Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533674
1 4 A P R I L 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Khalil Dinkins Is Primed For A Bigger Role At Tight End Greg Pickel: Penn State has entered Year 2 of the Andy Kotelnicki coaching era. After building last season's pass- ing attack around the unique talents of tight end Tyler Warren, an All-Ameri- can who is soon to be a first-round NFL Draft pick, the Nittany Lions' offensive coordinator must now find a new go-to player for senior quarterback Drew Allar to target. Which player on offense has the most to gain during spring practice in pursuit of that effort? I'm going with another tight end. Dinkins will be a redshirt senior this fall and has always been highly regarded within the pro- gram but has had to bide his time behind a succession of NFL- caliber players, starting with Brenton Strange and continuing with Theo Johnson and Warren. After all that waiting, the stage is now set for Dinkins to claim the starting job and become a key component of the Penn State offense. A year ago, he caught 14 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. If he's going to boost his output this fall, he will have to fend off some very good young players. The competition should only push his game to new heights, leav- ing the former On3 four-star prospect from Wexford, Pa., in a great spot by the time Blue-White Weekend arrives. Tony Rojas Needs To Take The Next Step At Linebacker Ryan Snyder: There are a number of players I could mention here, but I'll go with Rojas. Now entering his junior sea- son with the Nittany Lions, Rojas has ob- vious potential. He showed flashes of it during his freshman year, which is why he didn't take a redshirt. However, aside from his performance against SMU, in which he returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown to help spark the Nittany Lions' 38-10 romp, his sopho- more campaign would likely be considered a bit of a disappoint- ment by most observers. Now, following Kobe King's decision to forgo his final college season and enter the NFL Draft, the pressure on Rojas' shoul- ders is about to rise substantially. He'll be asked to take a bigger leadership role on a defense that is under new management, with Jim Knowles having arrived from Ohio State in January. Rojas' biggest priority will be to improve his tackling. Last season, there were 118 linebackers in the FBS who equaled or surpassed his 652 snaps. Among that group, Rojas had the fourth-highest missed tackle rate at 22.1 percent. If the Nittany Lions are going to win a national championship in 2025, he'll need to improve in that area. He'll have an opportunity to do just that this spring. Point – Counterpoint Patrick Kraft A Finalist For Top Athletics Director Honor Penn State's Patrick Kraft is one of five finalists for the Sports Business Journal's Athletic Director of the Year honor. The other administrators under consideration for the award are Boise State's Jeramiah Dickey, Vanderbilt's Candice Sto- rey Lee, Iowa State's Jamie Pollard and Tennessee's Danny White. The winner will be announced May 21 in New York. Under Kraft's leadership, Penn State ranked third overall and first among Big Ten schools in the Directors' Cup Divi- sion I standings following the 2024 fall sports season. In addition to making the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history and reaching the semifinal, Penn State won the national championship in women's volleyball in December. With the winter season now concluding, Penn State claimed its fourth consecutive NCAA wrestling title in March and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's ice hockey. Kraft is also overseeing numerous facility upgrades at Penn State, headlined by the $700 million Beaver Stadium renova- tion. Work on that mammoth project will continue through the summer of 2027. — Greg Pickel Which Penn State Player Has The Most To Gain This Spring? Dinkins Rojas PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER