Tag: Tony Rojas

Penn State wins first football game against UCLA since 1968

Penn State’s defense helped ensure UCLA would not be heading home with a souvenir victory on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State won its first game against UCLA since 1968 thanks to a 27-11 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of a striped-out Beaver Stadium crowd. In the first meeting between the Nittany Lions and Bruins as Big Ten opponents, Penn State got off to a slow start on offense before putting the Bruins to sleep behind a strong defensive effort.

UCLA started Justyn Martin at quarterback with Ethan Garbers listed as questionable prior to the game, and Martin seemed to give Penn State’s defense a few problems early on. But the Nittany Lions defense, led by leading tacklers linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag], held the Bruins out of the end zone until the final 20 seconds of the game. UCLA had gone nearly 150 minutes of game time without scoring an offensive touchdown.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed 17 of 24 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown, including a 57-yard pass over the middle to [autotag]Liam Clifford[/autotag], who led all players with 107 yards. [autotag]Julian Fleming[/autotag] came within a yard of his first touchdown with Penn State, and [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] added three catches for 29 yards with a touchdown.

Star running back [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] did not appear in the game after being listed as questionable on Penn State’s pregame player availability report. So [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] took the lead on the ground with 21 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Despite only managing three points, UCLA’s offense did give Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen a few things to work on heading into Penn State’s remaining schedule, starting with a top-25 matchup on the road next week.

Penn State will be on the road for its first Big Ten road game of the season next week when they visit another Big Ten newcomer, USC. Penn State will play its first game at USC since 1991.

UCLA will look to rebound and snap a three-game losing skid in Big Ten play with a home game against Minnesota next week.

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Best Penn State football photos from the Illinois game

Check out some of the best photos from Penn State’s win over Illinois.

Penn State played its first night game of the season on Saturday night, and what better setting to do so than at home in an electric Beaver Stadium? Although this was not an officially scheduled white-out game, the fans packed the stadium dressed for the occasion and later celebrated a 21-7 victory over Illinois as Penn State improved to 4-0 overall and opened Big Ten play with a win.

Penn State’s running game and defense led the way in what turned out to be a competitive defensive slugfest between two programs known for their hard-nosed defensive styles. Penn State eventually proved to have the upper hand with a stronger and more consistent running attack and the defense came up with seven sacks and a couple of turnovers to help put a cap on the first Big Ten win of the season in front of the home crowd.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s primetime win over the Illini in Week 5.

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Penn State overcomes surprising challenge vs. Bowling Green in 34-27 win

Penn State’s defense played a much better second half to help avoid an upset to Bowling Green.

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen each had 100-yard games and tight end Tyler Warren led all players with 146 receiving yards, but Penn State’s 34-27 over Bowling Green was anything but easy. The Nittany Lions came from behind with a strong second-half effort by the defense to improve to 2-0 on the season. Despite being a five-touchdown favorite, Penn State had a lot to tighten up at halftime to find a way to put Bowling Green away for good, and it was not until late in the fourth quarter they finally did,

Bowling Green opened the game with a stunning touchdown drive, marching 75 yards on six plays to put the first points of the day on the board with a six-yard from Connor Bazelak to Harold Fannin Jr. Fannin Jr. was just setting the stage for a massive day against the Penn State defense, which struggled to contain him all afternoon.

Penn State answered on the next possession with a quick touchdown drive with [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] capping a 75-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. But the Falcons took a 10-7 lead before the end of the second quarter and led by a score of 17-7 just minutes into the second quarter. Penn State battled back to tie things up at 17-17, but Bowling Green retook the lead on a 41-yard touchdown run by Jamal Johnson, and Bowling Green held on to a 24-20 lead at halftime.

It was not until just past the midway point of the third quarter that Penn State took its first lead of the game. Allar completed a 14-yard pass to a streaking [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] over the middle of the defense for the go-ahead score. The drive was highlighted by a hefty dose of passes to tight end Tyler Warren.

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Penn State had a chance to create a little breathing room late in the third quarter but a Drew Allar pass was picked off in the end zone by Jacorey Benjamin. Fortunately for Penn State, Benjamin made a poor decision to try returning the interception out of the end zone and was knocked out of bounds at the three-yard line as the third quarter came to a close. That led to a needed defensive stop at the start of the fourth quarter by the Penn State defense, which gave the Nittany Lions another chance to go up by two scores.

But Penn State was forced to punt the football away on the ensuing drive after a deep pass from Allar to Harrison Wallace III, one of the offensive stars in Week 1, was broken up.

Penn State’s defense cleaned things up after halftime and came up with interceptions on back-to-back Bowling Green possessions in the fourth quarter, one by linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] and the other by safety [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag]. Shortly after Wheatley’s pick, Singleton ripped off his third touchdown run of 40+ yards this season to put Penn State up 34-24.

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Singleton ended the day with 133 total offensive yards and two touchdowns. Allen had his first 100-yard game of the season. Wide receiver Julian Fleming had his first catch in a Penn State uniform, although for a small three-yard gain.

Jaylen Reed led the Penn State defense with 10 tackles and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] came up with some big plays along with his 7 tackles. Kobe King added 7 tackles and came down with a football on a late Bowling Green onside kick attempt to allow Penn State to run out the clock once and for all.

Penn State will be off next week. The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, Sept. 21 with a home game against Kent State.

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Not even Mother Nature can slow down No. 9 Penn State in 34-12 win over West Virginia

Penn State starts off the 2024 season with a win with help from the entire roster.

Open on the road? No problem. Overcome a two-hour weather delay? No sweat.

Not even Mother Nature could slow down the momentum Penn State established in a season-opening road win at West Virginia on Saturday. No. 9 Penn State (no. 8 in AP top 25) turned in a dominant performance to leave Morgantown, West Virginia with a 34-12 victory over the Mountaineers and it included contributions from all around the roster.

After a scoreless first quarter, Penn State took command in the second quarter with a 20-point burst before halftime. [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] connected for three touchdown passes, including a pair to [autotag]Harrison Wallace III[/autotag]; [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] scored the other in the second quarter. The first half was highlighted by the Penn State defense seemingly getting the wrong end of a botched instant replay after an apparent fourth-down stop, but holding West Virginia to a field goal in the final minute of the half to cut Penn State’s lead to 13-6.

But the offense turned it around with a big pass from Allar to Omari Evans and the second of Wallace’s touchdown catches seconds later to take a commanding 20-6 lead into halftime. [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] found an opening and exp[osed it with a 40-yard run for a touchdown to open the third quarter to give Penn State a 27-6 lead.

It was not until early in the fourth quarter when West Virginia scored a touchdown. Of course, this may have been another example of poor officiating and questionable replay procedures as the Fox cameras seemingly showed that West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson appeared to be short of the end zone before getting the ball across the line. The play stood with no challenge and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] met in the backfield to disrupt a two-point conversion attempt by West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene.

And then the waiting game began. Severe thunderstorms rolled through the area during halftime and delayed the start of the second half by a little more than two hours. Once play eventually resumed, Penn State’s offense picked up right where it left off with a touchdown on the opening drive of the half. Penn State would respond later in the fourth quarter with a final knockout blow when [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag] connected with tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] for a score minutes later.

Allar passed for 216 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 44 yards on six carries, a number of them picking up first downs along the way. Wallace III led the receivers with 117 yards and two touchdowns. Warren ended the day with three catches for 30 yards and a score, catching all three of the passes targeted for him in the game.

After having just one 100-yard game a season ago, and having to wait until the final game of the regular season, [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] started the year on the right foot with 114 rushing yards. Singleton had a pair of 40-yard runs in the game.

Carter’s defensive stats won’t impress anyone checking just the box score, but he drew some double-team coverage on multiple occasions, usually allowing someone else on the defensive line to make a big play. Rojas ended the game with 1.5 sacks and [autotag]Kevin Winston[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 12 total tackles. [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

Penn State completed the two-game home-and-home series with West Virginia, continuing its winning tradition against their former longtime regional rival. Penn State is now 50-9-2 all-time against West Virginia. Unfortunately, there are no additional future games on the books between these two schools at this time.

Next up for Penn State is the home opener next Saturday. Penn State will host Bowling Green from the MAC for another noon kickoff in Week 2. Bowling Green is coming off a 41-17 victory over Fordham to open its season. Next week’s game will air on Big Ten Network.

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Penn State defensive MVP predictions for 2024

Our staff makes their picks for Penn State’s defensive MVP in 2024.

Penn State’s offense may be the bigger question for the Nittany Lions this season, but the defense has a few things to figure out this season as well. After the departure of Manny Diaz to be a head coach at Duke, Penn State brought in former Indiana head coach Tom Allen to take over as defensive coordinator. Allen’s reputation as a defensive mind is well-regarded, and he has some good players to work with this season.

Allen has a defense that sees a key player make a notable position change, a rising star at linebacker, and another stud in the making in the secondary to carry on Penn State’s recent line of success in the defensive backfield.

Here are our predictions for Penn State’s defensive MVP in 2024.

Brad Wakai: Tony Rojas

While all the attention is on Abdul Carter moving to edge rusher, it’s going to be tackling machine Tony Rojas who racks up stats and stops the run, allowing Penn State’s pass rushers to wreak havoc like they have done so often.

Charlie Strella: Tony Rojas

The smart pick is Abdul Carter and he rightfully is the best player on PSU’s defense, but this is “Linebacker U” after all so I’m going with the up and coming sophomore Tony Rojas. The next NFL caliber linebacker to come out of Happy Valley. He very well could end up leading the team in tackles and is already emerging as a leader of defense.

Shayne Kubas: Kevin Winston Jr

It’s tempting to go with the explosive Abdul Carter with this pick, but nobody was more consistent on Penn State’s defense last season than Kevin Winston Jr. He is the glue that should keep a new-look secondary together, and there could be a potential top-50 NFL draft pick with his name on it next April.

Kevin McGuire: Abdul Carter

So nobody wants to take Abdul Carter? Then I suppose I will!

The move from linebacker to the edge of the line is a fascinating one and I do believe it will lead to Carter being one of the top edge rusher sin the Big Ten. The explosiveness I expect Carter to bring to the line will create some huge plays in the backfield this season and just his presence alone up front will help others on the line make some plays as well. I think we are in for a monster season from Carter.

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Penn State’s young linebacker continues to get buzz after spring practices

Tony Rojas is preparing to take off at linebacker for Penn State in 2024.

There might not be a single player on the roster that Penn State fans are more excited to see get a bump in playing time than [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag].

The four-star linebacker out of high school was able to avoid redshirting his freshman season last year and appeared in all 13 games on defense and special teams, recording 21 tackles, 3.5 for loss, with a forced fumble and interception.

Much of that came from him bulking up during the summer and flashing in practice prior to last season.

Now, with [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] moving to defense end, it’s expected that Rojas will fill into the starting linebacker role and become an elite player for the Nittany Lions.

Tyler Donohue of 247Sports said that will likely be the case after the sophomore put together another impressive spring. Coaches told him that they’re confident he will be able to handle the increased responsibilities and he’ll be able to perform from the opening snap (subscription required).

If the Blue-White Game was any preview of what is to come, he paired with [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] as the starting linebackers for Team White.

Rojas also admitted to “overthinking things” when he was a freshman, but is feeling much more confident in his second season.

Donohue notes that he has already started gelling with new defensive coordinator [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag] and that the young linebacker was able to read-and-react at a high level, making him look like a future star at his position.

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he certainly has the body type that should allow him to be the starting linebacker and sustain being on the field against Big Ten competition.

Penn State’s cornerbacks coach discusses potential contributing freshmen

Could any of these freshmen find a role in Penn State’s defense in 2024? An assistant coach offers his opinion.

Penn State had a fantastic signing day, locking up all 25 of their commits and having no drama surround their program on a day that can become filled with potential commits signing elsewhere.

On the recruiting front, the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff will turn their attention towards future classes and continue to try and build another elite class that has become the norm under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

As far as the on field product goes, the next question that presents itself is which one of the incoming freshman could become impact players in their first season in the program?

Penn State had five players, all on the defensive side of the ball, forego their redshirt seasons during the 2023-24 campaign. Linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Jameial Lyons[/autotag], safety [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] and corners [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] and [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] all contributed in limited roles.

Cornerbacks coach, Terry Smith, was asked which players in the 2024 class could follow that mold and become contributors immediately in their first year by Ryan Snyder of On3 (paid subscription required).

He immediately looked to his position group as the Nittany Lions have three players entering the NFL draft.

Smith said that [autotag]Jon Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Antoine Belgrave-Shorter[/autotag] are two players to watch since they are enrolling in January and will get to work within the program as soon as possible.

He notes that it will come down to if they can make the transition from the high school level to high-major Power 5 football and adjust to the processing speed it takes to recognize what is happening during the play.

Talent-wise he thinks Mitchell and Belgrave-Shorter have the tools to be contributors, but it will come down to making that adjustment.

As far as the offensive side of the ball, he has his eye on running back, [autotag]Quentin Martin[/autotag], who is a Top-100 player.

Even in a loaded running back room with [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] coming back, Martin is an explosive playmaker and could be used in the passing game early on as he is considered the best receiver in the room already.

James Franklin announces four Penn State freshmen burning their redshirts

James Franklin confirmed which newcomers will bur their redshirt years of eligibility in 2023.

Penn State head coach James Franklin sat in front of a microphone and reporters for his first regularly scheduled press conference of the regular season on Tuesday. In previewing the season opener against West Virginia, Franklin discussed a wide range of topics without shedding much light on the starting quarterback for the Week 1 showdown with the Mountaineers. He did, however, outline the plan for a handful of some of the youngest players on the roster.

One of the most exciting topics that he talked about was the freshmen players on the team who will have the “green light” and burn their redshirt this season. It’s a term that he’s used to mainly highlight the players that are ready to make an impact immediately in their freshman year.

These are the four players Franklin announced at the presser.

  • [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] (linebacker)
  • [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] (cornerback)
  • [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] II (cornerback)
  • [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] (safety)

“These guys have shown that they’re the closest, not just to play on defense, but also have significant roles on special teams,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “So, that’s where those guys have been able to get the green light, is being in what I would consider the three deep on defense, and being within the two deep on enough special teams units that it makes sense.”

Rojas has been a fast riser in the program this summer after putting on over 30 pounds of muscle since he arrived on campus. There have been murmurs that he will see time at linebacker at portions of the season that aren’t in blowout games.

Tracy and Washington will likely be confined to special team roles when not in for mop-up duty. Both were rated as four-star recruits by On3 and have flashed in the offseason training camps.

Mack is a name that kept coming up over and over again through the summer and spring. The former Top 100 recruit in the 2023 class out of Florida has been an impact player throughout camp. He could see the field at some point in a rotational role like Rojas.

Franklin also mentioned other freshmen are in the mix to burn their redshirt as well, “There’s another group of yellow guys that you hope by game five, game four, game five, somewhere around there, that they’re going to be ready to be green-lighted as well.”

Factors like on-field performance, injuries, and others will be used to determine which freshmen will be given the green light throughout the season.

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‘Offseason Kings’ announced by Penn State after summer training camp

Penn State announces offseason MVPs heading into the 2023 season.

Penn State has recognized some of the top performers over the summer with their announcement on Wednesday. Their “Offseason Kings” highlight the Touchdown and Takeaway Kings from the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Two players are selected from each and recognized for their performance throughout the summer period.

On the offensive side of things, quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Keandre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] were the “Touchdown Kings.”

Despite [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] not officially announcing who the starting quarterback will be for the 2023 season, Allar received the honor after being recognized by teammates and coaches for his play on the field and becoming a vocal leader in the locker room. The sophomore came into Penn State as a five-star recruit with built in hype surrounding that status.

Lambert-Smith is the top returning receiver from last year’s team and will have to play a much bigger role if the Nittany Lions want to achieve the goals they are after. According to reports out of camp, he has taken it upon himself to be a leader in the wide receiver room and on the field.

The defensive players recognized as “Takeaway Kings” were cornerback [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag].

Hardy is a redshirt senior who is expected to be the top nickelback corner this season. He had worse season number wise last year with 13 tackles and one interception than he had in 2021, when he recorded 15 tackles and two interceptions. Despite that, he is an experienced player who is rumored to potentially play a role in the return game on special teams as well.

Rojas has been one of the hottest names throughout the spring and summer. The true freshman has gained 30 pounds since enrolling in January and has found himself in the rotation of Manny Diaz’s defense for the upcoming season.

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 13 Tony Rojas

Big things are on the horizon for Penn State freshman linebacker Tony Rojas. How he fits in the defensive picture in 2023…

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Next up in our rundown is a look at true freshman linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag]. Rojas enrolled early in the program as a member of the Class of 2023 and put together a solid spring to suggest fans could see Rojas get some good minutes on the field this season despite his youth.