Penn State football linebacker Tony Rojas is back in action for the Nittany Lions.
On July 1, the redshirt junior participated in the team's Lift for Life fundraising event. He and his teammates completed strength and conditioning drills run by strength coach Reid Kagy. The players raised roughly $20,000 and the coaching staff matched that for a near $40,000 total.
This wasn't Rojas' first time back practicing and training with the team. He has participated in summer workouts since the session started.
In 2025, Rojas sustained a torn ACL before Penn State's game at UCLA. He missed the remainder of the season after totaling 25 tackles in four games. Due to his rehab, he missed winter workouts as well as the spring season.
“[Rojas has] done a great job, and [he's] progressing,” Kagy told reporters at Lift For Life. “I'm proud of [Rojas].”
Linebacker Tony Rojas is on the right path to a huge 2026 season with the Nittany Lions
Rojas is projected to be a huge difference maker in 2026, even in a stacked linebacker room.
He's playing alongside redshirt senior Caleb Bacon, junior Cael Brezina, senior Kooper Ebel, and redshirt senior John Klosterman, all of whom followed head coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State. Returning sophomore Alex Tatsch is also in that room. Tatsch played in six games as a freshman in 2025, logging 14 tackles, one pass break-up, and one pass defended.
Rojas' presence on the team hasn't only been felt on the field, which makes him a key member of the Nittany Lions. After a spring practice, Campbell told reporters that the redshirt junior has been essential in building culture and being a leader for Penn State.
“What's great about [Rojas] is I don't think he cared if anybody saw the impact that he was making or not,” Kagy agreed with the head coach. “He cared if this team felt that impact, and he was able to make that impact throughout the spring.”
The 2025 season was even more hectic for Rojas given the firing of former head coach James Franklin. He decided to stick with the blue and white, though, instead of transferring to Virginia Tech where Franklin was hired soon after.
Between Franklin leaving and his former teammates transferring out of the program, Rojas' dedication and determination to get Penn State back to where it wants to be is commendable.
"[Rojas] has done an unbelievable job," Campbell said in the spring. "I don't know if I could be prouder of what his work has looked like, what he's done behind the scenes in terms of both his rehab and leadership in our football program."
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