Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht takes a photo with Littles from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County this week. Becht teamed with Academy Sports & Outdoors to hand out gift cards to Littles. Mirror photo by Andy Stine

It’s clear that being a leader off the field is just as important as on the field for Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht.

In January 2024 when Becht was at Iowa State, tragedy struck in nearby Perry with a horrific school shooting. Later that summer, Becht held a football camp, funded entirely by his name, image, and likeness (NIL) earnings. Just for good measure, he also donated $7,500 to Perry’s youth football program.

He also donated Xbox consoles with his NIL earnings to a medical center in Ames in every pediatric room.

It’s hardly a surprise that Becht is making philanthropy a priority within his first six months in central Pennsylvania.

Becht teamed with Academy Sports & Outdoors earlier this week to donate $200 dollar gift cards to Littles of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County.

“How can I immerse myself into this community as fast as I can? It’s doing things like this in Altoona or State College,” Becht said. “That’s something that I’m prideful of, and something I wanted to do super quick.”

Becht grew up with a father, Anthony, who was a tight end in the NFL for 11 seasons. Anthony is now the head coach for the Orlando Storm in the United Football League. Every Christmas, his parents would give presents to a children’s daycare in Florida where Rocco grew up. His parents’ charity work was a big reason why he always wanted to give back when the opportunity presented itself.

“This is pretty special,” Becht said. “Hopefully (the kids) can go splurge and get whatever they want today. It’s really cool to see a smile on their faces.”

For Academy Sports & Outdoors store director Mark Booker, it was a no-brainer to team up with Becht.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the kids and helping them out,” Booker said. “For Rocco to come in and help support that, it means a lot for Academy Sports & Outdoors, and for the families of the kids.”

Leadership is obviously important to Becht, and it’s a big reason why it was one of Matt Campbell’s priorities to bring Becht with him to State College. Campbell has said that a quarterback and a head coach should be ‘attached at the hip,’ and Becht reiterated the sentiment.

“(Campbell) has a lot of trust in me, and I have a lot of trust in him,” Becht said. “We have a unique relationship. That’s something you need to have. I’m happy to be here with him, as well as the staff and the teammates that followed along.”

Becht played through two shoulder injuries last season — a partial labrum tear in his non-throwing shoulder, and a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He had work done on both shoulders at the end of the season.

He was limited in spring practice, but was able to get some throwing drills in 7 on 7 work in the late part of the spring. He is now 100 percent cleared for full activities.

“What I was able to get on the field, we kind of just had to make it work,” Becht said. “Whether it was a good play or bad play, we just had to learn from it.

“I think we have a really good bond with the team. I’m excited about what we’re building.”