Penn State Football: 3 Nittany Lions Who Can Become Household Names in 2025
The loaded 2025 Penn State Football team is headlined by returning stars from the 2022 recruiting class coming back for their respective senior years with “unfinished business” after finally breaking through into the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2024, but ultimately falling short of the ultimate goal in a heartbreaking Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
However, with the departure of a few key stars this offseason to the NFL in tight end Tyler Warren and defensive end Abdul Carter, there is still room for a few Nittany Lions to step up and become household names in 2025.
3 Penn State Football Players on The Cusp of Superstardom
Linebacker Tony Rojas
Linebacker Tony Rojas had an up-and-down 2024 season, posting the highest missed tackle rate on the team while nursing a lingering shoulder injury for most of the season, but then returning an interception for a touchdown in the Nittany Lions’ first College Football Playoff game in program history.
After having surgery in the offseason to deal with the lingering shoulder issue, Rojas is now fully healthy and ready to take the next step for the Nittany Lions this season.
In offseason testing, Rojas posted one of the fastest 40 yard dash times on the team, a blazing 4.37 second time.
His testing numbers were good enough to land Rojas on Bruce Feldman’s annual “top 100 freaks” list this offseason. With a fully healthy fall camp under his belt, Rojas is primed to take the next step and be a leader on the Penn State defense in 2025.
Defensive end Chaz Coleman
At this point, has too much been said about true freshman defensive end Chaz Coleman?
Coleman has created the most buzz of any freshman in a long time for the Nittany Lions, with James Franklin announcing Monday that Coleman is already “green lit” to burn his redshirt this season. On Wednesday, Franklin followed up that Coleman could see around 30 snaps against Nevada in his first collegiate game.
Coleman has future star written all over him from the buzz surrounding him in fall camp.
If he can put it together on the field for the Nittany Lions this fall, Coleman could be a household name as a true freshman and create extremely early 2028 NFL draft buzz.
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Tight end Luke Reynolds
It almost feels like cheating to put Luke Reynolds on the list here, since the sophomore tight end made one of the most important plays for the Nittany Lions last season with the fake punt against Minnesota.
But, Tyler Warren took up so much of the attention from the Penn State tight end room last season that Reynolds is still relatively unknown outside of the Penn State fandom.
The number one tight end in the 2024 class, Reynolds caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in 2024 behind Tyler Warren last season. In 2025, Reynolds is expected to start beside Khalil Dinkins at tight end for the Nittany Lions and can increase his production with the vacuum of targets left by Tyler Warren’s departure.
While stars like Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Zane Durant, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and Zakee Wheatley will get most of the attention early in the season for the Nittany Lions, these three players could become household names if they are able to step up and help the Nittany Lions return to the playoffs in 2025.
Penn State has their eyes set on the national championship this season, and a major step forward from a few key guys could go a long way to the Nittany Lions achieving their lofty goals.
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