Penn State’s Rocco Becht on Backup QB Alex Manske: ‘I’m Excited About His Future’

Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht has at least five more games left in his college football career. Maybe more, if the 3-4 Nittany Lions can turn things around and make it to a bowl game.

And in the mind of his head coach, Matt Campbell, Becht will be the starter the rest of the way, beginning next Saturday at home in Beaver Stadium against Purdue. 

Which means second-year quarterback Alex Manske — who came from Iowa State along with Campbell and Becht in the offseason — must wait to get his shot at being the starter. Likely for months, not days. When that time comes, Becht said on Tuesday evening while a guest on the Penn State Coaches Show (watch it here), he has confidence that Manske will perform well as the Nittany Lions’ starting QB.

“He is in a great position right now, just being able to see what’s going on,” Becht said of Manske. “How to handle adversity, how to handle a win, how to handle it from a bird’s-eye view. I’m excited about him and his future.”

Manske (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) has played 45 snaps for the Nittany Lions in 2026, but he has yet to appear — officially — in any of their first four Big Ten Conference games of the season. Games in which Penn State has lost and games where, on occasion, Becht has not played at his best.

(The “officially” caveat: Against Wisconsin, Manske was in for one play under center, while Becht was split as a receiver. But Penn State committed a false start, Wisconsin accepted the penalty and Manske’s single Big Ten appearance was erased from the books.)

In four Big Ten contests, Becht is 87 of 146 (59.6%) for 993 yards, with five interceptions, a lost fumble and three TD passes. His three second-half turnovers at Michigan last Saturday each led to Wolverine touchdowns and were the difference in a 21-18 Penn State loss in the Big House.

Manske, meanwhile, is 9 of 14 for 102 yards in 2026 efforts against non-conference opponents Marshall and Buffalo. That he is even playing college football this fall is somewhat surprising. He underwent open-heart surgery in March at the Mayo Clinic after a routine winter screening discovered a congenital heart condition.

Penn State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, who was also the OC at Iowa State in 2024-25, touted Manske’s prowess and versatility in the preseason.

“Alex Manske is one of the most talented guys on the offense, and we’re not going to keep him off the field this year,” Mouser said. “He’s forced us to have to play him, and he’s been really good — especially with going through what he did.

“I think I’ve seen him grow with just his consistency in the pass game, with how accurate he is, his ball placement, his timing, knowing where to go with the football. For being a young guy, he’s one of the more impressive-looking people. He’s gigantic. He can run, [is] physical. He’s as competitive as anybody that we have on the field. And then we really challenged him to grow as a passer.”

Manske was Becht’s backup as a true freshman in 2025 at Iowa State. He appeared in three games for the Cyclones, completing 4 of 5 passes for 28 yards, with seven rushes for 33 yards and a TD.

During the Penn State radio program on Tuesday, Becht said that Manske’s most noticeable area of growth over the past year has been off the field.

“I’ve seen his biggest growth in just asking questions. I think that’s the biggest way to grow,” Becht said. “And talking to me after games, whether we’re watching films, just sitting in with me — just being able to learn what I’m looking at or what I’m seeing and he’s seeing.

“…He’s going to have all the answers by the time he steps up and becomes the starter here at Penn State.”

MORE FROM BECHT…

Other than Campbell’s 15-minute press conference after his team’s morning practice on Tuesday, Becht’s 20-minute interview with Steve Jones was the only session the media has had or will have with a Penn State coach or player during the bye week. Here are a few additional comments from Becht, on:

RECEIVERS KOBY HOWARD AND CHASE SOWELL: “Chase has probably had the biggest growth I’ve ever seen with a teammate of mine. He’s been able to step when Koby’s been down. If we have those two guys when Koby is back, we’ll hopefully open the offense up a bit and make defenses a little bit nervous.”

PENN STATE’S STATE OF MIND: “We have a really good culture right now that’s been built over the past eight, nine months. It’s shown on the football field, especially on a bye week when guys could kind of sulk, not want to go out to practice. But guys were out there, energetic…We had a sense of urgency that you probably don’t see from a lot of teams when you’ve lost four games in a row. Unfortunately, that’s happened. But we keep going.”

BECHT’S FATHER ANTHONY, a former NFL player, a TV commentator and a head coach in the UFL: “Every day I leave the facility, I give him a call or he gives me a buzz. We talk about the day, talk about practice, how it was.

“He’s usually the dad over the phone, but he always has pointers…He’s definitely a resource that’s been so helpful to me. Even just this year — to be able to talk to a guy who’s been there, done it at the highest level.

“He knows what’s right and wrong. A lot of people don’t really understand what’s going on on the football field. To have a guy who’s behind me and knows what’s going on, being able to talk to him and just voice what I’m seeing — it’s really helpful to me.”