After Heart Surgery, Penn State QB Alex Manske Wants to Advocate for Athletes

Penn State quarterback Alex Manske said he doesn't really notice his surgical scar anymore, the one that bissects his chest and is maybe nine inches long. He's playing football again, is throwing at practice without hesitation and has reclaimed his spot as the No. 2 quarterback on the Nittany Lions' depth chart.

But when he does look at the scar, Manske is reminded of how his first few months at Penn State changed his life.

"I'm just thankful that I was able to get it done and I was able to find it," Manske said in a recent interview with reporters in State College. "And I'm thankful for Penn State to be able to do the testing here to find that. Because if I didn't find that, you never know what could have happened."

On March 16, eight days before Penn State began spring football practice, Manske had open heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The 20-year-old redshirt freshman had been diagnosed with a dilated aortic root and dilated ascending aorta, causing a bulge in his body's main artery.

If undiagnosed, the aortic root dilation potentially could lead to an aneurysm that, if it ruptures, could be fatal. Manske had no symptoms and learned about the diagnosis through an echocardiogram Penn State performed on new athletes last winter.

Following surgery and a month of cardiac rehab at home in Iowa, Manske began throwing in mid-June and was cleared for football activities at the beginning of July. He has had no restrictions during Penn State's training camp and is a full participant, wearing the purple non-contact jersey of all quarterbacks.

Penn State head coach Matt Campbell called Manske's return a "monumental win" for the quarterback and the team, one that his teammates weren't sure would come.

"He didn’t know if he’d play football [again]," Penn State receiver Brett Eskildsen, one of Manske's roommates, said in early August. "He didn’t know anything about this, and then open heart surgery, and here he is. It’s an unbelievable story. I call him the 'Miracle Child.'"

Now, Manske wants to help other athletes learn more about the importance of regular medical screenings to ensure they can identify and treat potential issues.

"I think it's something that definitely needs more awareness raised for, just being able to diagnose kids," Manske said. "Because there are some people who aren't as lucky as me and didn't find it and then had something happen because of it."

'I never would have known'

Some victories happen before the season even starts.

QB Alex Manske shares his story. pic.twitter.com/zg9UhGv3We
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 18, 2026

Manske was going through a winter workout at Penn State in February when Joe Resendez, the director of football sports medicine, asked him to step out. That echocardiogram Manske underwent as part of his initial testing showed the aortic root dilation, about which he was completely unaware.

"I never would have known," he said. "I had zero symptoms before then. I never felt like I'd get out of breath easy or anything like that. So it was very definitely a surprise when I found it."

The cause, a congenital condition known as a bicuspid aortic valve, affects about 2 percent of people and is more common in men, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Though treatable, Manske's diagnosis was a concern because he plays football. Chest trauma could exacerbate the chances of the root dilation leading to a burst aneurysm.

Immediately, though, Manske said that Resendez presented him with a treatment plan that would allow him to return to football. And 30 minutes after hearing the news, Manske was in Campbell's office.

"From the start he was really, really good," Manske said of Campbell. "Right away, he was like, 'I know this isn't the end. You have a lot more football in you.' He was in my ear right away, telling me, 'We're going to get through this together, and we're going to be good.'"

Manske underwent successful aortic root surgery at the Mayo Clinic, a procedure in which the enlarged section of his aorta was replaced with an artificial tube known as a graft. He had surgery on Monday and returned home to Algona, Iowa, on Friday.

He spent a month at home doing cardiac rehab, where other patients saw this 6-3, 217-pound 20-year-old and asked, "What are you doing here?" During that time, Manske attended quarterback and team meetings via Zoom and watched film of spring practice to stay sharp.

Manske played golf six weeks after the surgery (he's a plus-handicap player) and returned to Penn State in late April, as the team was concluding spring practice. Cleared for football activities in early June, Manske began throwing about three months after the surgery.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Alex Manske goes through a drill during training camp. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SI

He also returned to the weight room, starting a lifting protocol at 50 percent of his normal weight, which increased to 75 percent and then 100 percent in two-week intervals. When Penn State began training camp Aug. 5, Manske threw off some rust but felt nearly normal again.

"I was telling people that I literally don't think about it at all anymore," Manske said. "It’s a relief, and it shows how great a job everyone did around me to put my body in a position to feel like I'm back and I don't really have to think about it anymore."

Becoming an advocate for athletes

Manske was the top-ranked player of Iowa State's 2025 recruiting class, according to On3, a 4-star quarterback who was the No. 2 prospect in Iowa. He threw for 1,456 yards, 18 touchdowns and no interceptions as a senior at Algona High before an elbow injury ended his season.

Campbell has called Manske the "quarterback of the future" at Penn State, and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser believes he has no weaknesses. Manske played five sports in high school, prompting Mouser to ask, "Have you ever been bad at anything?"

"I'm not very good at kicking a football," Manske said. "That's one thing."

Algona is about two hours from Ames, and Manske grew up an Iowa State football fan. He also became close with Campbell and Mouser, who threw him touchdown passes at Iowa State football camps when Manske was a kid.

So when the coaches moved to Penn State together in December, Manske joined them. He thinks about that decision now.

"At Iowa State we didn't do those [echocardiograms], so I never would have found it if I stayed at Iowa State," Manske said. "So I think it's kind of God's plan in a way, just Campbell coming here, and me following Campbell and finding it at the time I found it, being able to get it fixed up and be all good. So I'm very grateful that I found it, and I'm grateful for Penn State for the testing."

After his initial testing at the Mayo Clinic, Manske and his parents were on a video call with doctors, who outlined a plan not only for surgery but also to get him back on the football field. Upon hearing that, Manske's mom told him, 'I'm just so happy for you and happy you have a plan to get back' because she was like, 'I honestly didn't think you were going to be able to play again.'"

Since then, Manske has talked with his parents about advocating for athletes to get tested. "I would say to other people, I think testing is very important, because I never would have known," he said.

"He found a way to defy the odds and never felt sorry for himself," Mouser said. "He was just the same guy every day."

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