Penn State Adds Division III All-American Quarterback to its Offense

Penn State coach Matt Campbell brought his starting quarterback from Iowa State but still sought a veteran to compete for the backup job. Connor Barry, a Division III All-American, became that player.

Barry, a record-setting quarterback at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, has committed to Penn State, becoming the third transfer quarterback to join the program. Tyler Calvaruso of Lions247 first reported the news.

Barry, who threw for 2,866 yards and 35 touchdowns last season, will compete for the backup role behind Rocco Becht, Iowa State's three-year starter who will take the reins for the Nittany Lions. Barry is the 40th player to join Penn State's roster from the transfer portal as part of Campbell's program makeover. The quarterbacks room has five new players, with walk-on Jack Dempsey being the only returning quarterback from Penn State's 2025 roster.

Barry is an intriguing addition who has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-1 left-hander led Christopher Newport to a 10-0 record, its first undefeated season, and was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference offensive player of the year.

Barry set multiple school records, completed 67 percent of his passes and was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. Barry also was Christopher Newport's first semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, given annually to the top Division III football player in the country.

"Connor and our offense had a historic season, and he did a great job utilizing his talent and the weapons he had," Christopher Newport coach Paul Crowley said of the nomination. "Not only did he have a fantastic receiver in Colin Hart and running back in Gunner White, he also played behind a great group of offensive linemen and tight ends who played at a very high level all season. Awards like this are made possible by when you have overall team success like we did this year, and I think it's a great sign for our program moving forward to have an All-American quarterback."

Barry began his career at Appalachian State in 2022 before transferring to Christopher Newport in 2023. He spent three years with the Captains, making 22 starts and throwing for 5,561 yards and 55 touchdowns. Barry averaged 260 yards passing per game last season and threw for a career-high 434 against Rowan.

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell celebrates with quarterback Rocco Becht after defeating West Virginia. — 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

Penn State has completely remodeled its quarterbacks room under Campbell. Three quarterbacks transferred from the program: Ethan Grunkemeyer went to Virgina Tech, Jaxon Smolik transferred to Temple and Bekkem Kritza has yet to announce a destination.

Meanwhile, Campbell has brought three quarterbacks with him from Iowa State. In addition to Becht, Campbell signed redshirt freshman Alex Manske from his 2025 Cyclones roster. Manske was Iowa State's highest-rated player of its 2025 recruiting class and the highest-rated recruit in the Big 12 that season (No. 42 nationally according to On3).

Campbell retained 2026 quarterback Peyton Falzone, who signed with the Nittany Lions in early December. Falzone threw for 1,176 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first four games of his senior year at Nazareth before sustaining a broken clavicle in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.

Falzone enrolled at Penn State in January, as did fellow 2026 quarterback Kase Evans, who previously was part of Iowa State's signing class. Evans threw for more than 11,000 career yards at Lexington (Texas) High.

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