Penn State Football enters 2023 with a deep linebacker corps, headlined by 2022 freshman all-American Abdul Carter and former five-star, senior Curtis Jacobs.
However, even while returning 3 starters at linebacker, 247sports has named Penn State freshman linebacker Tony Rojas as a “true freshman to watch” for 2023.
Rojas, a four-star prospect out of Fairfax, Virginia enrolled at Penn State in January.
Rojas finished his high school career as the number two prospect in the state of Virginia and the number 86 overall prospect in the class of 2023.
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Tony Rojas; Instant Impact Defender for Penn State Football?
Once on campus, Rojas immediately put coaches on notice with his work ethic on and off the field.
“I don’t know how it’s necessarily possible,” Penn State Football head coach James Franklin told reporters recently of Rojas. “But, he’s put on 29 pounds. Every time I go to the nutrition bar, he’s sitting there eating. After practice, he’s getting an extra pump in, and he’s playing fast.“
Rojas looks to follow in the footsteps of Abdul Carter and carve out early playing time despite his freshman status.
James Franklin and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz have shown that if a player stands out, they can carve out playing time no matter how young they are.
Look for Rojas to have a strong fall camp before getting playing time in Penn State’s early non-conference schedule.
If Rojas impresses in non-conference play, he will likely get the green light from Franklin to burn his redshirt and the sky is the limit for him in 2023.
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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