STATE COLLEGE — The scar runs maybe nine inches down the middle of his chest. Penn State football quarterback Alex Manske says, truly enough, that he doesn't think about it much. Not when he's running and throwing, like he was during another steamy morning preseason practice this week. Not when he's constantly studying film and learning from former Iowa State teammate and starting QB Rocco Becht, and his trusted head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser. No matter that the uber-talented redshirt freshman underwent a startling open-heart surgery just five months ago — and appears to be fully recovered and ready for the 2026 season in a couple of weeks, stunningly enough. His potentially life-altering defect, Manske said, was found during a Penn State-mandated echocardiogram that he and fellow newcomers to the program underwent this past winter. He said he was not aware of any symptoms from his dilated aortic root issue − where the section of the aorta that connects to the heart widens abnormally, increasing the risk of a life-threatening tear or rupture.
A mid-March surgery corrected the issue and Manske made an impressive recovery — golfing again in six weeks and getting cleared for full-contact Penn State football in July. Manske is in line to be the Nittany Lions' top backup to Becht — which, of course, means he will be just one play or bad break away from leading the offense when their season begins here on Sept. 5 against Marshall in a Beaver Stadium Stripe Out. Coaches and teammates have been talking about how the second-string QB inspires.
"The scar is crazy how big it is. That exemplifies toughness," offensive line coach Ryan Clanton said. "And that’s not something he’ll brag about or walk around and talk about, that’s just my observation of him. So, if I was a teammate and I had a sore foot and I see the quarterback who just had his chest opened up and he’s practicing, to me that’s a guy I'd Iike to block for. “That’s the biggest thing from my perspective, 'Do the linemen actually want to block for him?' That's not always the case." The scar could be a symbol of sorts, for everything endured and suddenly conquered. "I don’t really notice it too much anymore," Masnke said. "When I look at it, though, I just think of it was tough going through it, but I'm just thankful (doctors were) able to find it. I’m thankful for Penn State to be able to do the testing. If I didn’t find it, you never know what could of happened …" Manske opened up about his ordeal publicly for the first time in a recent interview here with reporters. The premier, four-star recruit — one of the more highly-regarded prospects in Iowa State history — had just settled into State College this past winter after transferring, following Campbell and former Iowa State assistant coaches, training staff and teammates. He remembers Joe Resendez, Penn State's director of football sports medicine, unexpectedly interrupting him during an early-February team weightlifting session to explain his difficult-to-believe medical condition. Open-heart surgery was scheduled for mid-March at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Doctors, he said, attempted to assure him that they could not just repair his aorta — that they expected him to be able to play football again. Manske admitted that he still worried about what was to come, the uncertainty of it all. He knew if he didn't have the surgery that a hard football hit, that any significant trauma to his chest, could endanger his life. "I started to research it and doubt crept in," he said. "I know my mom didn’t think I was going to be able to play again." Campbell and Resendez "told me right from the start, 'We have a plan and we’re going to get you back ... I trusted them. But when you’re sitting alone at night you can start thinking about it … so there was definitely a couple of nights when I was, 'Oh shoot, I don’t know what’s going to happen.'" He underwent the surgery on a Monday and was back at home in Iowa with his family four days later. He spent the next few weeks recovering there before returning to Penn State and, gradually enough, to his previous life: academic classes, his beloved golfing and, of course, football workouts. He received full practice clearance in July, Campbell said. His recovery has astonished teammates and coaches.
He starred in arguably the top play of Penn State's first fall camp practices, dropping in a perfect deep sideline pass-and-catch to roommate and good friend Brett Eskildsen — a play that sent teammates into a raucous celebration. Campbell called his recovery a "monumental win" for their program and that he started fall camp "playing as good of football ... as we've witnessed Alex Manske play his entire career." He somehow missed less football time from his heart procedure and recovery than he did following elbow surgery during his senior year of high school. The redshirt freshman is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and completed four of the five passes last year at Iowa State. His first passes at Penn State figure to be his biggest ones yet. "He didn't know if he'd play football (again) ... It's an unbelievable story. I call him the Miracle Child," Eskildsen said. "Him being back on the field and looking as good as he has, he just shocks me more every day." Manske said he hopes to help promote athletic heart testing and prevention for his condition. He considers himself blessed and fortunate. Those sharp throws he completed to receivers sprinting across the middle of the practice field on a recent August morning? He cherishes them, maybe a bit differently now. “I never would have found (his heart condition) if I stayed at Iowa State. So, I think it’s just God’s plan," Manske said. "Campbell coming here, me following Campbell and finding it out at the time I (did), and being able to get it fixed up, all good. "I’m very grateful I found it and grateful to Penn State ..." Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState. This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: QB Alex Manske, stunning open-heart surgery to Penn State football