Why Penn State Believes Alex Manske is the Program's Quarterback of the Future

Penn State offense coordinator Tayloy Mouser joked around with quarterback Alex Manske over lunch recently. Manske played five sports in high school and is a plus-handicap golfer. So Mouser asked Manske, “Have you ever been bad at anything?"

“I could see him trying to find something, and he just couldn’t,” Mouser said.

Manske’s the real deal. According to Mouser and Penn State head coach Matt Campbell, the 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman has all the traits they’re looking for and just might be the future of the quarterback position in Happy Valley.

And after two major health issues, including one that prompted heart surgery in March, Manske is ready to start that future. He also had an answer to Mouser’s question.

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

'Man, this guy's really special'

Penn State coach Matt Campbell on QB Alex Manske's two-year journey through elbow surgery, heart surgery and his return to football.

"It's a miracle, it's a blessing and we're all really grateful."https://t.co/GegjxtOApL
🎥Penn State Athletics pic.twitter.com/538oJPrn4E
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) August 20, 2026

Manske missed spring practice the past two seasons for different reasons. He began his career at Iowa State in 2025 still recovering from an elbow injury he sustained during his senior year at Algona (Iowa) High.

This past spring, after transferring to Penn State, Manske was diagnosed with a dilated aortic root and dilated ascending aorta that led to open heart surgery. He played in just three games at Iowa State and has completed four passes in his short collegiate career. It seems like he’s been off the football field as much as he’s been on it.

But Manske is now healthy and practicing as Penn State’s No. 2 quarterback for 2026. Campbell has called his journey a “miracle.”

“What that young man has done to get back to playing the way he's playing — he's playing as good a football [in August] as we've witnessed Alex Manske playing his entire career,” Campbell said during local media day. “And I think what you're seeing as you're watching him, he's got elite arm talent. He certainly is an elite athlete. He's a guy that could probably start at safety.

“He led his team incredibly during his high school career, was a great basketball player on top of it, a great golfer, a guy that has got all these elite traits and you just saw it about him [in practice]. Man, this guy's really special.”

The expectations are still sky-high for Manske. He was a 4-star prospect and the highest-rated player in Iowa State’s 2025 class, according to On3. Campbell has raved about his arm talent and “great field awareness,” two of many traits that led Campbell and Mouser to recruit him. It helped that Manske grew up an Iowa State fan.

“If you go back and really understand what Alex Manske was coming out of high school, you could probably say he was one of the top-three, top-four quarterbacks coming out in his class,” Campbell said. “He had everybody in the country [recruiting him]. There weren't many perks of being in Iowa State in terms of recruiting regionality, but one of them was Alex Manske. … It was a monumental win for us because we felt he was [going] to be the quarterback of the future.”

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

It just took Manske a while to get to his future. He sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which Campbell called “the Brock Purdy injury,” in his senior year of high school, which forced him to miss spring ball and summer activities as a freshman at Iowa State.

And this past spring, Manske underwent heart surgery just a week before Penn State began spring drills. He returned to Penn State a month later, began throwing three months after the surgery and was cleared to resume football activities in early July.

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

Manske's looking better than expected

A look at Penn State QB Alex Manske going through a drill at training camp, five months after open-heart surgery.

No limitations or restrictions. More here on Manske’s story.https://t.co/GegjxtOApL pic.twitter.com/7M1hlU9Dve
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) August 18, 2026

Manske said in early August that his body feels great and that he doesn’t feel like he missed any time in that regard.

“I don't know what it was, if it was my mechanics that got reset from not throwing for a while, but once I started to return to throwing, it didn't feel like I missed throwing,” Manske said. “Like right away, I felt really good. And working with my quarterback coach from back home, he was like, ‘Your mechanics are in a really good spot, like better than I would’ve expected.’”

“It's a first real true look at what he knows, how he can play, how he can process and everything — and he's exceeded all expectations given what he's been through,” Penn State quarterbacks coach Jake Waters said. “It's been awesome to see him and actually go out and play confidently [and] fast, because he knows what's going on, he knows the offense, and he's not thinking too much out there.”

Manske fits the bill of past successful Penn State quarterbacks as he’s dual-threat. He said running has always been part of his game and elevates his ceiling. He said he carried the ball 20 times a game in high school and that running the ball has always been a big part of his playstyle.

“Being from a smaller school, I ran the ball a lot,” Manske said. “Like, I had 20 carries a game, but obviously I have to tone that down a little bit because we have bigger guys, more competition. But yeah, I think if the opportunity presents itself or they call my number to run the ball, I'll be there. I'll be ready.”

A downside of missing spring drills, especially as a quarterback, is developing chemistry. Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht said at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago that he would throw on Saturdays, Sunday nights and sometimes during the week to get the timing down and form a rapport with his receivers.

Manske hasn’t done the same but still feels like the chemistry is “really good.”

“I got to throw to them [the receivers] in the winter,” Manske said. “Obviously Chase [Sowell] and Brett [Eskildsen] weren't healthy then, but I was able to throw to Koby [Howard], Zay [Robinson] — all of them before my procedure.

“And then in the summer, obviously, I feel like I've got good work. Some of the guys, like the Iowa State guys, already have chemistry from last year, so there's just a few guys I gotta keep working on. But really, I feel like it's been good, and it's easy to connect with these guys. I feel like they're in the right spots at the right time, so it's been pretty easy.”

Mouser said that Manske has returned to demonstrating the confidence and “edge” he had in high school. That’s why Penn State has high expectations for his future.

“When you watch that kid in high school and what he did on defense, most quarterbacks don't go on defense and run through somebody's face,” Mouser said. “He's a guy that has three brothers, and you know it can be cutthroat. So his competitiveness, you feel it’s similar to Rocco. You feel good when the ball's in his hands. You always feel like that guy's going to find a way to make a play.”

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Alex Manske talks with reporters during football media day in Holuba Hall. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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