Penn State players want interim head coach Terry Smith to be promoted to full-time, but one player in particular has been particularly vocal on social media.
The team hasn’t been shy about making their support of Smith known over the past two weeks.
But no player has gone as far as to suggest that he and many of his teammates would leave the program if Smith weren’t promoted.
LB Tony Rojas did that with a series of tweets early Thursday afternoon.
Rojas started his tweeting the previous afternoon.
“this just funny at this point ngl lol we might go a whole szn with no HC , when we clearly got a Head coach right upstairs in the office , dont understand 🤦🏽♂️,” Rojas tweeted Wednesday.
Thursday, the tweets continued.
WHAT ROJAS WROTE
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
“We stand with Terry or nobody else,” Rojas wrote at 12:51 p.m. “That simple.”
This, of course, pretty much confirms what many Penn State fans have speculated, which is that most of the current roster would enter the transfer portal if Smith were not promoted.
Rojas then pushed back on a fans tweet that accused Smith of “holding Penn State’s football program hostage.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“Never that😂😂,” Rojas wrote, “theres just no other coach majority of us would wanna play under in this “global search” that Pat kraft said meets all the requirements of this Job when Terry has checked all the boxes and more , plus with all the genuine love he has for this place wont be matched.”
In a deleted tweet, Rojas wrote that “90% of the Penn State roster for next year” feels the same way.
Rojas and his teammates aren’t the only ones who want Smith’s promotion.
THE DONORS
Pete Nakos of On3Sports reported Wednesday’s afternoon that “top-level Penn State donors are pushing for athletic director Pat Kraft to promote” Smith to be promoted from interim to full-time head coach.”
Report: ‘Top-Level’ Penn State Donors Pushing For Terry Smith to be Promoted
Zach Barnett of FootballScoop first reported that “upper-level university administration is now getting involved in the Penn State search for the first time.”
So, it’s looking like the search is no longer in the hands of Kraft and the athletic department.
What that would mean for Smith’s candidacy is unclear. What’s clear is that Smith was not at the top of Kraft’s wishlist. If that were the case, Penn State wouldn’t have been on the verge of hiring BYU’s Kalani Sitake earlier in the week before Sitake ultimately decided to stay in Provo.
Penn State Coaching Search: Kalani Sitake Makes His Decision
The Penn State coaching search is now on Day 53. Follow Nittany Sports Now for more updates.
