Much of the buzz surrounding the Florida Gators in their quest to find a new QB1 for 2026 has been centered around Aaron Philo, the soon-to-be transfer from Georgia Tech, who was groomed under the new OC Buster Faulkner. Philo to Florida is far from official, but many seem to think Gainesville is where he will land.
But if one wants to go full-blown TMZ mode and connect some dots, there is another QB who just hit the portat worth keeping an eye on.
Rocco Becht is set to hit the transfer portal
Iowa State QB Rocco Becht announced he will be hitting the transfer portal in January. Becht has been the entrenched starter for Iowa State the past three seasons and helped lead Iowa State to an appearance in the Big 12 title game last season.
For his career, Becht has over 9,200 passing yards and has thrown 64 touchdowns while rushing for another 19.
The core belief is that Becht is probably going to follow Matt Campbell, who just left Iowa State to take over at Penn State. It’s the most logical move, and we wouldn’t be shocked if he wound up in Happy Valley.
But Becht is a Wesley Chapel native who played at Wiregrass Ranch. And if one wants to find the connection to Florida, his girlfriend does attend UF.
Would that be a strong enough pull for a homecoming to play for a new coach?
Who knows, but it did have Florida fans buzzing on social media on Saturday.
The practical issue is that Becht would probably only go somewhere where he is virtually guaranteed the starting job. DJ Lagway just got jettisoned out of town in part because Jon Sumrall wasn’t willing to guarantee him anything. Throw in the fact that Florida has indicated it wants to bring in two QBs out of the portal, combined with Tramell Jones also wanting to compete for the QB1 job, and it feels the pathway for Becht to wind up in Gainesville feels low.
But if Florida were to pursue and land Becht, it would give the Gators an instant veteran QB who would instantly stabilize the position.