Penn State football suffered a crushing loss on the field Saturday night, dropping its first game of the season in double overtime to Oregon. On Wednesday, we learned that the Nittany Lions had been dealt a second heartbreaking blow this week, losing junior linebacker Tony Rojas to a long-term injury.
The news, first reported by Blue White Illustrated, was confirmed by James Franklin during his weekly media scrum following Wednesday night’s practice.
“Obviously, not good,” Franklin said of how the last several days have been for Rojas. “Obviously, personally, disappointment. And then disappointment with the team, as well. Guys will rally around him and support him like we’ve done in the past. This isn’t the first time we’ve been through something like this. And, he’s not the last player to go through something like this.
“The hardest part is the initial shock of it and the initial news of it. But the next guy is going to have to step up. And the sooner that Tony can get involved in helping prepare those guys, the better we’ll be and the better he’ll be, because it will keep him busy and engaged, too.”
The veteran linebacker missed all of spring practice after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery this winter. He did leave Saturday night’s game briefly after being shaken up, but returned to the field the following series and finished the contest with seven tackles.
Expected to have a productive season as a leader on the Penn State defense, Rojas was second among all Nittany Lions with 25 tackles through four games. He is currently tied with star edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton with a team-best 4.5 tackles for loss.
With Rojas now out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Franklin and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will now look to transfer Amare Campbell to take over the leadership of Linebacker U. The former North Carolina Tar Heel has had a spectacular start to his Nittany Lion career, leading the defense with 37 tackles this fall.
Logistically, Penn State will turn to veteran Dom DeLuca to take over Rojas’s role on the field. True freshmen Alex Tatsch and Cam Smith will also have an opportunity to earn more playing time in their first seasons with the Nittany Lions.
“Obviously, Dom will step into that role, and obviously, we’re having discussions about green-lighting possibly both Tatsch and Cam,” Franklin said. “What’s helpful is, we’ve had these Sunday [development squad] scrimmages, so we’ve had a chance to evaluate those guys [Tatsch and Smith] each week. Early on, Tatsch was getting a little bit more time with the varsity. We’re giving Cam an opportunity now, as well, bouncing those guys back and forth between the d-squad and varsity.”
Penn State will head west this weekend, looking to earn a bounce-back victory against a winless UCLA squad. Kickoff from Pasadena is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
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