STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — As Rocco Becht waited for his surgically repaired shoulder to heal during winter workouts, the quarterback’s eyes often were glued to his new teammate wearing No. 6.
It didn’t take long for Becht to strike up a friendship with James Franklin era holdover Koby Howard. Once Becht could start throwing again, the veteran found immediate chemistry with the shifty speedster who played sparingly for the No. 13 Nittany Lions (3-0) as a freshman.
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“We have a lot of guys like that in the room, but Koby is a little different,” Becht said. “He’s able to go out there and make plays when they’re not probably supposed to be made, so I have all the trust in him and I know he has trust in me to get him the ball.”
Howard has proved his worth with a team-leading 12 catches for 344 yards through three games.
He has made defenders look flat-out slow with a pair of long catch-and-run scores. He has gone up and caught passes at their highest points, where lower-leaping defenders have had no chance. He has taken handoffs out of the backfield and recently scored on an easy-looking reverse in Penn State‘s final nonconference win, a 55-13 victory over Buffalo.
“None of it surprises me because of how I watch him work,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said.
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With Penn State beginning Big Ten Conference play at home against Wisconsin (2-1) on Saturday, Howard is tied for the most receptions of 30 yards or more among Bowl Subdivision receivers. His total receiving yardage through just three games exceeds the full-season total of all but two of Penn State’s wideouts from a season ago.
Trebor Peña led Penn State with 49 catches for 552 yards last season. Becht said in July that his goal was to ensure Howard gets to 1,000 yards receiving. Penn State hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jahan Dotson in 2021.
The early opportunities have meant a great deal to Howard, who was buried on the previous staff’s depth chart for reasons he can’t explain. Last year Howard played minimal snaps over Penn State’s first three games, then didn’t crack the receiver rotation again until mid-October.
When Franklin was fired three games into Penn State’s conference schedule, Howard was introspective. He acknowledged that while he committed to that coaching staff, he was willing to see who Penn State would hire before deciding whether to transfer or stay in Happy Valley.
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Once he learned he’d likely have a chance to play with Becht, the FBS’s winningest quarterback, Howard opted to stay in the small, central Pennsylvania town he’d come to love.
He wanted to set a good first impression with his new teammates and coaches, so he started setting his alarm for 4:45 a.m. Howard’s was the first face Becht, his fellow new teammates and most of the new coaching staff would see when they entered the team’s facility shortly after 5 a.m. each day.
By 5:45 most days, Howard already has warmed up, caught a bunch of passes from a jugs machine and had breakfast.
“It came down to me, honestly, not wanting to feel like I felt like last year,” Howard said. “Even though I was working, I knew I had to work harder so I didn’t go through the same thing.”
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Now, instead of wondering if he’ll even get a chance to put his helmet on, Howard is wondering what coverage he’s going to draw and how to beat it.
Take his blistering, 70-yard, catch-and-run score against the Bulls on Saturday as an example.
Howard and Becht shot each other a look as soon as they settled into their alignment. Howard was in the slot with Buffalo linebacker Joey Cheshire lined up across from him. Cheshire began to backpedal before the snap and Howard knew he’d be even easier to beat with more space between them.
By the time Becht fired over the middle, Howard was sprinting past the linebacker who still hadn’t turned to run with him. Of course, it was too late.
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“I knew me and Rocco were on the same page,” Howard said. “The linebacker kind of dropped, so I knew I had to get over him and I knew Rocco was going to put it there. It was a great connection with me and Rocco seeing the same thing and being able to connect on it.”
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