How Penn State's Quarterbacks Room Will Shake Out This Spring

Jake Waters, Penn State's new quarterbacks coach, details where the position is headed.

Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) walks off the field after a win over the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | When Jake Waters was transferring from Iowa Western Community College, he took a recruiting trip to Penn State. It was the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2012, and the town was relatively quiet with students clearing out for the holiday, but Beaver Stadium was packed on gameday. 

“I was just blown away with this place and the fans and support that you had here,” Waters said recently. 

Fourteen years later, Waters is back at Penn State as the program’s quarterbacks coach. He followed Matt Campbell from Iowa State, where he spent five seasons on staff, the past two as the Cyclones’ quarterbacks coach. 

In 2012, Waters transferred instead to Kansas State, where he won 17 games in two seasons and broke multiple school records. But that visit to Penn State remained a memory.

“Ever since that [visit], I’ve always had my eye on Penn State,” Waters said. “I would always watch them, and even though obviously I wouldn’t trade my time at K-State for the world and my guys that I met there and the experiences I had, I always knew this place was special.”

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A look into Penn State’s quarterback room

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell celebrates with quarterback Rocco Becht (3) after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

While Waters never played quarterback for Penn State, his assistant coach did. Campbell retained Trace McSorley on his inaugural Penn State staff, and the former Nittany Lion will work with Waters to develop an entirely new group of quarterbacks. 

Iowa State transfer Rocco Becht headlines the group, but there are four other new quarterbacks alongside him. Becht had surgery this offseason to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, and while his rehab schedule is “ahead of schedule” according to Waters, the other quarterbacks will get some valuable reps this spring. 

“They would still get a lot of reps, but with Rocco being out, [they’re] getting thrown into the fire,” Waters said. “Learn, grow, fail, do great, fail again and just learn.” 

Waters also is familiar with Alex Manske, the redshirt freshman and former Cyclone. Manske played in only three games last season and was utilized for more specific designed runs since “he’s bigger and a more physical runner than Rocco.” 

Manske had an elbow injury during his senior year of high school that limited his workload last spring at Iowa State. But now he has the chance to experience a true offseason and set of spring drills. 

“He just needs to get more reps and go, because he’s got all the talent that you want and he’s tough, he can run and he’s not scared of contact,” Waters said. “He just needs to keep working, just overall, on how to be a college player, how to get through reads, how to read a defense, every decision that is super critical that we have to make and how to do that.”

Waters said Becht has been acting like “a third coach,” helping Manske continue his development and Penn State’s youngest incoming quarterbacks, Peyton Falzone and Kase Evans, acclimate to college football.

“They hit the ground running,” Waters said. “They’re wide-eyed and just learning every day.”

Falzone was one of two players to sign with Penn State in December before Campbell was hired. He was rated as a four-star prospect by On3 and the No. 11 prospect from Pennsylvania by 247Sports. Evans, from Texas, committed to Penn State more recently after initially signing with Campbell’s 2026 recruiting class at Iowa State. 

Rounding out the quarterback room is Connor Barry, who was a 2025 semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, the Division III MVP award. Barry set passing records at Christopher Newport University in Virginia in 2025. He hasn’t played at the Division I level but brings valuable experience to a young group.

“[Barry has] been through college and been through the ups and downs in college and knows what it takes to be a college quarterback,” Waters said. “He won football games in college, and I think that’s extremely valuable when you’re trying to round out a quarterback room.”

Waters’ coaching journey

Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Jake Waters warms up before the 2015 Valero Alamobowl against the UCLA Bruins at Alamodome. | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

When Waters’ playing career ended, he didn’t expect to become a coach, but Campbell gave him his start as a graduate assistant in 2017. The following year, Waters took a job at UTEP where he coached wide receivers before returning to the Cyclones in 2021. 

“I owe everything to him,” Waters said. “For one, taking a chance on me, giving me time and room to learn and grow, fail, get better and just the loyalty and trust that he has in me. … It was a no-brainer to go wherever coach Campbell went.”

Waters shares Campbell’s commitment to building relationships and honing in on development. Campbell called college football a “transformational journey” for 18- to 22-year-olds. 

“To help these guys in all aspects of their life and create a relationship with them so when they go off and have weddingsome someday and all that, man, I want to be in it,” Waters said. “I want to create relationships with these guys. … It’s not just, you come here for a couple years and you’re out and I never talk to you again. That’s not what we’re about.”

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