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New Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell knows what it takes to be a successful quarterback at both the college and NFL levels.
He spent four seasons coaching Brock Purdy when both were with the Iowa State Cyclones. Purdy was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection under Campbell before becoming Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He’s become anything but for the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, the 49ers gave Purdy a five-year, $265 million contract extension last spring after he proved to be worthy of being their franchise quarterback in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Now in Happy Valley after being poached by Penn State to replace James Franklin, Campbell believes he has a quarterback who reminds him a lot of Purdy in Rocco Becht.
Becht was Campbell’s starting quarterback at ISU from 2023 to 2025, and he transferred to Penn State to play for Campbell one more time.
“People always ask me to compare Brock Purdy and Rocco Becht,” Campbell recently said at Big Ten Media Days, according to Thomas Goldkamp of On3. “I think they both have this really special trait about themselves, is, man, in our world, our society, I think there’s so many young men that are trying to be somebody else instead of trying to do something.”
Campbell said with Becht, it’s about becoming the best person and player he can be, and that attitude has won him supporters in the Penn State locker room.
Matt Campbell all in on Rocco Becht at Penn State
The locker room is rallying around Becht, per Campbell, but most importantly, he, as a head coach, feels he’s in complete lockstep with the quarterback.
That’s one of the secrets to success in football.
“I’m such a firm believer that the quarterback and the head football coach have to be tied at the hip in terms of how they lead the football team,” Campbell said. “There’s got to be a great belief system between those two.”
Becht threw for 9,274 yards and 64 touchdowns at Iowa State while rushing for 499 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2023 and the MVP of the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl.
His head coach seems to believe that his best football could still be ahead of him, though.
“Rocco and I have had an incredible relationship,” Campbell said. “And to watch his growth the last three years, he’s the winningest football, or quarterback, coming back in college football. He’s earned the right to be a great football player.”
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