Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht believes Matt Campbell raises the ceiling in Happy Valley. (Syndication: The Ames Tribune)
Penn State Football head coach Matt Campbell will be running out onto a different field, wearing different colors to start the 2026 season, but after an active portal window, Campbell will be leading many of the same players from his 2025 Iowa State team.
Of those players, one of the most familiar to Campbell is quarterback Rocco Becht, who has started for the past three seasons for the Cyclones under Campbell.
Becht came on board to lead Penn State in his final season of eligibility this week, following Campbell from Ames to Happy Valley.
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While on his official transfer portal visit to Penn State, Becht did notice a change in Matt Campbell from his time at Iowa State.
Becht, 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, visited Penn State at the beginning of the transfer portal window with a host of former Iowa State players from Campbell’s 2025 team.
In total, 20 former Cyclones have committed to Penn State out of the transfer portal to play in Happy Valley for the 2026 season. As part of the official visit with the former Cyclones players, Campbell talked to the prospective transfers, laying out his vision at Penn State, which was a bit different, according to Becht, than during his time at Iowa State.
“We were listening to him talk yesterday, and something about him changed,” Becht told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “He’s got the resources and people behind him and a program behind him to do what he wants to do—compete for a national championship.”
Becht did explain that it was Campbell’s goal to win a national championship at Iowa State, but it is a much harder environment to win one in Ames than with the NIL resources and structural advantages in place in Happy Valley.
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Campbell is certainly scouring the transfer portal to give Becht the pieces necessary to bring Penn State back to the College Football Playoff, and push for a national championship in his final season of eligibility.
Through Tuesday afternoon, Campbell has received the commitment of 20 former Iowa State players and three non-Iowa State players in the transfer portal to add to the Nittany Lions 2026 roster.
This, combined with Campbell’s great retention of key Penn State players before the transfer portal window, could go a long way to making Penn State very competitive in the Big Ten and nationally in 2026.
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- ‘Something About Him Changed’: Rocco Becht Explains Why “New” Matt Campbell is Built for a Natty at Penn State - January 7, 2026
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