QB Rocco Becht following Matt Campbell to Penn State with Grunkemeyer reportedly heading to Va. Tech
Rocco Becht has announced he will follow coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State to Penn State, giving the Nittany Lions a veteran quarterback to replace Ethan Grunkemeyer.
Becht stated his decision in a social media post late Sunday. Grunkemeyer posted at about the same time that he would enter the transfer portal, and multiple media outlets reported Monday he will reunite with James Franklin at Virginia Tech.
Becht started 39 straight games for Campbell at Iowa State, the longest active streak among Big 12 quarterbacks and fourth-longest in the nation among quarterbacks. He will continue to work with his Iowa State offensive coordinator, Taylor Mouser, for his final season of eligibility.
Becht, who led the Cyclones to the Big 12 championship game in 2024, completed 60% of his passes this season for 215 yards per game with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has been one of the steadiest quarterbacks in the country the past three years, and he had a Bowl Subdivision-best streak of 22 games with at least one touchdown pass.
Grunkemeyer is first in line to take over as Virginia Tech quarterback for Kyron Drones, who has exhausted his eligibility. Grunkemeyer, who was thrust into action after Drew Allar broke his ankle at midseason, led the Nittany Lions to four straight wins to end the season. He finished with a program-record 69.1% completion rate and threw for more than 200 yards in three games. He has three seasons of eligibility.
North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker also is on the move, having changed the picture on his X profile to himself in an Oklahoma State uniform. He led North Texas to a 12-2 record and the American Conference championship game as a freshman.
Oklahoma State, which had one of the worst passing offenses in the country, gets a quarterback who threw for 4,379 yards — second all-time among FBS freshmen — and a UNT-record 34 TD passes. His 15 straight games with at least 200 yards passing is the longest streak in the nation.
Nebraska has found its replacement for Dylan Raiola in Notre Dame’s Kenny Minchey, according to media reports. Minchey was backup to C.J. Carr and played 87 snaps over six games. Minchey, a four-star recruit coming out of high school in Hendersonville, Tennessee, has two seasons of eligibility.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football