Penn State Football got some positive news on linebacker Tony Rojas' injury and his outlook for the 2025 College Football Season. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
With the dust settled on Penn State Football’s offseason rollercoaster of a coaching search, roster retention, and transfer portal haul, the focus now turns to the team that Penn State will put on the field in 2026.
After hiring Matt Campbell from Iowa State, Penn State’s 2026 roster is built up of a mixture of former Iowa State Cyclones following Campbell to Happy Valley, key returning pieces from the Nittany Lions‘ 2025 roster, and a haul of transfer portal players with varying remaining eligibility and experience.
Campbell and staff must use Penn State’s spring practices to sort through this hodgepodge of a roster to figure out the best lineups and combinations for Penn State to take the field come September.
“Ahead of Schedule”: Penn State Football Receives Critical Injury Updates
With spring practices approaching, a few key pieces will not be available for Campbell and staff with key players returning from injuries.
However, this week, Penn State got some good news on the injury front with positive recovery timeline updates for a handful of key players for the Nittany Lions ahead of the 2026 season. Here are the updates on the injury timeline for a few key Penn State players:
Tony Rojas: The Defensive Anchor is “Punishing” Rehab
One of Matt Campbell’s biggest offseason retentions on the Penn State roster was linebacker Tony Rojas.
Before a week five injury at practice sidelined Rojas for the Nittany Lions final nine games of the season, Rojas was fully stepping into a leadership role both on and off the field for the Nittany Lions.
Rojas tore his ACL in practice ahead of Penn State’s matchup against UCLA last season, having surgery to repair his knee last October.
Rojas mentioned to the media this week that he is “on track right now, ahead-of-track” on his recovery from his injury.
“The most important thing is I’ll be full-go all summer,” Rojas told reporters. “Spring ball comes, we’ll see what I can do at that time, but I’ll be good.”
While Rojas may want to rush back to the practice field, the important thing for Penn State is having Rojas back to 100 percent once games start for the 2026 campaign in the fall.
Rojas has been limited with injuries over the past two seasons for the Nittany Lions, missing the nine games in 2025 and playing through a shoulder injury that limited his effectiveness in 2024.
When Rojas returns to the field for the Nittany Lions, he will slot into one of the starting spots at linebacker on new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s defense this season.
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Andrew Rappleyea’s injury impacts Penn State’s tight end room
Another key return for Matt Campbell from Penn State’s 2025 roster was tight end Andrew Rappleyea.
After returning from his own injury that cost him a majority of the 2024 season, Rappleyea increased his playing time and role in the Penn State offense through the 2025 season.
However, after earning the starting role at tight end toward the end of the season for Penn State, On3 Sports reported this week that Rappleyea will miss spring practice with a short-term injury to his right foot.
Luckily for the Nittany Lions, Rappleyea is expected to return to action for the Nittany Lions ahead of fall camp and should be ready to go for game action before the season begins.
Gabe Burkle still working his way back from ACL
Another Penn State tight end Gabe Burkle is returning from his own injury to work back to the field for Penn State ahead of the 2026 season.
Former Iowa State tight tend Gabe Burkle tore his ACL against TCU during a game last November. Burkle was one of three tight ends to follow Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Taylor Mouser to Penn State from Iowa State last season.
Campbell noted in a press conference earlier this month, that if Burkle had not suffered the torn ACL last November, “you’d say he’s one of the top 10 tight ends in all of college football,” high praise alongside the other Iowa State tight end Ben Brahmer who was considered one of the top tight ends available in the transfer portal this offseason.
Like Rojas, Burkle will be sidelined for spring practice while recovering from the knee injury before returning for fall camp. Burkle noted this week, “that’s what our goal has been and I’m on pace to be there.”
With both Burkle and Rappleyea sidelined for spring practice, younger tight ends Cooper Alexander, and Brian Kortovich will have plenty of opportunities to see more action than expected this spring.
While fans may miss hearing about these three players during spring practice, the injury updates provide a positive for three key pieces of Penn State’s 2026 roster ahead of the 2026 season.
If all three are able to be full-go for fall camp, it can really help the Nittany Lions get off to a fast start next season.
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