4 Penn State Football Players Who Turned Heads in Week 1, and What Their Futures Hold

Penn State introduced some new talent in its 45-0 win over Marshall and refreshed fans' memories of others. Quarterback Rocco Becht recorded the nation's second-highest quarterback rating (272.02) in Week 1, receiver Koby Howard nearly matched his 2025 yards output in one game and linebacker Tony Rojas led Penn State with 7 tackles in his first game back in 11 months.

We learned plenty about the Nittany Lions in their Week 1 debut, including who made the most of their transfer decisions and training camps. For four players, Saturday's shutout win marked an exceptional start. Now they have to build on that in Week 2 vs. Temple.

Cornerback Josiah Zayas

Zayas, a 3-star signee from New Jersey in Penn State's 2026 recruiting class, was supposed to get some playing time after a superb camp. He wasn't supposed to start over a senior who head coach Matt Campbell and defensive coordinator planned to build their defense around.

Yet Zayas started at nickelback in place of Zion Tracy, who still was coming back from a camp injury. Tracy certainly was impactful, making five tackles in his 18 snaps, and will expand his role as he gets healthier. Zayas, however, earned a more solid role in the defense.

The true freshman led all cornerbacks with 34 snaps, making two tackles and registering a quarterback hurry. Lynn said that Zayas simply got better and better through camp, reaching the point where "we felt like he earned the right to play."

"I don't know if you could say enough about what he did defensively Saturday for a true freshman," Campbell said of Zayas. "He certainly didn't look or feel like that on Saturday."

Tight end Andrew Rappleyea

Koby Howard gets @PennStateFball on the board for the first time this season 👏

Watch on FS1 pic.twitter.com/1OC6waJvNE
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2026

Ben Brahmer caught the first of what could be many touchdown passes in Penn State's offense, but Rappleyea arguably made Campbell's favorite play among the tight ends in the opener.

On Penn State's opening touchdown a 42-yard connection from Becht to Howard, Rappleyea was lined to Becht's left and picked up a cornerback blitz that gave the quarterback time to find Howard in his progression.

"The physicality that he picks that up with, it really allows Rocco to get to his third progression," Campbell said. You can hear the contact in the above clip.

On his lone reception of the game, Rappleyea turned a routing 2-yard gain into 18 with the kind of barrelling run he loves to make. Rappleyea is Penn State's most physical tight end, and with Gabe Burkle returning this week, the offense has creative options with that trio. Rappleyea also missed spring drills and some time in camp but, if he can stay healthy, could be the offense's most well-rounded contributor.

Center Brock Riker

I asked Penn State center Brock Riker what it feels like to absolutely maul somebody.

“There’s no better feeling” pic.twitter.com/XhG5P1N7mX
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) August 9, 2026

Right tackle Anthony Donkoh was Penn State's highest-graded offensive lineman, according to PFF, but center Brock Riker earned that award from the coaching staff. In fact, Campbell said that Riker was Penn State's highest-graded offensive player against Marshall.

Riker certainly came to Penn State with experience. He was a second-team freshman All-American at Texas State last season and one of offensive coordinator Ryan Clanton's prized portal signings. Clanton screamed into the phone when Riker accepted Penn State's offer in January. It looks like Penn State has found its center.

"From a communication standpoint to physicality at the point of attack, I thought he was outstanding; played really good football," Campbell said of Riker. "... I thought [left tackle] Malachi [Goodman] graded out in a really positive way as well. But I thought Brock was the guy to me, just even on the offense, that was as dynamic as I'd seen him play, even early on in camp."

Defensive end Caleb Bacon

🔥 6 Tackles (3 TFL)
🔥 1 Solo Sack
🔥 Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors@PennStateFball’s Caleb Bacon made his presence felt in the Nittany Lions' 2026 home opener 😤 pic.twitter.com/hGCxdMiP5T
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 8, 2026

The Big Ten's co-defensive player of the week concentrated plenty into his 19 defensive snaps. Bacon made six tackles (three for losses) and had a sack. He made consecutive TFLs on an early Marshall drive that completely overwhelmed its offense. Marshall quarterback Carlos Del-Rio Wilson managed just 30 yards rushing in part because of Bacon.

The senior isn't playing his traditional position this season. Bacon played inside linebacker at Iowa State, but Penn State's 4-2-5 alignment squeezed his options there. Yet Bacon also played about half his snaps last season at the line of scrimmage, so Lynn and Campbell tested him on the edge in a more full-time role.

Bacon has a line-of-scrimmage burst and drive that gets him into backfields quickly. Then he makes sure tackles. He'll be a weapon in run defenses and can play three downs, especially when Penn State goes to its four-end package.

"He did some things on the edge in practice that made us think, 'Man, this guy can do more than just play inside backer,'" Lynn said. "He can set an edge on early downs, he can drop in coverage, he can rush, he can just do a lot of things from that position. And with his inside backer background, he has a high football IQ for a guy on the edge. He’s a guy you can do a lot of different things with, so we’re going to keep on being creative in how we implement him in the plan."

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