Penn State football quarterback Rocco Becht has been tabbed as the star transfer in the offseason for the Nittany Lions, and with good reason. Head coach Matt Campbell didn't have a solid starting quarterback in Happy Valley when he was hired, especially since the Transfer Portal hadn't opened and it was unknown which current quarterbacks on the roster planned on staying.
The addition of Becht was huge. Familiarity with the coaching staff and NCAA experience are major bonuses. There's no denying Becht's significance to this Penn State roster in Campbell's first year.
Other transfers deserve the hype too, and Bill Connelly of ESPN set Becht aside to highlight a new Nittany Lion: safety Marcus Neal Jr.
In his Big Ten preview, Connelly listed his 10 favorite transfers across the conference. Becht is the easy choice, and he even picked two quarterbacks (Indiana's Josh Hoover and Wisconsin's Colton Joseph) to add to that list. For the Nittany Lions, though, he went with defense.
"New head coach Matt Campbell brought a lot of former Cyclones with him from Iowa State -- too many, perhaps -- but Neal is an almost surefire star," Connelly wrote. "The 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety has solid ball-hawking capabilities (two INTs, three breakups last year) but is also at home near the line of scrimmage: He took part in 12 tackles at or behind the line."
ESPN says safety Marcus Neal Jr. is "an almost surefire star"
The junior defensive back played in all 12 games at Iowa State in 2025 and logged 77 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three passes defended, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one sack.
As Connelly mentioned, Neal's versatility on defense is huge. Even with more returners coming from that side of the ball, the Nittany Lions still lost Zakee Wheatley (NFL Draft) and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter (transferred to Arizona State). Only Vaboue Toure returns from the safety room, and he's not expected to be a starter for the blue and white despite a decent performance in 2025.
Seniors Jeremiah Cooper and Jamison Patton were also huge additions for that room, but Cooper tore his ACL in 2025 and is expected to be limited in fall camp. Campbell said at Big Ten Media Days that Cooper should be ready by the time September comes along.
Neal was Cooper's partner in crime in Ames, Iowa as the Cyclones' other starting safety, so those extra reps ahead of the season due to Cooper's limitations will be huge. If Cooper stays healthy, that's a big win. Health has been a major storyline for Penn State on both sides of the ball, but the security Campbell has with Neal in regards to that is comforting.
Also, Neal is eligible to return for 2027. There's reliability that can stabilize that safety room after the massive turnover that took place from 2025 to 2026 as long as he doesn't declare for the 2027 NFL Draft.
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