Penn State earns commitment from top linebacker target Tony Rojas
Penn State earned another massive commitment Thursday evening from one of its top overall 2023 prospects in linebacker Tony Rojas. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound prospect from Fairfax, Va., Rojas emerged last July following a strong workout at Penn State’s Beast of the East Camp. Running a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and a 4.25-second shuttle, Rojas left campus with an offer that afternoon.
By the fall, it was clear that Rojas was one of Penn State’s top two linebacker targets in the class along with Pittsburgh native Ta’Mere Robinson. He visited for two games last season against Auburn and Michigan, then returned for two more visits in January and April. His recruitment basically ended when he took his official visit to State College June 17-19.
“The relationship I have with the coaches is just great from a player-coach perspective,” Rojas told On3. “It is about family at Penn State. I know most of the coaches there, I am comfortable with them, and that has always been important to me.”
Fairfax head coach Trey Taylor added, “I think the proximity and the family atmosphere were big. He really related personally with both [Alan Zemaitis] and [Ja’Juan] Seider. Then, I think when Manny [Diaz] came in, that became a good relationship also. So, I think it was a combination of things, but it certainly didn’t hurt that, out of his final four, [Penn State was] the first to really get after him.”
Related: Top Penn State target Quinton Martin updates his recruitment
Rojas formally announced his top four schools at the end of April. In addition to Penn State, he included Clemson, Georgia and Miami. Clemson hosted him for an official visit June 3-5, and he ultimately ended up canceling an official visit to Miami. Georgia hosted him for two unofficial visits in April and June. He was supposed to return to Athens for an official visit June 24-26 but that too was eventually canceled.
“Georgia and Clemson both came after him pretty hard,” Taylor said. “He had good relationships with those coaches. I think the difference, again, was the length of time that he had to get to know the Penn State coaches. He said several times that Penn State feels like home. I think that’s what it was.”
Taylor went on to add, “I went with him to both Clemson and Georgia. Their facilities are on par or better than any place in the country. Penn State didn’t have to wow him with facilities and all that kind of stuff. I think it really was the relationships and just the sense of comfort that he felt at Penn State.”
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Overall, Rojas earned 26 scholarship offers. Maryland, North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech were the other schools he visited.
According to the On3 Consensus ranking, Rojas is the eighth-ranked linebacker nationally, coming in at No. 109 nationally and No. 2 in Virginia. Our scouts at On3 rank him No. 6 overall at linebacker and No. 124 nationally.
Rojas is the first linebacker to commit to Penn State’s Class of 2023. Robinson is expected to announce his decision tomorrow, July 15, at roughly 6:15 p.m. eastern time.
The Nittany Lions now have 18 total commitments in the Class of 2023. Rojas is the fourth Virginia prospect, joining Alex Birchmeier, Mathias Barnwell and Anthony Donkoh. Penn State also moved up one spot to No. 9 in On3 Consensus Team Rankings.
