ESPN Reveals Where Iowa State QB Room Sits Among Nation's Best

Finding the answer at quarterback is one of the most difficult things to do in football. But few things inspire confidence in a team than heading into a season with full confidence that your signal caller is the guy.

Iowa State is one of the very few teams across the nation that carries a proven commodity at the most important position in sports. Rocco Becht heads into his third season as the starting quarterback for the Cyclones with some serious notoriety.

ESPN recently unveiled a tiered ranking of all 134 FBS quarterback rooms, placing Iowa State’s QB group in the second tier alongside the likes of Arizona State, Baylor, and Georgia Tech. Of the eight programs featured in tiers 1A and 1B, none were from the Big 12, putting Iowa State in a promising position.

It’s all thanks to Becht, who has shown solid consistency and steady growth in his first two seasons as the Cyclones’ starter. ESPN pointed out two impressive stats for Becht: He’s scored at least one touchdown in 27 straight games, the longest such streak by any FBS quarterback by six games. ESPN also highlighted his play when Iowa State found itself trailing in 2024, in which he scored an 82.3 QBR, and threw for 8.55 yards per attempt with 11 total touchdowns to just three interceptions.

It’s high praise from ESPN to showcase Bech so prominently in this tiered ranking, but that doesn’t alleviate the pressure for the 6-foot-1 redshirt junior from Florida. The Cyclones were close in 2024 with eyes on the Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Still, Becht will have to take the next step while replacing two of his top receiving options now that Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will be catching passes from C.J. Stroud with the Houston Texans.