Tony Rojas is heading into Penn State’s preseason camp with a clean bill of health and a clear edge: he knows what it feels like to start fast, get derailed, and want more.
The veteran linebacker said Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago that he’s been pushing through rehab with one thing in mind - making sure his senior season doesn’t end like the last one did.
“For me personally, I just didn’t want my senior year … this upcoming season, to go out the way we did this past year,” Rojas said Tuesday during Penn State’s appearance at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
Rojas was one of Penn State’s most productive defenders before a knee injury shut him down after four games in 2025. The redshirt junior posted 25 tackles, including 13 solo stops, along with 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup. At 6-2 and 236 pounds, he gave the Nittany Lions a forceful presence early in a season that began 3-0 before sliding to a 7-6 finish.
Now Penn State is trying to reset under new head coach Matt Campbell, and Rojas said he’s been focused on bringing energy back into the building.
“I’m positive, just the enthusiasm I bring in every day I feel like is contagious.”
He’ll also be adjusting to yet another new voice on defense. D’Anton Lynn is set to be Rojas’ fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons, following Manny Diaz in 2023, Tom Allen in 2024 and Jim Knowles in 2025.
Lynn arrives with a Penn State connection of his own. He was a standout defensive back for the Nittany Lions from 2008 to 2011 under Joe Paterno, and spent the last two seasons as USC’s defensive coordinator.
Rojas said Lynn has already stood out because of how directly he works with players.
“He’s been great,” Rojas said of Lynn.
“From a personal level, he’s been amazing. This is the first time I’ve had a personal level connection with the DC.”
“He’s the first coach that I’ve heard talk to me about, you know, if there’s a play call that we don’t like, we can talk to him about (it),”
“He’s the type of coach that he’s going to call the play that we’re most comfortable with, so whatever we’re not comfortable with in practice, it’s something that we gotta communicate (to Lynn) and he’s not going to call it in a game.”
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The other side of that transition has been far messier for Iowa State, where Jimmy Rogers now inherits a rebuild unlike most in the sport. The Cyclones lost every eligible starter from their 2025 roster to the transfer portal, leaving a blank slate for a new staff to sort through. Campbell also revealed one part of the coaching change caught him off guard, a reminder that even after a decade in one place, the politics of succession can still turn a clean break into a surprise. [Read more 🡒]