he should go in the first half of the 2027 draft.) At the NFL Combine prior to the draft, Purdy was measured at 6-foot, 5/8th of an inch and 212 pounds. Becht is listed at 6-1 and 208 in the Penn State media guide.

Beyond their relatively smaller size, both are good pocket passers, smart, accurate and able to pull down the ball and run. Both scored 19 rushing TDs in college, and they have similar college TD-to-interception ratios — Purdy with 81-33, and Becht at 73-27.

“People always ask me to compare Brock Purdy and Rocco Becht,” Campbell said in July at the Big Ten media days. “I think they both have this really special trait about themselves. In our world, our society, I think there’s so many young men that are trying to be somebody else instead of trying to do something.

“And Rocco, from the day he stepped into our program, is always trying to become the best he can be. I think he’s lived that, and that’s why our locker room has rallied around him in a short amount of time. You’ve seen the locker room at Penn State start to rally around Rocco.”

Becht has had a very strong start to the 2026 season. He ranks No. 4 in major college football in passing efficiency (215.3), sixth in passing TDs (9) and fifth in passing yards per completion (11.69). Overall, in his first three games of the season, he’s 45 of 64 for 751 yards, with zero interceptions. His completion percentages, by game, have been 72.2%, 77.8% and 57.9% — one of his biggest areas of growth in his short time at Penn State.

There’s a Purdy quality to that success. In a 35-13 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday, Purdy led the 49ers to TDs on their first five drives, with a near-flawless passing line of 20 of 22 for 287 yards, two TDs and no interceptions. Purdy’s 90.9% completion rate that day ranks No. 13 in NFL history (min. 20 attempts). His 20 of 21 (95.2%) performance vs. Arizona in 2023 ranks No. 4.

Though they did not play for Campbell at Iowa State at the same time, Becht and Purdy — both: five letters first name, five letters last name — have gotten to know each other.

“He’s a great dude,” Becht said on Tuesday. “Texts me here and there about some things. He’s always a person I can go and reach out to if I have any information I need or knowledge I need for a game, a big game, things like. He’s definitely a resource that I have and I’m able to use and I’m super-grateful for.”

Early into the season, Becht has taken some criticism for running the ball out of bounds instead of throwing it away. He remains confident in his ability as a ball-carrier, though he’s run for one minus yard in 10 attempts.

Historically, Becht is dangerous near the goal line as a runner. He’s rushed for 19 TDs in his career, same as Purdy. Purdy really excelled with his feet at Iowa State, having rushed for 1,000 yards, and averages 4.1 yards per carry in the NFL. Becht said he thinks he can add value to the Penn State offense on the run as well.

“For me, I consider myself a pocket passer,” Becht said when I asked him about his running prowess. “And then if nothing is there, I’m able to move around and scramble and get yards for the team. Obviously, to win games the quarterback is going to have to scramble and make some plays with his legs.

“I think I’ve been able to do that for my past four years of playing. Here in the Big Ten now with great defenses, I’m going to have to go out there and make some plays with my legs, when it presents itself.”

In the Buffalo game, Becht went over 10,000 yards passing for his college career. That’s a big number, but the Cyclone-tuned-Nittany Lion downplayed its importance. He was asked on Tuesday: “What statistics do you care about when evaluating your own performance?”

Becht didn’t hesitate: “Wins. That’s all I care about. I’ve played this game long enough to know that you don’t have to have all the completion percentages, the passing yards and touchdowns, to be a great quarterback in this league and the NFL.”