Nov 11, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) calls a play against the Brigham Young Cougars in the first half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
AMES — Rocco Becht stood in the tunnel and took stock of the moment. Mere minutes separated him from his debut as Iowa State’s starting quarterback in last season’s opener against Northern Iowa. His heart raced. His pulse pounded. But Becht didn’t fight the swirl of emotions that beset his brain and body.
Instead, he embraced them, took a deep breath, and confidently trotted onto the field.
“I think I was, like, nervous as hell,” Becht said with a smile in advance of his 14th career start in Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. season-opener against North Dakota (FS1) at Jack Trice Stadium. “This year, I don’t think I’m nervous. I think I’m just anxious and getting ready for the game — wanting to get to the game and play against another team instead of our defense. I think I’m just excited to be out there.”
A fine line crisscrosses anxiety and excitement, but Becht deftly straddled that razor’s edge of emotion last season, eventually becoming the Big 12’s offensive freshman of the year. His confidence grew commensurately with earned trust from his teammates, and once Big 12 play began, Becht played like a veteran.
So what does the skilled sophomore do for an encore? Raise the bar, of course.
“Rocco came into last fall, I think, earning confidence along the way,” said Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell, whose team enters Saturday’s game as a 27.5-point favorite. “I think that Rocco now has enough banked confidence to come in and almost take a bit of a leadership role within the football team, especially on the offensive side of the football. And obviously, when the quarterback is the guy that has the leadership intangibles, and he sets the tone for everybody around him, usually you have a chance to grow into something on the offensive side that can be really successful.”
Becht’s already established an explosive foundation for an ISU offense that returns its top three receivers (Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and Ben Brahmer) from last season. He was one of two Power Four quarterbacks last season to pierce a defense with six passes spanning 60-plus yards and helmed an offense that ranked third nationally in scoring drives lasting a minute or less (eight).
“Ultimately, it just comes down to the type of person you are,” said Higgins, an Eastern Kentucky transfer who amassed 983 receiving yards while scoring six touchdowns in his Cyclones debut last season. “Rocco is just a great person. being around him is awesome Talking to him is great. Anything you ever need from him, he’s there, and that plays a huge part in being a good leader.”
That also comes with experience. Becht said he felt he truly came into his own last season in the Big 12 season-opening win over Oklahoma State. He completed 27 of 38 passes for a then-career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns that day, but finished the season even stronger, throwing 10 touchdown passes and just one interception in the final four games of 2023.
So what does he do for an encore? Dig deeper into the playbook to attack any eventuality.
“I want to make it harder for myself,” Becht said. “I don’t want to just go through the basics.”
That means seeking out challenging situations in practice — or merely encountering them when Campbell inserts “chaos” with a sharp chirp of his whistle. More than ever, ISU’s head coach has devised ways in practice to set up his players for failure so he can determine how they’ll respond in real-time situations. And more than ever, Becht stands center stage in that adversity-filled arena, eager to engage with each taxing scenario.
“Just being able to do that in practice, in fall camp, and having those situations handed to us to prepare us for the season is gonna be huge,” Becht said.
So Becht’s not concerned about encores. He’s not “nervous as hell” anymore. He’s simply confident in his ability to steer a potentially high-octane offense onto an opportunity-filled, 12-game open road.
“Going out there with a steady head and a level mind,” Becht said. “We’ve just got to go out there and do our job.”
