With Rocco Becht slated to take over Penn State football’s starting quarterback job, spring ball was supposed to be the time for Iowa State transfer Alex Manske and Division III Christopher Newport transfer Connor Barry to duke it out for the QB2 spot.

Becht is slowly coming back from shoulder injuries and has been limited so far in spring practice. That was the extent of Penn State’s quarterback ailments until Blue White Illustrated reported that Manske would miss the spring period after an offseason procedure.

Manske played in three games for the Cyclones in 2025, completing four passes for 28 yards. He also added a rushing touchdown against South Dakota in week one. One year under Campbell in a Division I program gave him a clear leg up over Barry in the battle. With Manske’s injury, nothing is holding Barry back from impressing in the spring period.

“Connor Barry, he’s come in and he’s really done a great job. Probably been the surprise so far of like, four days of practice. Just his ability to get quality reps,” Campbell said Tuesday. “I think we were really excited when Connor decided to come here, allowing him to be with some of our veteran players and watch how he operates.”

While Barry comes from a Division III program, he reached the peaks of that space of football. He was a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III’s Heisman equivalent, and was named a second-team All-American by the AFCA. He led Christopher Newport to its first-ever undefeated regular season and the second round of the NCAA tournament. He has vast experience leading a competitive offense onto the field.

Barry and Manske will both have their time to shine, but Campbell’s focus is on Becht getting healthy and ready to ramp up his practice cycle. It’s Becht’s team at the end of the day, but it’s a different team. It isn’t Iowa State. Happy Valley is a new test.

“Even getting Rocco out of his comfort zone of moving a new group of guys, having to lead to the room, I think it’s an unbelievable challenge for him and it’s a great opportunity for him to sharpen those leadership tools,” Campbell said. “Rocco’s always been a great leader in terms of his ability to do those things, but putting him in a different setting and letting him really flourish with those skill sets are really my expectations.”

While Campbell and Becht go all the way back to 2022 and have reached the heights of the Big 12 together, Campbell knows there’s still room for Becht to grow. Campbell has emphasized that the relationship between head coach and quarterback is the most important in a football program. He’s locked in with his guy. The setting doesn’t change that.

“It’s been awesome to watch him. I think he’s done a really great job early on, and we’ll continue to have the ability to grow that because there’ll be tough days, there’ll be tough moments. How he leads through that, everybody’s got to believe in who the quarterback is, and I think those things are really critical,” Campbell said.

Penn State fans will get their first true looks at Becht, Barry, and even freshman signal callers Kase Evans and Peyton Falzone on Blue-White Weekend on April 25.