Penn State Sports Magazine
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 5 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M L inebacker Tony Rojas had his pick of Power Five schools when it came time to decide on his college destination. Rojas, a Fairfax, Va., native and four- star prospect in the On3 Consensus, whittled his list down to Clemson, Geor- gia, Miami and Penn State earlier this summer. On July 14, he announced for the Nittany Lions, partly because head coach James Franklin, assistant coach Ja'Juan Seider and assistant recruiting coordina- tor Alan Zemaitis had been among the first to recognize his potential. "I think the proximity and the family atmosphere were big," Fairfax High head coach Trey Taylor said. "He really related personally with both [Zemaitis] and Se- ider. Then, I think when Manny Diaz came in [as defensive coordinator], that became a good relationship also. So, I think it was a combination of things, but it certainly didn't hurt that, out of his final four, [Penn State was] the first to really get after him." A 6-foot-2, 195-pound prospect, Rojas emerged in July 2021 following a strong workout at Penn State's Beast of the East Camp. He ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the event and also turned in a 4.25-sec- ond time in the shuttle. Rojas left campus that afternoon with an offer. By the fall, it was clear he was one of Penn State's top two linebacker tar- gets in the class, along with Pittsburgh prospect Ta'Mere Robinson. Rojas was on hand last season for games against Auburn and Michigan, and he returned for visits in January and April. His recruitment all but ended when he took his official visit to State College the weekend of June 17-19. "The relationship I have with the coaches is just great from a player-coach perspective," Rojas told On3. "It's about family at Penn State. I know most of the coaches there, I'm comfortable with them, and that has always been impor- tant to me." Clemson had hosted Rojas for an of- ficial visit June 3-5, while Georgia wel- comed him to campus for unofficial visits in April and June. He was supposed to return to Athens the weekend of June 24- 26 for an official visit, but that trip was canceled, as was a planned visit to Miami. "Georgia and Clemson both came after him pretty hard," Taylor said. "He had good relationships with those coaches. I think the difference, again, was the length of time that he had to get to know the Penn State coaches. He said several times that Penn State feels like home. I think that's what it was." Rojas earned 26 scholarship offers dur- ing his recruitment. Maryland, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech were the other schools he visited. According to the On3 Consensus, Rojas is the No. 7 linebacker and No. 95 overall prospect nationally. ■ Longstanding Relationships Sway Virginia Linebacker RYA N S N Y D E R | R YA N. S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M COMMITMENT PROFILE TONY ROJAS An On3 four-star prospect from Fairfax, Va., Rojas earned 26 offers before choosing Penn State. PHOTO COURTESY RYAN SNYDER Penn State scored one of its most significant victories of the 2023 recruiting cycle when Tony Rojas committed. The four-star lineback- er's announcement culminated one of PSU's longest recruiting efforts of the cycle. Here's a look at why he was such a high priority: STRENGTHS Hyper-athleticism: It's not just speed or ac- celeration. Rojas is a bouncy, twitchy athlete who overwhelms players with his physical gifts. There doesn't seem to be a tool that he lacks, and he certainly doesn't have any stiff- ness or impediments in his movement skills. Frame/size: Rojas has a big frame that should allow him to handle good weight. He's not built with the same thickness as some of Penn State's other recent defensive-end- turned-linebacker commits. However, he's very well proportioned. Rojas should easily be able to add the necessary weight to play linebacker in the Big Ten. Toughness/pad level: Rojas shows the sandpaper in his personality to set an edge when he's playing defense and also to get tough yards when he's playing offense as a running back. AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT Strength: Rojas is still primarily a speed player who lacks the lower-body strength to be a complete prospect. At 195 pounds, he still has room to grow. It's likely he'll need a redshirt year to get near an acceptable play- ing weight in college. Coverage instincts: His understanding of zones, positional fundamentals and defen- sive coverage concepts is entirely unknown. Rojas was an MVP at several camps this offseason, so that's a positive sign for his transition. Block shedding: At Fairfax, Rojas hasn't needed to shed a lot of blocks in a traditional sense because he can run around or away from his blocker and still make a play. At the college level, however, he will need to play with proper hand usage and shed blocks through technique rather than speed. PROJECTION Will linebacker: Because of his background as a defensive end, Rojas projects better as a Will than as a Mike linebacker. He can use those pass-rushing skills to get after the quarterback and his run-defense abilities to disengage from blockers. There's a lot to like about Rojas' game, and Penn State fans should be thrilled that the Nittany Lions added such an outstanding prospect to the class of 2023. — Thomas Frank Carr P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N