What's next for Iowa State football at quarterback following Hunter Dekkers allegations?
Iowa State football looks very likely to be without its returning starting quarterback in 2023.
Hunter Dekkers, who helmed the Cyclone offense for all 12 games last season, has been charged with tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor, after authorities alleged he placed sports wagers, including on Iowa State football games, while using a proxy account to disguise his identity.
The junior quarterback will at minimum sit out the preseason fall camp practices, according to his attorneys, but the allegations put Dekkers in jeopardy of permanent NCAA ineligibility.
He is accused of betting on Iowa State sporting events as well as one Cyclone football game, according to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday. Student-athletes found to be wagering on their own team or on their own schools’ contests in different sports face a permanent loss of eligibility under NCAA rules.
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Dekkers, through his attorneys, has denied the charge.
Given that Iowa State will almost certainly not play an athlete whose eligibility is in question – which would risk forfeitures and significant NCAA penalties – the Cyclones will likely have a new quarterback behind center this fall.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has three scholarship players on the roster who will be candidates for the job.
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Rocco Becht, redshirt freshman
It’s hard to peg a frontrunner for the job, given how little experience there was behind Dekkers, but Becht is probably the best candidate to fill that position.
He played in three games in relief of Dekkers last season, including 29 snaps in the season finale at TCU when Dekkers left with an injury. That leaves him as the lone player on the Cyclone offense to take FBS-level snaps at quarterback.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder from the suburbs of Tampa, Fla., arrived at Iowa State as a four-star recruit by Rivals. He committed to the Cyclones over the likes of Ole Miss and Wake Forest, among others. He threw for 1,808 yards and 23 touchdowns as a high school senior.
In limited action for the Cyclones last year, he completed 7 of 15 passes with one interception and no touchdowns.
“By about the fourth or fifth game (of 2022) I think Rocco really came on,” Campbell said last month about Brecht’s performance in practices. “Rocco had that little bit of like, some flashes in the season where he was really – we have those Wednesday scrimmages – and that guy was really starting to come on.”
J.J. Kohl, freshman
It’s always difficult for a true freshman to take the reins of an offense, but Kohl is the most decorated Iowa State quarterback recruit in program history.
He was an early enrollee this winter, giving him additional time to work with new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nate Scheelhaase, after being ranked as a top-10 quarterback in his class following a prodigious career at Ankeny High School.
“J.J. is really talented, and he really, really cares about football,” Cyclones offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase said earlier this year. “He wants to be in the film room as much as he can. He wants to get extra reps.”
At 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, Kohl has the frame of a Big 12 quarterback and has been generating positive reviews behind the scenes since this past spring.
More: Ankeny quarterback JJ Kohl: Here’s why I’m committing to Iowa State football
It may be worth noting that the last Iowa State true freshman thrust into a starting role at quarterback – Brock Purdy – went on to have the best career in school history.
Kohl would be in a difficult position in beginning his career under the microscope, but his talent and physical attributes give him a shot at success.
Tanner Hughes, junior
Hughes was a late addition to the Cyclones this spring after two years at junior college, where he completed 61 percent of his passes to go along with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions.
He signed with the Cyclones in May when rumors about Dekkers’ availability were swirling in every corner of Iowa State fandom. At the time, Campbell said the team needed Hughes after walk-on Ashton Cook suffered a career-ending injury, making the quarterback room dangerously thin.
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“When you looked at our roster, I don’t think any football team in America can only have three quarterbacks,” Campbell said in June. “Ashton hurt his shoulder right before spring ball. We tried to get him back, but it didn’t happen. Losing him was critical. We felt like we needed four quarterbacks for the season. That’s really why we went and got a quarterback.
Now, if Dekkers is unavailable, the Cyclones’ quarterback roster is back to three, including Hughes.
“We took our time to try to find the right guy,” Campbell said in July about Hughes. “Fit all the tools of the winner – a guy that’s got athleticism, a guy that’s got experience to kind of come in and shore up in terms of the competition and the depth of our quarterback room.”
Given his status as a late add and a junior college player without an impressive list of scholarship offers, Hughes’ chances to be Dekkers’ replacement would seem slim.
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Who steps in for Hunter Dekkers as Iowa State's quarterback?
