Step aside, Rocco. There’s a new Roko in town.

Happy Valley has become very familiar with Penn State football’s quarterback Rocco Becht, whether on good terms or not. But not as many Penn State fans might know Roko Prkačin, from Croatia, on the Penn State men’s basketball team.

Prkačin recently made headlines with a 28-point performance on 85% shooting from the field in the Nittany Lions’ home opener win against Canisius.

Becht gets his fair share of flak from Penn State fans who think he could be performing better, but perhaps it’s time to question: if the two switched sports, how would they fare?

We’ll never truly know, but two of our staffers debated which Rocco/Roko could play the other’s sport better.

Jake Speicher: Roko Prkačin Could Play Football Better

Standing at 6-foot-8, Prkačin would be one of the tallest football players, let alone quarterbacks, of all time. While it might be a bit unorthodox, Prkačin’s height makes him an exciting dual threat in the pocket.

The capability to be an aerial threat is clearly there. Prkačin’s height gives him an elevated perspective over Becht, who is seven inches shorter. The Croatian has a heightened ability to scan the field, see over the top of the line of scrimmage, and find his receivers more easily.

With height comes wingspan as well. Prkačin’s 6-foot-11 wingspan lets him not only let shots fly from anywhere on the court but also let the football fly from any spot on the field.

His longer limbs and bigger frame create an exceptionally high release point, enabling him to drop the ball just out of reach of a defender and right into the arms of a receiver on a fly route, or flick off-balance passes with precision when pressured. Prkačin’s release point can also make a quick pump fake look all the more convincing.

Prkačin can give the defense trouble in the running game. At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, Prkačin possesses the frame of a wide receiver or tight end. His long legs can cover more ground on the run, and if he hits the open field, Prkačin can gain big yardage.

In short-yardage situations, all Prkačin has to do on a quarterback sneak or a goal line situation is lunge forward, and he can pick up 2 to 3 yards.

Because a linebacker would expect a tall quarterback to be a stationary pocket passer, they might drop deep into pass coverage and leave massive gaps in the middle of the field for Prkačin to scoop up an easy first down on a scramble.

When pressured in the pocket, Prkačin’s frame can also help him shake off pass rushers and absorb heavy hits better.

The biggest catch with a tall quarterback is mobility and agility in the pocket. Quarterbacks need exceptional footwork and the ability to shift and change direction quickly.

Prkačin’s advantage is that he can already do all of this with great precision. Basketball requires nonstop multidirectional cutting, pivoting, acceleration, and deceleration, with few moments to rest.

Prkačin can fly coast to coast on the court for 40 minutes, so it’s fair to assume he can do it on the football field too, with more opportunities to rest and reset between plays.

If 6-foot-6 Joe Flacco can turn his height into an NFL career spanning almost 20 seasons, Prkačin can certainly get it done at the college level.

Tyler Eyerman: Rocco Becht Could Play Basketball Better

Becht would make a better basketball player than Prkačin would make a football player, and there are a few reasons why.

First, let’s look at what we already know about Penn State’s quarterback. Becht stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 208 pounds, similar to the average college point guard.

The quarterback position requires players to read defenses and scan the field, which is similar to how a point guard surveys the court, distributes the ball, and creates scoring opportunities for teammates.

I’m not the only one who sees point guard-like qualities in Becht. Former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman posted a video discussing how Becht is essentially “playing point guard” for the Nittany Lions’ offense.

“They really let Rocco Becht play point guard, which is where he’s at his best. Think of Rocco Becht as a distributor of the football,” Breneman said.

While Becht never played basketball in high school, his father, Anthony, did, right here in Pennsylvania. The former NFL tight end has discussed his experience as a sixth man on the Bonner-Prendergast High School basketball team, emphasizing the importance of team chemistry and building relationships with teammates.

It’s no secret that Becht inherited his father’s football genes, so I believe a little bit of his basketball background could have been passed down, too.

Becht is from Wesley Chapel, Florida. While he hasn’t made his basketball fandom public, he grew up about an hour and a half from the Orlando Magic. I’m assuming Magic games were on television while Becht was growing up, so basketball shouldn’t be a completely foreign sport to him.

Prkačin, on the other hand, is from Zagreb, Croatia, where “football” means something entirely different. I’m not saying Prkačin is unfamiliar with American football, but the sport doesn’t have nearly the same cultural presence in Croatia that it does in the United States.

We’ve seen plenty of professional football players make the transition to basketball and play at a high level. Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, and Terrell Owens are just a few examples of former football players who were standouts on their collegiate basketball teams.

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 45 Hall of Famers played college basketball, while only one Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer played college football. The pipeline from basketball to football is clearly much stronger than the other way around. So, it sounds to me like football players can play basketball, but basketball players can’t always play football.

Outside of players like Draymond Green and Charlie Ward, there aren’t many examples of athletes who played college football before transitioning to professional basketball.

At the end of the day, Becht’s size, football instincts, and family background give him a pretty good starting point on the basketball court. Prkačin might have the physical tools to play football, but transitioning to a sport with a completely different skill set and culture is a much bigger challenge.

I’ll take Becht on the basketball court over Prkačin on the football field.

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