Rocco Becht stands for a photo during Iowa State Football media day at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. © Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — ISU quarterback Rocco Becht faced a crossroads in last season’s Big 12 season-opener against Oklahoma State. The Cyclones stood 1-2 after a 10-7 loss at Ohio and Becht’s touchdown-to-interception ratio was a middling 4-to-3. So the team needed a boost and Becht — who went on to attain Big 12 offensive freshman of the year honors — delivered.
“I felt like that was a huge game for me,” said Becht, who completed 27 of 38 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns in that season-saving 34-27 win over the Cowboys at Jack Trice Stadium. “I felt like my leadership had kind of come out in that game. I felt like I had (earned) the respect from some of my teammates and I respected them for trusting me, and (it established) that relationship I had with them for the rest of the season.”
Unfortunately for Becht and the Cyclones, one of those teammates, Daniel Jackson, will likely miss the 2024 season because of a lower leg injury sustained in fall camp. Jackson caught two of Becht’s three touchdown passes in the Oklahoma State win and seemed poised to have a breakout senior season before the injury occurred.
“Daniel’s back with our football team already, but it’s just tough because he’s been through so much already,” said ISU head coach Matt Campbell, who saw Jackson miss the entire 2022 season because of injury, as well. “I would say the one thing he’s already shown is just incredible leadership through that and we’ll kind of just navigate where that takes Daniel as we go, but we love Daniel and we think the world of him.”
Jackson does retain a COVID-19 year, but he’s already graduated and is set to begin work on a master’s degree, so whether he chooses to use it is currently uncertain.
“I think the biggest thing in my conversation with him is, man, let’s let this settle,” Campbell said. “Let’s figure out where we are and let’s figure out if you’re ready to go attack this thing from a football perspective.”
Jackson, Campbell said, is further cementing his role as a leader even as his hopes of making plays on the field this season have dimmed.
“He was back on Saturday at practice with our football team at the scrimmage, on the bench helping our football team be successful,” Campbell said. “So I think that indicates the man (he is) and that part of it I don’t think we’ll lose. The on-the-field piece? There’s a lot of competition. That room is heavy right now. There (are) a lot of players playing really good football.”
That list of players begins with leading returning receivers Jayden Higgins (53 catches, 983 yards, six touchdowns in 2023) and Jaylin Noel (66 catches, 820 yards, seven touchdowns) last season, but also winds through talented redshirt freshman Beni Ngoyi and transfers such as Isaiah Alston and Eli Green.
So formidable options still abound for Becht, who threw 14 touchdown passes to just three interceptions in the final eight games of last season.
“Rocco really had a great scrimmage (last) Saturday,” Campbell said. “I think you see a guy who I would say a year ago was competing to just figure out if he can do this. And I’ve always said this about Rocco, I think Rocco is a young man that’s always earning the right to be confident. And he had to work though some things that I think we would all identify in the early part of last season. You saw his confidence really growing.”
Now it’s spiraling even higher because of the trust he’s built with his teammates and coaches. No one questions if Becht “can do this” anymore. It’s about going from good to great at this point — and so far, he seems to be right on schedule.
“I think you see a different football player right now, which is hugely positive,” Campbell said. “And that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be better or worse. It just means (he’s a) guy that’s very mature and very confident in at least understanding the process it takes to be his best on Saturdays.”
