$1.4 Million QB Named Most Important Player From 'Great Migration' in College Football

A quarterback at a Power Four program has been described as the most important player in a 'great migration' across college football.

Iowa State Cyclones' quarterback Rocco Becht (3) hands off the ball running back Carson Hansen (26) during the fourth quarter in the senior day on Nov. 22, 2025, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle brought new faces to college football programs across the country in January.

Most players who entered the portal in the 2026 cycle went their separate ways from their former teammates. However, players from a handful of teams flocked together in order to follow a coach from one program to another.

One notable example of the latter was former Iowa State starting quarterback Rocco Becht, who committed to Penn State. He will have one season of eligibility with the Nittany Lions.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder ranked as a top 70 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting cycle when he committed to Iowa State's signing class. Becht redshirted and appeared in just two games that season; Hunter Dekkers was the Cyclones' starting quarterback.

Becht was not supposed to start for Iowa State in 2023, but Dekkers' involvement in a statewide gambling investigation forced the Cyclones to pivot in Becht's direction. He passed for 3,120 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions while guiding Iowa State to a 7-6 overall record.

The Cyclones' second season with Becht as their starter was the best in program history. Iowa State finished the year 11-3 with a Big 12 Championship appearance and Pop-Tarts Bowl victory with Becht throwing for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions and rushing for 318 yards and eight touchdowns.

Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) celebrates after beating the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The production took somewhat of a hit in 2025. Becht threw for 2,584 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his final season with the Cyclones, leading them to an 8-4 mark in the regular season. When former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was named Penn State's head coach, Becht announced his intent to enter the portal and follow him.

Becht was among the most vital of the 23 players from the Cyclones' 2025 roster to make their way to Penn State via the portal. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports unveiled rankings of the Big Ten quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 season. Fornelli ranked Becht as the No. 6 quarterback in the Big Ten, describing him as the most important acquisition for the Nittany Lions from the 2026 portal cycle.

"Becht is part of the great migration of Iowa State to Happy Valley, and on the player side, he's the most important. He's very much a moxie over prototype QB, but Penn State's had plenty of success with QBs like that before," Fornelli wrote. "Becht's experience and leadership in the offense should help the transition to the Matt Campbell Era go smoothly."

The first schedule for Campbell at Penn State presents an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to jump back into the College Football Playoff picture.

Penn State does not play a Power Four program out of conference and misses all three Big Ten programs that participated in the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff. Four of the Nittany Lions' nine Big Ten games are against teams that missed out on bowl games in 2025, three of which will be played in Beaver Stadium.

Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to pass during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys | William Purnell-Imagn Images