Why linebacker Tony Rojas is ready to take advantage of a new era at Penn State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tony Rojas decided to return to Penn State under new coach Matt Campbell.
- Rojas looks to re-establish himself after tearing his ACL and missed games.
- Coaching change emphasizes accountability, positioning Rojas to set tone.
Tony Rojas was not shy about his feelings on Penn State’s coaching search. The Nittany Lion linebacker took to social media to voice his support for Terry Smith for the opening.
So when head coach Matt Campbell was hired — with rumors already swirling that Rojas was off to Miami once the portal opened — it was not a given that the linebacker would be back with Penn State for 2026. But in the end, he decided to return, and give it another go with a new staff that still includes Smith.
“It wasn’t really a tough decision,” Rojas said Wednesday in his first media availability of the offseason. “At the end of day, I really knew where home was, and through a lot of prayers and talks with coaches and people back home, there was no other decision.”
Rojas, despite a noisy 2025 that included his tweets, a torn ACL and a disappointing season for the team, is back and in position to capitalize on a new beginning.
The noise started when Rojas suffered an injury in the team’s heartbreaking loss to Oregon in double overtime. A quad contusion, according to Rojas, one that made it hard to run. So when he took the practice field, it wasn’t necessarily his idea. He said he followed the training staff’s instructions on how to handle the injury — and that he was told running would make it get better.
But when he took the field that Tuesday and tore his ACL on the first play of practice, his mind went straight to his quad.
“It was kind of frustrating,” Rojas said. “I couldn’t really run that Sunday, Monday, and then Tuesday, I got my stuff wrapped — my quad contusion. It was so hard to run and whatnot, and I knew when it happened it was because of my quad contusion.”
It wasn’t just about his injury, though. Rojas stood on the sidelines as the team’s season fell apart — with the defense being a culprit and clearly missing his presence after he got off to an excellent start.
The team went 3-6 without Rojas, with James Franklin getting fired after a 3-3 start and the team, including Rojas, advocating for Smith to be elevated from interim to permanent head coach. He spent some time tweeting, with posts about standing with Smith the day Campbell’s candidacy came to light.
He was not shy about what he felt or how he wanted the program to look, and he felt that was a necessity at the time.
“Just being a leader myself, just having my voice out there, and not really being scared, it was something for the better,” Rojas said. “And I knew having him back, whatever position it would be, would help us a lot. And I wasn’t really scared [to have] my voice out there.”
Despite his frustration at the time, Rojas saw the vision, and sees what he can do under defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and within Campbell’s culture. Because that aspect, according to the linebacker, started to slip under Franklin.
And it became clear that things needed to change at Penn State as the team struggled to its 3-3 record. Players raved about newfound accountability under Smith, and that has translated to what Campbell is doing. There is more attentiveness to the non-football details, and Rojas is one of many who sees it.
“I think he just holds a lot of us accountable, especially leaders and the guys coming back from Iowa State and here,” Rojas said. “And I think that’s just one of the biggest things that we lacked (for) a couple years, is accountability and just being on the guys as a coach. ... Just not letting anything slip compared to the past years in a good way.
“I feel like he’s just more on us, whether that’s academics and whatnot. He doesn’t let anything lack and I think he’s holding us accountable.”
Rojas is one of several players who cited that, but he may be in position to benefit most from Campbell’s arrival.
Because, even with Rojas’ injury, he’s in position to be one of the best linebackers in the country this season. And it seems clear that he’s benefitting from what the head coach is bringing off the field.
If that mirrors what he does on the field, he’ll have no issue re-establishing himself as a tone-setter — and show why he was such a priority for the staff to begin the new era of Penn State football.
