Why Penn State freshman LBs Tony Rojas, Ta’Mere Robinson are poised to contribute early

Penn State entered last season with a question mark in the heart of its defense. Not many people knew what the Nittany Lions would have at linebacker after a few key departures to the NFL — at least, not until a true freshman emerged in a big way.

Abdul Carter became a breakout star. He racked up 10 1/2 tackles for loss, six sacks and three forced fumbles only a few months after joining the Nittany Lions from La Salle College High School outside Philadelphia.

Now, Carter is one of the top players in the country. Penn State’s linebacker corps — bolstered by veterans Curtis Jacobs, Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon — is a strength. But there are still snaps to be had at the position. And don’t be surprised if a couple of newcomers step forward.

Tony Rojas and Brashear grad Ta’Mere Robinson have put themselves in positions to play as true freshmen. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Manny Diaz spoke highly of both early enrollees during a media availability a couple weeks ago.

Rojas, in particular, drew praise, which wasn’t a shock. Rojas made a splash during spring camp, showing off the spatial awareness, quick twitch and sideline-to-sideline speed that made him such a coveted recruit.

Rojas came to Penn State as the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 96 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, according to Rivals. Georgia and Clemson wanted Virginia’s Gatorade Player of the Year. But Penn State landed the four-star, who also rushed for 2,239 yards as a senior at Fairfax High School.

Then, Rojas arrived on campus and hit the weight room. He enrolled as a 197-pound prospect. Earlier this month, he weighed in at 230 pounds.

“He had the body type to do it,” Diaz said. “In high school, he ran, ran, ran all the time. He played basketball, played both sides of the ball, moving, moving, moving. That’s why when you’re recruiting, you’re looking at body frames because you have to get an idea of what they can become. So with Tony, I don’t know if we knew it would happen in three months. But we knew that there would be exactly the size we’d want.”

In March and April, teammates talked about how the 6-foot-2 linebacker played fast and picked up the defense. Diaz echoed that.

“I thought, looking at his high school tape, that he was as good as anybody in the country, and we’re very blessed to have him,” Diaz said. “… What’s impressed me, too, is his mental makeup and how mature he is and how quickly he’s picking up some of these things. He’s in the conversation for some type of role on the team this year.”

Diaz also came away from spring ball impressed with Robinson, a four-star prospect.

Robinson was long on Penn State’s radar, visiting eight times before committing in July 2022. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Pitt, to name a few, wanted the rangy 6-4 prospect who primarily played safety in high school. And they wanted Robinson despite him suffering a torn ACL and MCL at the end of his junior season, which forced him to miss his senior year, as well.

Robinson is healthy now. But Diaz pointed out that coming back from that injury — as well as moving from safety to middle linebacker at the Power 5 level, filling in while Elsdon missed the entirety of camp with his own injury — was a lot for the early enrollee to deal with this spring. And he handled it with aplomb.

“It’s like, boom, all of a sudden you stick the guy at middle linebacker,” Diaz said. “There’s something to be said for that. He’s gotta make the calls. You’re coming back from the injury. And, oh by the way, you’re repping with the twos at Penn State.

“His confidence really started to grow as spring went on, not just in terms of what to do, but we forget his confidence coming back from the injury. He hadn’t played football in 22 months. There’s a process where you’ve got to get in a couple collisions and get up and realize that I’m OK. Ta’Mere came out of spring ball with a lot of confidence that he can do it. He’s what we want as a middle linebacker.”

That all being said, the specific roles Robinson and Rojas will have in 2023 aren’t nailed down. It’s only June, and Diaz puts a lot of emphasis on August camp. Carter and Jacobs on the outside and King and Elsdon on the inside are going to make it difficult on the freshmen to pry snaps away. Plus, Dominic DeLuca, Keon Wylie and fellow 2023 signee Kaveion Keys will push for reps.

But if spring ball — and Diaz’s high praise — taught us anything, it’s that Robinson and Rojas, especially, are built to contribute at the early stages of their Penn State careers.