Quarterback Rocco Becht answers questions from the media earlier this week at Penn State. Mirror photo by Andy Stine

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State coach Matt Campbell has said the relationship between a coach and quarterback should be close enough to be “attached at the hip.”

Campbell was the first domino for many transfers from Iowa State to join the Nittany Lions, and his former Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht was the second.

“We were so close-knit at Iowa State,” Becht told reporters at the Beaver Stadium recruiting lounge this week. “Wherever one guy wanted to go, the other guy wanted to go. It just shows the perspective of what we had over there. That starts with the head coach. He was kind of the domino effect for all of us.”

Becht is one of 24 Iowa State players to follow Campbell. Although he admitted he entertained some offers from other schools, he admitted it wasn’t a difficult decision.

“I think it was my No. 1 priority to come play for him here,” Becht said. “It’s truly a great coaching staff here, and I wanted to be a part of a great university.”

If you ask his former teammates about Becht, there’s one word that’s thrown around constantly — leadership.

“He’s the best leader I’ve ever seen,” tight end Gabe Burkle said. “The way he goes about his business every day. He’s super professional. He studies the game more than anyone I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

“He’s an elite competitor, elite person,” offensive lineman Trevor Buhr said. “Just the way he works and his process, I think a lot of guys could follow it and be successful. He’s always doing the right thing.”

Becht, the son of former NFL tight end and current UFL head coach Anthony Becht, had a solid career at Iowa State.

The Cyclones competed in the Big 12 championship game in 2024. Becht made 39 consecutive starts and had 26 wins, and he did it despite having two injured shoulders last season.

Becht had a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder. The right shoulder is now fully healthy, and his left shoulder is getting close to 100 percent.

Rather than play in a possible bowl game with the Cyclones, Becht got surgery immediately after the regular season. He will be cleared soon to start throwing again in preparation for his final collegiate season.

“It was the right decision to get surgery right after the season instead of waiting for a bowl game,” Becht said. “I’d be able to be back sooner to wherever I was going to go, and get the lay of the land and get back out there on the field for my new teammates.”

The leadership qualities his teammates speak of are showing now, even when he’s unable to throw. Becht is serving as a de facto offensive coordinator for the Lions’ other quarterbacks and receivers when the unit gets extra work at the Lasch Building on Saturdays.

“I have all the routes on my phone,” Becht said. “I have all the formations. I’m leading everyone and telling them where to go, what concept we’re running, what’s the depth of the route. We really haven’t gone over those things yet.

“It’s honestly a blessing in disguise where I’m able to lead even more without even throwing the football.”

Becht and his new teammates are still figuring out their new surroundings. He said he’s become a fan of the restaurants in State College, particularly The Field and the famed campus Berkey Creamery.

But the fifth-year senior is clearly making an impression on his new teammates.

“I want this to be my best year as a leader and a player,” Becht said.

McSorley leaving

Trace McSorley was set to be an assistant quarterbacks coach for a second season with Penn State, but he has left Penn State for a position with the Buffalo Bills, according to Lions247.

McSorley, one of the great quarterbacks in PSU history, will be working with former Penn State grad assistant Joe Brady, who was hired as the next Bills’ head coach last month after Buffalo fired Sean McDermott.

McSorley is the second assistant coach to leave the program for the NFL since Campbell’s hiring. Wide receivers coach Noah Pauley took the same job with the Green Bay Packers earlier this month.