Penn State appears to be closing in on a flip of 3-star 2027 quarterback Ben Rolapp with the early signing period only a few weeks away. On Wednesday, Brian Dohn of 247 placed a crystal ball prediction for Matt Campbell’s staff to flip the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Greenwich, Connecticut product away from Boston College.
If it does happen, the move would come just a few weeks after BC head coach Bill O’Brien flipped Penn State’s 3-star QB commit, Will Wood. It’s easy to say that swapping QBs with BC, the lowest-budget football program in the Power 4, according to The Athletic’s reporting, is a clear downgrade for the Nittany Lions. The rankings paint a similar picture.
While both are three-star by 247Sports Composite rankings, Wood is the No. 30 QB in the class and No. 508 player overall. Rolapp ranks No. 83 among QBs and No. 1503 overall, rated a 0.8567 to Wood’s 0.8867.
That’s a meaningful discrepancy, so while it’s potentially overly simplistic to say a QB trade with BC is problematic for Penn State, it’s probably also true.
Still, as Penn State is largely out of options after whiffing badly on Braylen Warren, a four-star Missouri commit who shut down his recruitment days after Campbell flew to Des Moines to extend an offer, it’s probably worth Campbell and QB coach Jake Waters taking a flier on Rolapp. And, seeing as that’s the likeliest course of action, it’s certainly worth interrogating who Rolapp is as a player, rather than completely writing off 2027 as a lost QB class before in-state four-star James Armstrong arrives in 2028.
2027 3-star QB Ben Rolapp scouting report:
Strengths:
- Serious horsepower to drive the ball downfield
- Good touch on his deep ball and an awareness of how to layer the ball to the second level
- Real intention in his downfield ball placement
- Willingness to throw under pressure and comfort outside of structure
- Capable runner with solid frame to withstand hits
- Clean footwork and ability to work through full-field reads
Weaknesses:
- The entire operation isn’t close to Power 4 speed
- Slow feet in the pocket that can lose momentum as he works through his reads
- Serious questions about competition in the Northeast Prep League (often throwing to open receivers from clean pockets)
- Arm strength is more evident when pushing the ball downfield than when attempting to throw with velocity into tight windows
Ben Rolapp has a P4 arm and maybe P4 potential if he can speed up the operation
When you watch Rolapp’s tape, there’s a lot of good for the 83rd-ranked QB in the country. He’s legitimately intentional about his downfield ball placement, toggling between leading his receiver upfield or working to the back shoulder, and it seems he’s right more often than not. He’s willing to stand in the pocket and work through multiple reads, which you hardly ever see at the high school level.
The question, though, is whether he’s willing and able to stand in the pocket and process because Northeast Prep Football isn’t a particularly high level of competition. When he stands in the pocket, he’s rarely under duress, at least early in the dropback, and oftentimes he’s throwing to receivers who use a clear athletic advantage to create separation.
His feet aren’t particularly fast, and neither is his release, though on occasion you can see him speed up the arm action without much depreciation in his accuracy, so there’s reason to believe the latter could improve. He also creates out of structure fairly well and has some rushing production, especially in the red zone, but there’s nothing especially eye-popping about his athleticism that would make you believe it will translate to the Big Ten.
There’s something there that a Power 4 team should be interested in developing. It just makes a lot more sense if that Power 4 team is Boston College, not Penn State.
With Alex Manske looming as the likely heir apparent to Rocco Becht next season, though Campbell’s unwillingness to consider playing him down the stretch tempers that expectation a bit, and Armstrong arriving in 2028, even Wood didn’t have a likely path to playing time. Rolapp, who is a less exciting recruit, even for the impressive throws you see on tape, probably doesn’t either.
It seems Penn State wants to add a body to the room for next season, and Rolapp is the best option. If he does end up flipping, most likely, he’ll develop under Waters and OC Taylor Mouser for a few years before transferring down to start at a G6 program. He may even end up being a quality starter at that level; by no means am I ruling that out in my evaluation, but I’d be surprised if he ever takes a meaningful snap for the Nittany Lions.
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