Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Penn State quarterback Alex Manske talks with reporters during football media day in Holuba Hall, Friday, August 7, 2026, in State College.
When new Penn State coach Matt Campbell came over from Iowa State, he brought not one, but two quarterbacks along with him in the transfer portal.
The big-name headline was Rocco Becht, a three-year starter for the Cyclones who could well be the key to the Nittany Lions making a College Football Playoff push this season.
But not to be overlooked is Alex Manske, a former top-100 overall recruit in the class of 2025 according to On3 and the presumed heir-apparent to Becht.
However, Manske missed all of spring practice in his first season in State College, and nobody seemed to know why other than the fact that he had undergone “a medical procedure.”
Now we know that the medical procedure was a much bigger deal than anyone led on.
Penn State’s Medical Team May Have Saved Alex Manske’s Life
Shortly after arriving on campus at Penn State, Manske and his fellow transfers underwent an array of medical testing, including an echocardiogram, which he did not undergo while at Iowa State.
The otherwise routine procedure left Manske with a shocking diagnosis. Doctors discovered that he had both a dilated aortic root and a dilated ascending aorta. While Manske could well have played his entire career and not had an issue, one awkward hit could have been life-threatening.
“He pulled me into his office and told me the news, and I called my parents right away, and I drove back home for a little bit,” Manske recently told reporters, referring to director of football sports medicine Joe Resendez.
On March 16, Manske underwent surgery that would keep him in the hospital for five days. He then returned home to Iowa, where he underwent nearly a month of cardiac rehab.
But the 6-foot-3, 210-pound signal caller wasn’t going to let football be taken away from him that easily.
Some victories happen before the season even starts.
QB Alex Manske shares his story. pic.twitter.com/zg9UhGv3We
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 18, 2026
Manske continued to watch practice film and attend position meetings via Zoom. He then returned to State College, and by about three months post-surgery, he was throwing again.
By August, he was a full participant in practices.
“I think when you’re practicing you take it for granted how much you’d miss it,” Manske said. “… I think the reward of being back and able to do that was definitely something that brought the emotions out a little bit.”
Now, Manske is back to being the Nittany Lions’ QB2, and has flashed in practices. While the starting job is still Becht’s, the future of the program belongs to Manske, and that was far from a sure thing as recently as a few months ago.