The 2026 Comeback Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List released, and three Penn State football players made the 94-player cut.
"Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances," the press release read, explaining the purpose of the honor.
Defensive back Jeremiah Cooper and defensive end Max Granville were two of the three Nittany Lions voted onto the award's watch list.
Cooper transferred from Iowa State after the 2025 season, following new head coach Matt Campbell. He tore his ACL early in the season, but is still projected to be a top contributor in the defensive backfield for the blue and white. Granville sustained a knew injury in April 2025 that sidelined him for the entire season.
Joining those two Nittany Lions for the Comeback Player of the Year Award is redshirt junior linebacker Tony Rojas.
Linebacker Tony Rojas, defensive back Jeremiah Cooper, and defensive end Max Granville make Comeback Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List
Rojas tore his ACL early in the 2025 season as well following Penn State's loss to Oregon in Week 5. After that practice when the injury occurred, the Nittany Lions' defense looked weak and the absence of Rojas on the field was extremely evident. Even against an unranked, 0-4 UCLA team, the defense allowed 42 points.
After James Franklin was fired, Rojas decided he was going to stay loyal to Penn State. The linebacker is originally from Virginia, too, so his decision to stay in Happy Valley despite his former head coach going to Virginia Tech spoke volumes.
In four contests in 2025, Rojas totaled 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup, and one pass defended. The season prior, he racked up 58 tackles, seven passes defended, six tackles for loss, four pass breakups, three interceptions, one sack, and one defensive touchdown.
When Rojas is out on the field, opposing offenses have to worry a little extra. Campbell told reporters ahead of fall camp that he was going to practice, and actually seeing him out there doing so was a weight lifted off many fans' shoulders.
While the blue and white will root for all three players who made the watch list, Rojas' dedication to Penn State and his impact on the field are undeniable and make him stand out just a bit more from the rest. It was his first injury in college at the beginning of what turned out to be a flop of a season. Rojas will leave it all out on the field in 2026, making up for lost time and lost opportunity for the team overall.
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