Penn State’s Biggest Winners from Nonconference Play

Other than Penn State coming up short in nearly every big game that James Franklin coached during his tenure in Happy Valley, one of the program’s hallmarks in that era is the lack of a game-breaking presence at wide receiver for at least the past half-decade.

Entering the 2026 campaign, Penn State has had just one wide receiver eclipse 700 yards in a season in the last four years.

Harrison Wallace had 720 yards receiving in 2024.

Three games into this season, Koby Howard is almost halfway there with 344 yards.

It’s not just the yardage, but how the sophomore wide receiver has compiled it.

Howard is currently averaging over 28 yards per reception for the season.

The budding superstar wide receiver is on pace for 48 receptions 1,376 yards, and eight touchdowns. Howard has also rushed the ball twice for 24 yards and a touchdown. Not only has Howard clearly benefited from this early-season onslaught, but the entire program will definitely reap the rewards on the recruiting trail and in the win column.

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Josiah Zayas: The True Freshman Cornerback Locksmith

One of the biggest strengths of this Penn State roster is the ultra-deep and talented secondary.

The Nittany Lions are loaded with defensive backs, with many players having the ability to play not only one position but two.

Jeremiah Cooper, Zion Tracy, and Ibn McDaniels have the potential to play cornerback, nickel, and safety.

With a secondary so talented and rich with experience, it was a total shock when week 1 inside Beaver Stadium, true freshman Josiah Zayas‘ name hit the loudspeakers announced as a starter.

It wasn’t by accident or due to injury, because that’s exactly where he has stayed across three games as well.

Zayas has played sticky in coverage and exceptionally well when coming up into the box, helping out with the rush defense.

Through three games, the true freshman out of New Jersey has seven tackles and has been right there in coverage, helping to break up deep passes throughout each game.

With Big Ten play starting up this coming weekend, expect Zayas to stay right where he is on defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s depth chart.

Rocco Becht: Silencing the Quarterback Doubters

Rocco Becht was coming into this season with plenty of respect but also some serious doubts from the outside college football world.

After compiling two really strong seasons at Iowa State University, the Senior signal caller was banged up his junior season, and his stats showed the consequences.

Not only did analysts and media personalities question Becht’s potential, but a large group of Nittany Lions fans were upset that new Head Coach Matt Campbell decided to choose his three-year starter over Ethan Grunkemeyer, which resulted in the upstart quarterback following Franklin to Virginia Tech.

Sure, the competition hasn’t been up to par so far this season, but Becht certainly has been.

In a season with so many new players trying to gel with one another and inexperience all over the offense, Becht has been the one constant that has helped guide the Nittany Lions through the storm.

The senior QB has thrown for 751 yards with nine touchdowns, and has a completion rate over 70 percent. Add in that he leads the conference in yards per attempt, and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Becht’s trajectory, regardless of the competition he’s faced so far.