2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 13 Tony Rojas
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
Next up in our rundown is a look at true freshman linebacker Tony Rojas. Rojas enrolled early in the program as a member of the Class of 2023 and put together a solid spring to suggest fans could see Rojas get some good minutes on the field this season despite his youth.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
Height: 6-2
Weight: 214
247Sports Composite Ranking
[4-stars] | [No. 3 in Virginia] | [No. 10 overall linebacker]
Class of 2023
Class in 2023: Freshman
Penn State put in the work to grab one of the top players from the state of Virginia and the effort paid off. Rojas made official visits to Clemson, Miami, and Georgia leading up to his commitment to Penn State, and the two-time defending national champions from Georgia got the last official visit on the schedule. Still, Penn State came away with the Gatorade player of the year in the state of Virginia and got him enrolled early to get to work with the team in the spring.
Penn State extended an offer to Rojas in the summer of 2021 and Rojas made multiple visits to the campus since then, which suggested Penn State was a favorite in the recruiting process.
Career Stats
As a true freshman who just enrolled on campus for the spring semester, Rojas has no stats to speak of with the team just yet. But if you are looking for some good stats, look no further than the Blue-White Game in April.
Rojas finished the spring game with six solo tackles and nine total tackles. The nine tackles by Rojas led the game. He also broke up one pass and recorded half a tackle for a loss.
Depth Chart Overview
Penn State seems to have a pretty good outlook at the linebacker positions going into the fall, and Tony Rojas will only add to the quality on the depth chart in his first season with the program. And while we may get some glimpses of Rojas on the field this season, he will likely be starting the season out a bit down on the depth chart.
Curtis Jacobs returns as a starter at the SAM linebacker position utilized by Penn State, and this is the position Rojas is expected to be utilizing. But Dominic DeLuca, the spring game standout from 2022, is projected to be the first backup to Jacobs this fall at the position, with Rojas likely the third option to start the season.
Penn State’s other starting linebacker jobs will be locked in with Abdul Carter at one position and either Tyler Elsdon or Kobe King in the middle.
