Penn State officially signs its top 2023 defensive prospect in LB Tony Rojas
Penn State has officially signed its top defensive player in the Class of 2023 in linebacker Tony Rojas. The Fairfax, Va., native was announced by Penn State’s communications team at 7:25 a.m.
While there wasn’t much drama with Rojas down the stretch, back in the summer this recruitment was one everyone was talking about. With Penn State considered the team to beat from July 2021 to March 2022, all signs were pointing to Rojas ending up in Happy Valley. However, that became a bit more complicated in March when Clemson decided to offer. He followed that up with an offer from the defending national champions, Georgia, a month later.
With a top four of Penn State, Clemson, Georgia and Miami, Rojas took official visits to all but Miami in June. Following an unofficial visit to Athens on June 13, it became a two team race between the Nittany Lions and Bulldogs. Kirby Smart and his staff planned to host for an official visit just two weeks later, right after his official visit to State College, but that never came to be, as Rojas would end up committing to the Lions during his June 17-19 official visit. He didn’t announce it publicly, however, until a month later, July 14.
“I really liked Georgia leading into my official going to Penn State. At the time, it was probably 60-40 Penn State,” Rojas said in a recent interview detailing his recruitment. After my visit though, I knew it was Penn State. I knew it felt like home before, but after being with the recruits, staying overnight, plus being with the coaches that weekend, my relationship with them just grew so much. It just felt right. I knew if I would’ve gone back down to Georgia, it would’ve had my head going places. So, I just ended it then.”
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Rojas added, “In the end, family is everything to me. Penn State showed that on my visits. It wasn’t just once either, but on all my visits. They also texted my parents, my grandparents. They were consistent from the start. It just felt like home.”
Rojas is the third-ranked player in Penn State’s Class of 2023, behind only offensive linemen J’Ven Williams and Alex Birchmeier. He currently ranks just inside the top 100 in the On3 Consensus Rankings at No. 97 overall.
