University Park— Penn State football concluded its spring practice window with the 2025 Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium, and afterward, coach James Franklin mentioned how the linebacker room is in need of additional growth moving forward.
White defeated Blue, 10-8, in the first opportunity the Penn State had to practice or play at the field while construction continues in the revitalization project.
Linebacker Tony Rojas didn’t play due to injury dating back to last season and hasn’t been able to factor into the linebacker rotation. Kobe King departed for the NFL draft and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round Saturday.
New Man on the Minnesota Vikings: Kobe King Selected in 6th Round of NFL Draft
“I think we’re in good shape, but there’s some concerns there,” Franklin said. “We lost a guy that we didn’t anticipate losing.”
Ta’Mere Robinson entered the transfer portal during the spring window and committed inside the conference. Robinson stayed in the Big Ten this week, but landed on the opposite coast and signed with USC.
Franklin did highlight redshirt freshman Anthony Speca as a an impactful young player starting to come into his own on defense.
“The young guys have taken some steps,” Franklin said. “Speca’s been doing some really good things. Probably had the most complete, consistent spring from a grade standpoint.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.At another position of need, Penn State added transfer receivers Kyron Hudson (USC) and Devontae Ross (Troy) during the fall portal window, edge rusher Enai White (Texas A&M), and defensive back King Mack (Alabama) returned following one year away from PSU as the program’s three most notable additions.
“As you guys know, we’re not a big portal team, but we’re going to have to address some issues,” Franklin said.
Despite his desire to rely on player retention and internal development to fix issues, Franklin took the opportunity to recruit potential linebackers to Happy Valley. Following Rojas and Dom DeLuca, Penn State is thin on experience in significant games.
“If there’s a linebacker out there that wants to come and be a part of our program and play for LBU, the most historic linebacker program in the history of college football, there’s an opportunity here to join the room and compete,” Franklin said. “I think we’ve got enough in the room, but to get through an entire season, if we get some injuries, it could get challenging. So we’re gonna look at the portal, see if we can find a solution.”
The spring portal window ended Friday night into Saturday, but many players remain available after playing their name into the portal during the 10-day period that opened on April 16.
Franklin prefers Penn State find someone its familiar with. That could include high school recruiting or previously through the portal. Franklin wants to ensure culture remains at the forefront for any player brought to the program.
“More times than not, we’d like it to be somebody that is connected to us and that we know,” James Franklin said. “We’ve got a really good locker room, and I want to make sure that we’re bringing the right people into our locker room. We’re very protective of that.”
