With Hunter Dekkers potentially out for the season, and possibly his career, due to criminal charges against him for tampering with records related to the sports betting investigation, question marks are starting to swirl around Iowa State’s quarterback situation.
Dekkers was accused of placing sports wagers on Iowa State sporting events, including one wager on an Iowa State football game he was a part of. If the allegations against Dekkers are found out to be true, he faces permanent loss of eligibility for violating the NCAA sports betting guidelines.
Dekkers has denied all charges against him according to a statement released from The Weinhardt Law Firm. It was also stated that Dekkers would not participate in fall camp so he can “focus on his studies and on the defense of this criminal charge.”
So with Dekkers gone, other quarterbacks will have to step up and take over the starting snaps as fall camp rolls around. There are currently four other quarterbacks on the roster for Iowa State with two looking to battle for the starting job when the season rolls around.
The obvious choice to take the starting role right away is Rocco Becht. Becht is the only quarterback that has on-field experience already as he played in three games in the 2022 season.
Becht came in at the tail end of Iowa State’s matchups with Southeast Missouri, Ohio and TCU. In each of those games he showed flashes of potential in the air and on the ground.
Not only that, Becht took a good chunk of snaps during Iowa State’s spring game. He again showed improvement from his last outing.
Going forward, Becht looks to be the next guy up, although true freshman JJ Kohl is hot on his heels.
Kohl entered Iowa State as a four-star recruit after he finished his high school career ranked in the top-5 players in Iowa. Kohl has elite size for a successful quarterback standing tall at 6-foot-7. He also has experience winning, as he led Ankeny to the state title game in his junior year.
Kohl appears to be the future of Iowa State football, so if he doesn’t start in the 2023 season, there is a good chance he starts down the line.
What appears to be the most probable plan for Iowa State is having Becht run the ship until Kohl is ready. Once Kohl gets adapted to the fast-paced college level and gets more comfortable with Iowa State’s playbook, he should get the starting nod from Matt Campbell.
Before that time comes, Becht has chances early in the year to prove his worth and lead the Cyclones to a hot start. The Big 12 season proved difficult for Iowa State last season and it appears the schedule won’t ease up one bit.
No matter what happens early in the 2023 season, Campbell has to find his guy early on if he wants to improve on last year’s 4-8 record.
Iowa State also has two other options at quarterback in Butte College transfer Tanner Hughes and freshman Wyatt Bohm. Hughes is an interesting case as he joined the Cyclones over the offseason after an impressive year with the Road Runners.
Hughes played two seasons at Butte College before transferring to Iowa State. In his sophomore season he threw for 2,193 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing three picks.
Hughes looks to understand the importance of ball security as his turnover ratio is low. Turnovers were costly in Iowa State’s 2022 season with many games being decided by one score as a result of turnovers.
Hughes is also on scholarship alongside Dekkers, Becht and Kohl. Although it appears that Becht and Kohl will be fighting for the starting job, Hughes provides depth at the position and could be a good backup in case something happens to the other two.
The situation surrounding Dekkers puts Iowa State in a tough position, but when it comes to the quarterback room there are other options to lead Iowa State to success. No matter who suits up for the first game, the Cyclones are in good hands and have a lot of potential whichever guy becomes the starter.
