Penn State LB Tony Rojas confirms his decision for 2026

1 week ago 2

While many of the headlines lately seem to be about players making the decisions to explore their options in the transfer portal, Penn State and new head coach Matt Campbell got a bit of big news from one of the top defensive players on the roster. Linebacker Tony Rojas announced he will be staying in Happy Valley in 2026.

Rojas shared his announcement to return wiht a post on his Instagram account on Thursday, putting an end to any speculation that he may explore some transfer opportunities this offseason.

"The past three seasons have been an incredible ride with a lot of historic moments and lifetime memories I will be able to hold on to," Rojas said in his statement. "But as we all know, this season has been nothing but a roller coaster and I was in disbelief and hurt when I went down. I felt like I let myself down and most importantly my teammates down.

"With that being said, after lots of talks with my family and close ones, I will be returning to Penn State for my senior year," Rojas confirmed. "I'm ready to finish what me and my teammates started and am ready to flip this thing and tell an incredible story with Coach Campbell and his new staff."

Rojas was one of the rising stars on the defense since his arrival with the program but he suffered what turned out to be a season-ending injury during the 2025 season. His loss from the roster fell in line with the rapid decline of Penn State's season with UCLA being the first team to take full advantage of a Rojas-less Penn State defense. Penn State went on to lose the next four games after that UCLA loss (Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana) as the defense worked to fix some concerns it had.

Penn State does have a few linebackers choosing to enter the transfer portal, likely resulting in their pending departure from the program. Karui Jackson, Keon Wylie, and Anthony Speca have all reportedly entered the transfer portal.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State LB Tony Rojas announces decision for 2026

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