The Penn State linebacker corps was exposed on Saturday by UCLA in a devastating loss on the road.
The ground game for the Bruins (1-4, 1-1 Big Ten) racked up 280 yards rushing with 128 of those yards coming from quarterback Nico Iamaleava. This was a surprise for the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) defense, which only gave up 116.8 yards rushing per game. On UCLA's side, it only averaged 121.5 yards rushing per game.
One injury deterred the entire defense. Starting linebacker Tony Rojas sustained an injury before Week 6's game that left him out indefinitely for the rest of the 2025 season. Without him, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' defense just looked lost. The Nittany Lions didn't have an effective quarterback spy and the speed needed to close the gaps in the running game. With Rojas out for an extended period of time, these three Penn State must figure it out.
Tony Rojas injury leaves the Penn State defense reeling
The Nittany Lions' linebacker depth will continue to be tested in their upcoming Big Ten play with three major games on the horizon against Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana.
Transfer Amare Campbell has been a big bright spot for Penn State. He had a whopping 10 total tackles and one sack against UCLA. He also picked up 2.5 tackles for loss, leading the team.
Campbell wasn't the only name to have a decent game for the linebacker crew.
Three-year captain Dominic DeLuca started alongside him. DeLuca made 12 total tackles. The former walk-on linebacker played a big role for the Nittany Lions defense in each of the last two seasons. He arguably had his best performance on one of the biggest stages in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season.
In Penn State's game against SMU, DeLuca picked up two massive interceptions to keep the momentum of the game on the side of the Nittany Lions. Although for one reason or another, head coach James Franklin was hesitant to make DeLuca the guy, and went out to land Campbell via the transfer portal. Campbell logged 195 snaps, and the closest to him is DeLuca, who played 95 so far this season.
Unfortunately, behind Campbell and DeLuca is where things begin to get a little bit hairy for this very young linebacker room. Penn State has a very inexperienced group of linebackers, who appeared reluctant to play from the very beginning. With Rojas' injury, though, they and Franklin may not have much of a choice.
Amare Campbell and Dominic DeLuca have to lead a young linebacker group to success
There's a steep drop in playing time to redshirt freshman Anthony Speca (47 defensive snaps) and redshirt junior Keon Wylie (44). Freshman Alex Tatsch played 21 snaps in his lone appearance of the season against Villanova on Sept. 13.
Franklin made it clear during his midweek press conference that this situation will pose a big challenge for the Penn State coaching staff.
"Obviously, whenever you lose one of your better players on your team at a position we were already lacking depth, that's going to create some challenges for us," Franklin said Monday. "So yeah, that's going to be a point of attention all week long, with our coaching staff, with the players, and we're going to have to rotate those [young] guys in there."
Against the Bruins, the Nittany Lions barely rotated in other linebackers. During his press conference, Franklin specifically mentioned freshman Cam Smith and redshirt freshman Anthony Speca, who could potentially log more snaps. Smith played one defensive snap against UCLA, while Speca didn't play at all on defense.
Redshirt junior Wylie and redshirt sophomore Dakaari Nelson could very well also see more snaps. Freshmen Alex Tatsch and Lavar Arrington Jr. don't appear to be in the conversation for more playing time and will likely both be redshirted.
"What's helpful is we have these Sunday scrimmages, so we've had a chance to evaluate those guys each week," Franklin said. "Early on, Tatsch was getting a little bit more time with the varsity. We're giving [Smith] an opportunity now as well."
Despite his injury, Rojas is a draft-eligible junior, as is Campbell. DeLuca is also in his last year of eligibility. This means that Penn State will be looking for at least one new starter next offseason, but it very well could bring in more than one. The Nittany Lions have recruited well at the position on paper, but is there a future starter on the team already?
For the foreseeable future, the young Nittany Lion linebackers will have a shot at more playing time. It remains to be seen how many opportunities they may receive, but expect Penn State to attempt to get it right. After all, the team is nicknamed "Linebacker U" for a reason.