Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545675
7 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 6 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern STARTERS ★★★ After an up-and-down season using co- ordinator Jim Knowles' 4-2-5 scheme last season, Penn State is remaking its defense with an eye toward maximizing the unit's flexibility. When the Lions use three line- backers, the first-team trio will most likely be redshirt junior Tony Rojas at the Will po- sition, senior Kooper Ebel in the middle and redshirt senior Caleb Bacon at the Sam spot. Rojas has been working his way back from a late-September injury that ended his 2025 season and probably did as much as anything to torpedo the Nittany Lions' College Football Playoff ambitions. He was still recovering this spring but is expected to be back at full strength by the start of the season. EXPERIENCE ★★★★ Despite losing two starters in Dominic De- Luca and Amare Campbell, the Nittany Lions are awash in experience at the linebacker spots, thanks mainly to the arrival of four Cyclones. Bacon, Ebel and John Klosterman all have senior eligibility, while Cael Brezina is a junior. Combine those newcomers with Rojas, who has started 20 games at Penn State, and you have the makings of a vet- eran linebacker corps. The caveat, as is the case at several posi- tion groups, is that very little of PSU's expe- rience is against Big Ten competition. Six of the Nittany Lions' nine scholarship lineback- ers are new to the conference, and only one of the three returnees — Rojas — is an upperclassman. DEPTH ★★★ If there's a concern here, it's that two of the Nittany Lions' prospective Will lineback- ers — Rojas and sophomore Alex Tatsch — are coming back from injuries. Tatsch was hurt during the practice sessions leading up to Penn State's matchup with Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl and may not be ready for the start of the regular season. Otherwise, the Lions look to have the depth they need. In addition to Brezina and Klosterman, they welcome back redshirt freshman Cam Smith, who announced in mid-January that he would not be enter- ing the transfer portal, and have brought in sophomore Chris Fileppo from West Virginia. There's enough depth here to all but assure that the team won't need a big contribution from the lone linebacker in its freshman class, Keian Kaiser. OVERALL GRADE ★★★ This position group was always going to look different heading into the 2026 season, with DeLuca, a four-year contributor, having used up his eligibility. But the tandem of Ro- jas and Campbell had another year to play, and the coaches were encouraged by the progress they'd seen from Keon Wylie and some younger players. Last season didn't go as planned, though, and the fallout was significant. Rojas was lost for the year in September with a leg injury, and his recovery continued into the spring. Campbell transferred to Tennessee in January, while Wylie headed to Virginia Tech and Anthony Speca to Purdue. Despite those losses, the Lions will get a real dose of consistency at linebacker — all courtesy of Iowa State. Bacon and Ebel each started 12 games last season, finishing sec- ond and third on the Cyclones in defensive snaps with 664 and 652, respectively. Camp- bell described Ebel as one of the best defen- sive players in the Big 12 last season. Meanwhile, Brezina produced 29 tackles and a forced fumble over 328 snaps. Joined by Rojas — who will be about 10 months removed from his injury when Penn State opens preseason camp in August — PSU's rebuilt linebacker corps will have no short- age of experience at the top of the lineup. BY THE NUMBERS 4.5 Tackles for loss by Tony Rojas last season. Despite missing Penn State's last nine games with an injury, Rojas still tied for sixth on the PSU defense in total TFLs. 76.5 Cael Brezina's tackling grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2025 season. Brezina was second on the team in PFF's rankings, trailing only cornerback Jontez Williams. His missed- tackle rate was just 8.8 percent. 269 Rushing yards surrendered by Penn State in its 42-37 loss to UCLA after Ro- jas was injured. One week after holding Oregon to 176 rushing yards in an overtime loss, the Lions allowed Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava to run wild. He to- taled 128 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 16 carries. Kooper Ebel is expected to start at middle linebacker for the Nittany Lions this fall after leading Iowa State with 77 tackles last year. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS