Penn State is using the transfer portal to help rebuild its quarterback depth chart and the Nittany Lions have picked up an important commitment at the position. Former Iowa State quarterback Alex Manske has committed to Penn State, reuniting him with head coach Matt Campbell and quarterbacks coach Jake Waters.
Manske appeared in three games as a true freshman with the Cyclones, completing four of five passes for 28 yards to go along with seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown. He was a backup behind starter Rocco Becht.
“I have a great relationship with all the coaches that went (from Iowa State to Penn State),” Manske told Lions247 before he visited Penn State during the weekend.
Manske signed with Iowa State as a Composite four-star recruit out of Algona (Iowa). He picked the Cyclones over offers from Iowa, Kansas State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
“Manske is a pretty fascinating prospect who we’ve seen a lot this off-season including three days at the Elite 11 Finals,” 247Sports wrote in its evaluation of Manske coming out of high school. “We called him raw at times and he’s not the most fluid thrower but we do like the size, multi-sport athleticism and makeup. In addition to football, he plays baseball, basketball and runs track and has a lot of natural ability. He doesn’t play like a conventional quarterback and almost looks more comfortable throwing off-platform/outside the pocket, even on straight drops, than a throwing with a typical over the top release.
“He’s comfortable throwing on the run and really thrives in those kind of situations when a play breaks down. He’ll need some time to fine tune some things and has never really had a true off-season because of his multi-sport commitments but he’s a gamer and it won’t shock us if he ends up a multi-year starter for the Cyclones down the road.”
Penn State has been aggressive early in the portal with Campbell leading the way and Manske is the latest important commitment for the first-year head coach in Happy Valley.
“Transfer portal has become a unique advantage probably in some ways and sometimes can be a disadvantage,” Campbell said during his introductory press conference. If you look at our history the last couple years, Jayden Higgins was maybe the 40th ranked transfer portal guy and Jayden Higgins was the No. 1 receiver taken in the draft last year. At offensive tackle, Jalen Travis, who was drafted by the Colts, No. 40 in the transfer portal was the first transfer portal offensive tackle (drafted).
“We have a process. We know what we’re looking for in the transfer portal and have to use that to continue to supplement our football team. Nobody will be better at developing our student-athletes and our high school football players better than us.”