Matt Campbell on Rocco Becht: 'He knows who he is as a human'

Rocco Becht is the guy in Ames this season, and fans are excited to see how far he can lead Iowa State in his second year as the full-time starting quarterback.

Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell broke down one key quality about his QB1, explaining how it helped guide Iowa State last season and why he expects it to carry over into the 2024 college football season.

“What I love about him is he really knows who he is as a human,” Campbell said during Big 12 Media Days. “And I think his maturity through the year last year, gave us confidence. And, you know, when I say that he knows who he is — our team rallied around Rocco.

“And how he carries himself, the humility and character that he brings to the table, it just allows such an authentic growth in his process of becoming his best, and you really saw it last fall. And I really think it should go into year two for him.”

After appearing in three games as a freshman in 2022, Becht completed 63% of his passes for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2023 to win the Big 12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year award. In addition to his passing ability, Becht scored three rushing touchdowns as he totaled 63 yards on the ground.

Becht help lead Iowa State to a bounce-back year in 2023, helping the Cyclones to a 7-6 record – including a 6-3 mark in Big 12 play – and a Liberty Bowl appearance. It has led to high hopes for the ISU program heading into the 2024 regular season.

“It almost allows us to build around his skillsets and his qualities,” Campbell explained. “And I think as we know, great quarterbacks, you got to do a great job of building around who they are, and making sure that you tailor make the offense to him. So I almost think it puts it back on our shoulders a little bit, and gives us the opportunity to build this offense now, knowing exactly who Rocco is and what he does best, and really put him in the best position to be successful.”

The Cyclones will kick off their 2024 regular season against North Dakota on Aug. 31 before matching up with bitter cross-state rival Iowa on the road during Week 2. Big 12 Conference play begins during Week 5 against the Houston Cougars.