Rocco Becht is a Flordia native who played his pee-wee and high school football in the Tampa area. He recently stepped foot onto the Iowa State Cyclones’ campus as an early entry player. He said he’s going to work hard, learn, and do his best to succeed at the next level.

Rivals.com describes him as a “pro-style” quarterback. They currently have him as the 258th ranked high school football player in the nation and 30th in the state. He’s also the 12th ranked high school QB in the nation, according to Rivals.

Becht is the son of former NFL Tight-End Anthony Becht. The Senior Becht was a first-round draft pick of the New York Jets who played 12 seasons in the NFL.

The younger Becht gives a lot of credit to his father for his success in football and looks to draw on that as he progresses.

When I spoke to Rocco recently, he said he’s still getting used to the cold in Iowa, stating, “It’s cold and windy.” He also said, “I’ve been in cold weather before but never negative six degrees.” However, he mentioned he’s embracing it, and it’s not too big of a deal.

In high school, Becht played at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, where he was a three-year varsity starter. Becht was the starting QB on the JV team during his freshman year. He was projected to be the backup quarterback his sophomore season, but the current starter decided to transfer schools during the off-season.

He said, “it was trial by fire” during his sophomore season, but he adapted quickly and ended the season with a QB rating of 100.0%. Wiregrass Ranch plays in a “very hard” District; District-10, 7-A.

Rocco Becht was named one of the Top Performers, Takeaways from the Elite 11 Orlando Regional

The six-foot-one,195-pound quarterback set several school records throughout his high school career. Records such as:

• Most Career Yards (5,343)
• Most Career Touchdown Passes (62)
• Best Career Completion Percentage (.517)
• Most Passing Yards in a Game (312)
• Most Touchdown Passes in a Game (6)

Becht started playing pee-wee football at eight years old. He credits QB Coach John Groane for a lot of his success. He said, “I worked with Coach Groane for four years, and I learned so much.” He talks to his former coach frequently while on campus at Iowa State.

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Becht was named Camp MVP at the Rivals Football Camp in 2021. One fun fact is that along with his normal training and summer football camps, he did some off-ice training with high-level hockey players in 2021. He trained under Mark Gochenour, who used to train Rocco’s father. Gochenour is a former sprinter and utilizes a wide range of techniques to get the best out of his athletes.

Becht was able to leave high school early (after his senior football season) because he took senior-level classes throughout his junior year. That will give him a leg-up on other incoming freshmen. He’s currently lifting and conditioning under the guild of Cyclone’s Head Coach Matt Campbell and QB Coach Joel Gordon.

When spring practice starts, Becht says there are 5 other QB’s he’ll be competing with. The Cyclone’s starting quarterback from last season is gone.

When asked if he’d be “redshirting” next season, he said, “We won’t know until Spring and Summer Camps.” It’s quite common for incoming freshman football players to redshirt. Redshirt players sit out most of the season and retain their freshman eligibility for the next season.

Iowa State has built itself into a Top 25 football program over the past decade. However, they aren’t ranked in the preseason Top 25 as of now. Becht hopes to help change that in any way possible.