It seems that Rocco Becht isn’t the only Penn State football quarterback who will take the field in the Nittany Lions’ 2026 season opener against Marshall.

Taylor Mouser and Matt Campbell both said that redshirt freshman quarterback and Iowa State transfer Alex Manske is set to get some game reps as soon as Saturday against the Thundering Herd at their media availabilities on Monday.

“Alex Manske is one of the most talented guys on the offense, and we’re not going to keep him off the field this year,” Mouser said. “He’s forced us to have to play him, and he’s been really good, especially with going through what he did.”

Manske was diagnosed with a dilated aortic root and dilated ascending aorta after taking an electrocardiogram following one of his offseason workouts. The conditions would have increased the likelihood of an aneurysm or heart rupture.

The Algona, Iowa, native received open-heart surgery to place a plastic graft into his aorta on March 16 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He went home to Iowa for cardiac rehab, returned to State College in April, and started throwing again in June.

Despite Manske’s health issues through Penn State’s preparatory months, he still easily slid into the QB2 spot behind Becht and has Mouser and Campbell gushing about the opportunity for him to get back on the field.

“Alex [Manske] certainly deserves the right to be able to get on the field, and I think even a year ago if you watched us play, we were able to find ways to get him into the football game and impact the football game in a positive way,” Campbell said. “Alex [Manske] does a lot of things well. Obviously, as we game plan each week we try to figure out where he can play in and where he can give us an advantage in the football game for sure.”

Campbell plugged Manske into three of Iowa State’s games in 2025. The quarterback completed four of five passes in the Cyclones’ home opener against South Dakota and added a touchdown on the ground. He totaled 33 rushing yards over his three appearances.

“I think the value comes in just being able to get any reps in the stadium in front of 110,000 people … On top of what he brings as a runner, we can have really unique designed run stuff with that guy that maybe we wouldn’t do. Not that Rocco [Becht] couldn’t do it, but now with the new rules that we can bring Manske in and be able to be in a unique personnel with extra linemen or not, be able to run Alex [Manske] because he’s really good with the ball in his hands,” Mouser said.

Campbell said at Penn State’s local media day in early August that Manske could eventually slide into the top three or four quarterbacks from the Class of 2025 when it’s all said and done.

He continued to turn heads through camp for the sheer quality level he was playing at, despite almost having his entire football career cut short just months prior.

Manske’s accuracy improvements and running ability are what differentiates him from Becht in the eyes of Campbell and Mouser. Becht is an established starter, but Campbell and Mouser clearly aren’t afraid to throw Manske to the wolves.

With the growth he’s shown through the offseason, the coaching staff simply falls more and more in love with him.

“I’ve seen him grow his consistency in the pass game with how accurate he is, his ball placement, his timing, knowing where to go with the football for being a young guy,” Mouser said. “He’s one of the more impressive-looking people. He’s gigantic. He can run physical, as competitive as anybody that we have on the field. We really challenged him to grow as a passer, and Jake [Waters] has done a really good job of building that guy up.”

The coaching staff aren’t the only people to see Manske’s strides in the face of his injury, though. Becht has spent every day with Manske in the quarterback room since Manske arrived as a freshman at Iowa State.

The move to Happy Valley and the heart scare hasn’t changed Manske’s dedication to the game of football. If anything, it’s proved that he can be the leader Penn State needs not just for some game action early in the season, but beyond.

“To be where he is right now after his injury, his surgery, is incredible,” Becht said. “The more reps that that guy gets is going to be the best thing for him, because in the future when all of the seniors are gone and it’s his team, he should be able to rock and roll. I’m super excited for him.”

Trevor Buhr, who was announced as Penn State’s starting left guard by Campbell on Tuesday, said Manske hasn’t only turned heads with his play, but with his leadership. Buhr has also closely intertwined with Manske since the Iowa State days. Manske’s demeanor isn’t much of a surprise to him, but it carries the team all the same.

“I think Manske is a dawg. Even last year, his confidence, his ability to lead the offense when we’re out there. I think he’s a great player, and it’s easy to rally behind him,” Buhr said. “We will all always do everything we can for him and he’s going to do everything he can for us … There’s nothing he can’t do.”

All signs lead to Manske getting some on-field action against Marshall and possibly beyond. The coaching staff has clearly signaled his readiness.

Despite fearing for his football career not even a full six months ago, Manske might become one of Penn State’s early feel-good stories of the Campbell era.