New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell didn't take long to land his quarterback for the 2026 season, with Rocco Becht set to join his former Iowa State coach by relocating to State College.
Becht brings plenty of experience to the Nittany Lions, having played for four years already and having been the Cyclones' starter in three of those four years. His 26 wins as a starter are the most of any returning quarterback in college football for 2026.
The Wesley Chapel, Florida native did not have his best season in 2025, competing 60.5% of his passes for 2,584 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions en route to an 8-4 record in Ames.
But he's shown in the past what he can do, throwing for 3,120 and 23 touchdowns in 2023 and then 3,505 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2024, and reuniting with both Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser should benefit all parties in Happy Valley.
What also won't hurt? Not being subjected to unreasonable expectations.
With all due respect to Drew Allar, his 2023 and 2024 seasons did not demonstrate anything that justified making him one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025. That was evident early on in 2025 as well, and it quickly became a problem, well before he suffered his season-ending injury against Northwestern.
Yet when the odds were first listed by FanDuel Sportsbook, Allar was listed as the fourth overall quarterback and the top quarterback in the Big Ten.
This week, FanDuel Sportsbook posted their opening odds for 2026, and Becht, despite his wealth of experience and knowledge and the familiarity he has with his coaches after spending four years with Campbell and two with Mouser, is only listed in a 22nd place tie at +6000.
He's listed behind 18 other quarterbacks, and he's only the seventh quarterback listed from the Big Ten.
While big things are obviously expected from Becht and Campbell, there isn't nearly the same level of the totally unwarranted national hype that always existed around Allar and Franklin, especially after a College Football Playoff semifinal run one year prior that was unquestionably aided by weak competition in the opening two rounds.
With Allar, a letdown felt inevitable. With Becht, fans are – or at least up to this point, have been – far more realistic.
Texas' Arch Manning and Notre Dame's C.J. Carr are listed as co-favorites at +800. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza won the prestigious award this past season after transferring from Cal and opening the year at +6000, and it did not take long for him to emerge as one of the favorites.
To be fair to Allar, none of the other preseason favorites from this past year had particularly outstanding seasons either, and that list includes Manning, who opened the year as the outright favorite before he quickly plummeted.
Ethan Grunkemeyer, who took over from Allar for the remainder of the 2025 season following Allar's injury, is listed at +20000 after joining former Penn State head coach James Franklin at Virginia Tech. He’s tied for 49th on the list.
Full Heisman Trophy odds for the 2026 season can be found here and are always subject to change.