Tony Rojas helps spearhead No. 2 Penn State's defensive transition after playing hurt last season

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Tony Rojas was thinking way too much last season. It was a side effect of playing hurt.

On almost every play, the Penn State linebacker’s subconscious would remind him of the pain soon to follow should he lead with his ailing right shoulder. While it wasn’t enough to keep him out of games — Rojas played in every one during the program’s longest season yet — it was enough to slow him down.

“He was not 100%,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.

Rojas needed surgery following Penn State’s loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. He sat out spring practice to recover, but returned to action in time to start fall camp. Now, three games into the season, a healthy Rojas has helped spearhead Penn State’s defensive transition under new coordinator Jim Knowles.

With a Big Ten championship rematch looming next week against No. 4 Oregon, the Nittany Lions (3-0) feel like they’ve made progress and can again be one of the nation’s elite defenses. Especially with Rojas at full strength.

Since 2021, they’ve finished no worse than ninth nationally in scoring defense and are on pace to do so again.

Although Penn State has only played against outmatched non-conference opponents so far, the Nittany Lions new read-and-react defense has been almost impossible to break.

Penn State has already caused three fumbles, picked off four passes, forced 19 punts and allowed just six trips into its red zone. The Nittany Lion defense was one play shy of posting its second-straight shutout for the first time since 1996 last week against Villanova.

Nevada, FIU and Villanova combined have scored only 17 points. Knowles’ starting 11 has yet to surrender a touchdown.

The quiet and reserved defensive coordinator smiled slightly earlier this week when asked to evaluate the defense’s progress though three weeks of the season.

“What I’ve been seeing are guys in the right places,” Knowles said. “That’s my job is to make sure I put them in the right places. They have to make the plays. But I’m seeing so far that they’re learning, picking things up, getting to the right spots.”

Sure, there have been minor growing pains.

Penn State has had to determine when and who communicates certain play calls between Rojas and fellow linebacker Amare Campbell while ongoing renovations to Beaver Stadium have forced Knowles and his defensive assistants to do the same from the sideline and their new press box location on the opposite end of the field.

Meanwhile, the team’s linebackers have had to learn patience as their previous scheme under Manny Diaz and Tom Allen called for them to attack gaps immediately.

The team’s base formation has changed, too. Knowles has committed to the 4-2-5 alignment he used to help Ohio State to the national championship last year.

There have been moments where the defense has allowed more than Knowles would like. Namely, opponents are converting third downs 35% of the time and Penn State has only stopped three of nine fourth-down tries.

That won’t fly the rest of the way, especially against the Ducks (3-0), who will bring one of the nation’s most versatile offenses into Happy Valley.

“I don’t think we’ve done well enough in those areas and those become extremely important in close ballgames,” Knowles said. “So I think there’s a real push for that during this bye week. But the rest of it is on track so far.”

Having Rojas healthy has sped things up.

He’s second to Campbell in tackles with 18 and is tied for the team lead in sacks with two. One came on Villanova’s first possession last week when Rojas chased a sprinting Wildcat quarterback Pat McQuaide down from behind and rolled him up out of bounds along Villanova’s sideline.

With a faint smear of eyeblack still under his left eye, Rojas was all smiles afterward.

“It’s so much better. I’m not really thinking about leaning on one shoulder,” Rojas said. “It’s way better and I can just play free.”

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