It’s hard to argue that Tony Rojas isn’t Penn State football’s best overall player, and more evidence of that came out Thursday afternoon.
Rojas was one of 15 players named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
It’s well-deserved.
Rojas leads Penn State with 55 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss, and his five sacks are tied for fifth in the Big Ten. Rojas has posted double-digit tackles in each of PSU’s last three games, picking up 12 against Northwestern, 10 against USC and 12 more against Michigan. He’s also capable of generating turnovers, picking up an interception at Temple (he also had a pretty important pick against SMU in the 2024 College Football Playoff).
PENN STATE AND THE BUTKUS
National Football Foundation/Josh Hawkins
Penn State is one of eight schools with multiple Butkus Award winners.
LaVar Arrington was the first PSU player to win the award, doing so in 1999. Paul Pozluszny accomplished that feat in 2005, and despite Penn State having plenty of quality linebackers in the 20+ years since– including Dan Connor, the school’s all-time leading tackler and current LB coach, along with Tyson Veidt— Pozluszny is the most recent “LBU” disciple to win the award.
It should also be noted that the Butkus Award has only been around since 1985, meaning past Penn State greats such as Jack Ham, Greg Buttle and Matt Millen weren’t able to win it.
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‘ANOTHER LEVEL’
Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn played with Sean Lee and NaVorro Bowman at PSU, so he knows something about quality LB play.
Which means him calling Rojas “one of the most athletic inside backers I’ve seen” is an especially meaningful compliment.
“Not just talking about Penn State, but just in general,” Lynn told reporters Tuesday. “You watch him do drills. You watch him do anything in space. He’s fluid, he’s fast, he’s explosive. Tony’s had a great first half.”
As good as Rojas has been, Lynn feels he can be even better in the last five games of the regular season and beyond.
“All those guys, they did it every single day,” Lynn said, “they did it every single week, and so far Tony’s done that. “It’s just continuing to do that through the second half (of the season). There’s still another level that I think he can reach, and we’re hoping that we can get him to do that in the next couple weeks.”
Rojas agrees.
“I’ve been playing at a good level,” Rojas told reporters Tuesday. “I’m kind of hard on myself, so I know I have a lot to improve on, a lot of things to work on. So during the bye week and going forward, just watching film. I know I could be better at things like just getting off blocks against the line. That starts with being intentional with that in practice.”
