Since arriving in Happy Valley, Matt Campbell has brought most of his successful operation from Iowa State over to Penn State. He now has both of his coordinators in place and has flipped four players from the 2026 recruiting class who were signed to the Cyclones. All signs point to redshirt junior quarterback Rocco Becht being next, and while that’s not a bad idea, Penn State has no reason to lock itself out of the booming transfer portal quarterback market.
Becht was good in 2025, throwing for 2,500 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he took a bit of a step back from his gaudy 2024 numbers with star wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel on the outside. He’s a tough runner with good instincts and a solid arm. He's a ‘gamer,’ if you will. But he’s not the type of quarterback that would elevate Penn State back into the Big Ten Title conversation, especially not while Oregon and Indiana are reportedly planning to do some big-game hunting at the position.
2026 might be a transitional year for Campbell, and a familiar quarterback like Becht could be the calming force that the program needs. He may, however, put a hard cap on the offense’s ceiling without elite physical tools to push the ball all over the field and to make plays against Big Ten defenders.
Before he landed on Campbell, who is a great hire but not the headline-grabbing name, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft sniffed around to see if Curt Cignetti, Mike Elko, or Kalani Sitakes were interested. Now, that’s what Campbell needs to do when the portal opens (and before, who are we kidding, everybody is tampering), because there are going to be some big names out there, the likes of which Campbell never could have gotten to Iowa State.
Transfer QB market is filling up with DJ Lagway, Dylan Raiola, and Brendan Sorsby announcements
There is now just one transfer portal window in college football, and it doesn’t open until January 2, but on Monday, former five-star quarterbacks DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola both announced their intentions to transfer when the portal opens, as did Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby. They’re joining a loaded list of transfer QBs with Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles.
There are plenty of other QBs, including Becht, who have yet to announce their intentions but are likely to leave, like North Texas’s Drew Mestemaker and NC State’s CJ Bailey. If they all do enter the portal, along with a few other surprises, then Penn State and other QB-needy programs will have plenty of options to choose from.
The going rate for a proven transfer portal QB was set by Carson Beck last season when he reportedly landed a $4 million deal to leave Georgia for Miami. That precedent could be broken by Lagway, Raiola, or Leavitt, but it should still be within Penn State’s price range.
Yes, Penn State had to pay $9 million for James Franklin’s buyout, but without a real 2026 recruiting class, Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer, who came with him from Iowa State, will have plenty of money to spend if they want to make a splash in the portal market.
Becht and even returning starting Ethan Grunkemeyer would be perfectly fine options at quarterback for Penn State in 2026. But, before Campbell and Hoodjer settle for either one, they should kick the tires on the cream of the transfer portal crop to see if they can land a QB who is good enough to expedite the rebuild in Happy Valley.