The linebackers for the Penn State football team will look vastly different in 2024 compared to last season. Part of that is due to ex-Nittany Lion LB Curtis Jacobs heading to the NFL, but the other part is the position change for Abdul Carter. Now there’s a clear path for younger linebackers to step up, especially Tony Rojas. James Franklin recently spoke about his expectations for Rojas ahead of next season.
James Franklin: This sophomore LB set to ‘skyrocket’ in 2024
Tony Rojas was a consensus four-star linebacker prospect in the 2023 recruiting class for Penn State football. A native of Fairfax, VA, Rojas had high expectations the moment he early enrolled last season. He exceeded those expectations during the Blue-White game last spring by flying around the field on defense.
Rojas took that experience and allowed himself to have an impact in-game action last season. He appeared in 9 games during his true freshman season, collecting 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one interception. Now, Abdul Carter has shifted to the defensive end, which opens the window of opportunity for Rojas.
James Franklin spoke to the media this week and spoke about his expectations for the rising sophomore linebacker.
“I think you see physically, he looks different,” Franklin said. “I wanted to make sure that he’s not putting on too much weight. But I think he’s a guy that can literally play both positions. He’s intelligent enough to play [middle linebacker]. And he’s physical enough and got enough instincts to play the boundary backer. And he can run.
“He’s had a lot of production early on in his career. Obviously, we expect it to skyrocket this year, especially with Abdul moving to defensive end.”
Who will Rojas partner with at linebacker?
While Tony Rojas is set to be a potential starter this season, at middle linebacker, Kobe King has taken the next step in his career. Last season, it felt like King took the next step in his progression, and James Franklin thinks Rojas and King will pair well together.
“I think him [Tony Rojas] and Kobe [King] will work very well together. And I think there will still be competition with some other guys. But I think he’s getting better every single day. It’s interesting. You don’t want coaching changes. You want as much stability as you possibly can.
“But, there’s also some aspects, that things that he learned from [Manny Diaz], that [Manny Diaz] did really well, and now he’s learned some things from Tom Allen that Tom Allen does really well, you’re able to kind of steal some things from all of them. I’ve been impressed with his development and I think you’ll continue to see it all summer.”
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