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\t<\/p>\nIn Penn State football\u2019s 2025 White Out game against Oregon, linebacker Tony Rojas suffered a quad contusion. He didn\u2019t think anything too much of it at the time \u2014 the loss was the most painful part of the night. Two days later, Rojas blew his leg out on the first play of a routine Tuesday practice. He did not return for the rest of the year. <\/p>\n
Penn State\u2019s 2025 season going off the rails can be attributed to many things, but Rojas\u2019s injury after the strongest start of his career was the first bump in the road on a horrific path to 6-6. Rojas described the physical and mental tax of recovery and his inability to play as the hardest portion of his career, but didn\u2019t let the circumstances sink him into a hole he couldn\u2019t get out of.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it was a blessing and a curse at the same time. I feel like everything happens for a reason. That\u2019s how I look at it. God has his plan, and I\u2019m not going to rush anything that\u2019s not meant to be,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cObviously, it sucked, but it is what it is. I can look forward as of now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two weeks after the Oregon game, Penn State lost to Northwestern at home to drop to 3-3. James Franklin was fired the next day. Rojas was a big advocate for Franklin and publicly showed his emotions toward the coach\u2019s firing. <\/p>\n
Once Franklin settled into his new job at the head of Virginia Tech, a plethora of Penn State players and coaches made the trip to the ACC school. Despite all of his proclamations in the moment, Rojas was not one of them. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was too low for me. Penn State was home no matter what,\u201d Rojas said. <\/p>\n
Once the Franklin ship sailed, Rojas publicly spoke in favor of Terry Smith taking over as the permanent head coach after bringing Penn State back from the brink of bowl ineligibility with three straight wins to end the season. Rojas said Smith was Matt Campbell\u2019s most important coaching retention, which led to a slew of player retentions in return. <\/p>\n
As for the switch to Campbell himself, Rojas said it took a bit of an adjustment. Once he talked to Campbell, though, everything clicked. Rojas\u2019s focus turned to getting the culture rolling in the locker room and looking forward to the season. And the differences between Franklin and Campbell are already starting to show.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talks more than I\u2019d say Coach Franklin did, in a good way. Builds a lot of connections and relationships with us,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cIt\u2019s been going well, I feel like I\u2019m getting more comfortable with him. He was a cool person at first. He gave me a call one of the first nights he was hired, and we just had a good conversation, and it felt genuine. Nothing felt really fake and up to date, it still feels genuine \u2026 He doesn\u2019t just talk, he acts, and he shows what he really says.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rojas said that Campbell has instituted \u201cleadership groups\u201d on the team consisting of around 20 players. Each group has two or three leaders who have to draft a team of younger players. Those teams then get points based on good things they do throughout the week and get deducted for bad things, such as skipping class. The losing team of the week has to check in at 5 a.m. on Wednesdays and clean the facility.<\/p>\n
That practice in itself has already distanced Campbell from Franklin in Rojas\u2019s eyes. He said Campbell is focused on holding the team accountable, which hasn\u2019t been present in recent years. Campbell is also holding the team to higher standards in the classroom, which Rojas said the team was \u201clacking\u201d under Franklin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot letting anything slip compared to the past years, in a good way. I feel like he\u2019s just more on us, whether that\u2019s academics and whatnot. He doesn\u2019t let anything lack,\u201d Rojas said. <\/p>\n
Campbell isn\u2019t the only coach who\u2019s made an impression on Rojas in the brevity of Penn State\u2019s new era so far. New defensive coordinator D\u2019Anton Lynn has already emphasized that he\u2019s going to call plays to the defense\u2019s strengths. He said last year\u2019s defensive install wasn\u2019t suited to its strengths, constraining the Nittany Lions\u2019 play and leading to those early struggles in conference play. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s going to be great. He matches us. He\u2019s the type of coach that [will] not just call plays that he thinks will work, but he\u2019ll call plays that we\u2019re best at, and not just what he thinks we\u2019re best at, because at the end of the day, it\u2019s the players playing,\u201d Rojas said. <\/p>\n
As a leader, it\u2019s been difficult for Rojas to really establish himself alongside his teammates as he continues his rehab. He said he\u2019s leaned heavily on some of the younger linebackers, like sophomore Alex Tatsch, to keep him in the player mindset. He has found value in viewing the game as a coach through more intensive film sessions as a way to make up for the lack of practice.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s made strides in rehab, Rojas still has just a bit to go on the road to 100% recovery. He said he\u2019ll be cleared for all football activities in the summer and into the season, but spring ball is still a toss-up. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, that was the hard part for me. Just the confidence of trying to get back to where I would be. I talked to a lot of people like KJ Winston, who went through the same thing, almost at the same time as me \u2026 He\u2019s been telling me his mindset and how he feels even better than before, and I\u2019m starting to feel that myself. I\u2019m going to come back stronger and faster,\u201d Rojas said. <\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s far ahead in his recovery process. When he isn\u2019t in class, he\u2019s rehabbing. Rojas feels himself getting stronger by the week. Time will only tell if the Penn State faithful can see him hit the gridiron in April\u2019s Blue-White Weekend. <\/p>\n
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