Franklin and Diaz 3/28 PC's
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Tony Rojas getting first team reps. Could he be this years Abdul Carter?
Where did you hear he was getting first team reps? Neither Franklin or Diaz talked about 1st team reps for Rojas.
I've heard the comment that he is up to around 215 and that he could be 225 by Fall camp. But last year there was a clear opportunity for a young LB with big talent to break into the rotation early with Jacobs moving to Will and leaving a void at Sam, and then not really excelling at Will to where Carter excelled it made an easy decision to move Jacobs back to Sam given the Sutherland wasn't setting the world on fire there. And really nothing settled at Mike.
But this year Mike seems settled as a clear two player competition between King and Elsdon, Carter is set as a starter most likely at Will with him moving around depending on the defense but playing as many snaps as he can. And Jacobs the clear #1 at Sam.
When I hear of any of the younger LB's such as Wylie or Rojas, or even DeLuka or Robinson, getting 1st team reps I more so look at it as development for them and with all the reps available now in Spring practice seeing how they play within other combinations and continuing to raise their comfort level in case they are needed due to injuries.
As good as Rojas reportedly is I'll be surprised if he gets more than spot duty at LB along with a likely big role on special teams. But if he's dominating the practices like Carter must have been in 2022 Fall camp who knows. JMO
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In 2nd year under Manny Diaz, Penn State football’s linebacker corps is off to hot spring ball start
It’s almost sacrilegious to question the legitimacy of a Penn State linebacker corps, a position with a storied history across generations, but that’s just the spot the group was in
Yep, but predicting he'll be a solid starting LB like Carter was last season as some here seem to predict, given the current LB depth, doesn't seem realistic.
Seems like Wylie gets lost in some of the LB discussions, but he was reportedly making progress at the end of last season and also put on some muscle in the winter. Hope a reporter asked Franklin about him in one of the upcoming PC's......In 2nd year under Manny Diaz, Penn State football’s linebacker corps is off to hot spring ball start
It’s almost sacrilegious to question the legitimacy of a Penn State linebacker corps, a position with a storied history across generations, but that’s just the spot the group was inwww.collegian.psu.edu
What I THINK we will see are certain specific packages in which Rojas will be on the field at the same time as 23 and 11....but the every down starter here will be King 75% with the other 25% a mix of Rojas and 43...
The less time 43 sees the field the better because he was the number one liability last year with Beamon a close second.
The less time 43 sees the field the better because he was the number one liability last year with Beamon a close second.
Instincts and tackling are paramount at LB. Rojas appears to have them. He also has early enrollment, which Carter didn't have.
Unless coach(es) just names drops, it's tough to mention everyone. I wouldn't consider it lost in the shuffle near as much as Carter being so good so early is a tough comparison. As much as I'd like someone to ask, I just don't see any pertinent info coming out unless the kid blows up or improves greatly.
Could he be this years Abdul Carter? I believe that is a question 🤔 not a prediction.
Maybe but I don't remember too many years with an Abdul Carter showing up as a true freshman at LB and taking over
Good article but an huge part of the upcoming season is Diaz will be in his second year. He will have a much better understanding of the talent he has so he can devise even more complex s hemes to confuse opponents and maximize his and ttalent. And the players will,better understand his s hemes so they will play better and faster. Better reads of the offense, better shifts into proper coverage, quicker response as the plays unfold. Players reacting instinctively instead of thinking are a step quicker.In 2nd year under Manny Diaz, Penn State football’s linebacker corps is off to hot spring ball start
It’s almost sacrilegious to question the legitimacy of a Penn State linebacker corps, a position with a storied history across generations, but that’s just the spot the group was in
Don’t be surprised if our D leads the nation next season.
I don't believe I need "sold" on Elsdon. But Elsdon is very experienced and if King wins the starting Mike Elsdon will be a better and more experienced backup (i.e. depth LB) than most teams have. And with Robinson currently also competing at Mike now and himself being a high level recruit and athlete PSU may have another option by the start of the 2023 season, and yes more depth.
At Sam there is DeLuka as the backup who played reasonably well when he got game reps, hence another experienced player and added depth to allow a starter some rest so that the starter (Jacobs) can still reek havic at the end of games.
At Will we really don't know who the backup will be. Likely Wylie, but could also be Rojas, or even Robinson if they decide to let him learn Will during the later part of Spring practice or even in Fall camp. Wylie also may turn out to be a better 2nd string player than many teams have. And if Rojas is the next Carter type PSU LB as some here seem to believe that only further adds to the depth especially if Rojas is so good he ends up as the backup Will and pushes himself onto the field with regular snaps each game.
So yes, I believe PSU does have depth, a good bit of experienced depth, and also young and talented depth with the two high talent true freshmen that are now participating in Spring practices.
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They need to figure out how to stop Michigan’s running game. Last year linebackers were either out of place or were blocked because the D tackles could not keep the oline occupied and off the linebackers. I have confidence that the LBs will not be out of place this year, but I’m not sure the D tackles will not get blown back into them.
You need to factor in a wave of portal applications after spring ball when kids see they aren’t going to start a
or get serious playing time. It’s the world we live in…..
Yep it is. But I can't see any player that would leave at LB that would leave an upreplaceable hole in the LB lineup, especially compared to about 99% of college football teams that would love to be in the depth situation PSU has at LB.
Looking at the "depth", DeLuka just got on scholarship so he's not likely leaveing given that Jacobs is in his last year at Sam and that DeLuka knows and probably welcomes his battle to start at Sam for 2024 with one of the 2023 freshmen.
If Elsdons loses the Mike starting job to King would Elsdon leave? Possibly. But there again by the start of the 2023 season that would open up the backup spot for Robinson, a highly regarded athlete and LB prospect.
And at Mike, Wylie is just getting in the fray by putting on muscle during Winter S&C and now competing to back up Carter, which Katshir seemed to do last season. Sure Wylie could move on, but I doubt that as well and if he did PSU would likely put both Rojas and the summer arriving Keys at Mike behind Carter. Likely as much young talent competing at one LB position as any team in the country.
It's the nature of college football for players to move on, and open starting positions to be competed for each year on every team. This has bee accentuated with the transfer portal and can add to experienced depth depletion. But with the fact that high school players are many times now much more ready to play from a physical and also mental state it seems like the current college football model will survive just fine.
I'm not expecting a real "wave" of transfers for PSU. A couple probably. But possibly none at LB. WR and possibly. I'd handicap the top positions for losing a player this summer as WR and possibly OL.
Is that enough depth to keep Rojas off the field? YOu even include Rojas in the depth.
I never commented that Rojas would be "kept off the field". Only that the visions some here had about Rojas winning a starting LB spot this coming season seem delusional to me, short of major injuries.
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My memory of the UM game is seeing Elsdon on his back watching the RB go by for long gains on a few key plays. We hated seeing it and Diaz surely hated it more than we did. Just have to hope Diaz has the chess pieces to change those outcomes as surely he has the desire to and will have the game plan to......
Rojas has a good shot at playing this year.
The first excuse was he needed a year in S&C. He will be 220lbs by fall. He is already 10lbs bigger than Deluca.
The LB depth is not that great. After Carter and Jacobs it gets real thin. The projected two deep for now, includes a suspect MLB(Eldson), a walk on(Deluca) and a RS Freshman Wyle.
We dont need major injuries for Rojas to play. It only takes ONE injury in a sport with tons of injuries. He might be on the two deep right now. He is at worst third string.
With the portal there is no point in redshirting most players. Between early entry to the NFL, transfers, and career ending injuries MOST players will never see a 5th year. If a player can contribute then play him.
The first excuse was he needed a year in S&C. He will be 220lbs by fall. He is already 10lbs bigger than Deluca.
The LB depth is not that great. After Carter and Jacobs it gets real thin. The projected two deep for now, includes a suspect MLB(Eldson), a walk on(Deluca) and a RS Freshman Wyle.
We dont need major injuries for Rojas to play. It only takes ONE injury in a sport with tons of injuries. He might be on the two deep right now. He is at worst third string.
With the portal there is no point in redshirting most players. Between early entry to the NFL, transfers, and career ending injuries MOST players will never see a 5th year. If a player can contribute then play him.
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The UM game was bad because the D was awful on gap assignments. It wasn't so much that they got pushed around. After UM Jacob's and Carter swapped sides and Carter became the starter. They played pretty well for the rest of the season against good running teams Min, osu, msu and Utah.
We need 1 of those 2 portal guys. What's on the roster right now isn't going to stop Michigan and Ohio State unless Artis and 2 others jump levels by September.
I thought Jacobs was a liability as well. He makes some big plays. However, he is often out of position and misses the sure tackle.
The line got pushed around a heck of a lot, at least as much as the linebackers blowing gap assignments. The problem with gap assignments is that it is a systemic weakness of the 4-3 variant Diaz uses against teams with dynamic blocking schemes. It has dogged him his entire career and got him fired at Texas when a far less talented BYU team under Bronco ran all day on them. Every defense has a fatal flaw, this is ours just like the inability to control the TE against pro-style offenses was Bradley's. He can minimize it but I don't see how with the current personnel.
Jacobs play got better once he started taking snaps at Sam vs Will.
Looks like Franklin should've hired you.... not sure how he missed your availability. LMAO.
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.
This part of a SI article seems to shed some light on the state of the LB unit.
Penn State returns All-America freshman Abdul Carter, all-Big Ten selection Curtis Jacobs and experienced starters Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon to a highly competitive linebacker room. In addition, Diaz said that true freshmen Ta'Mere Robinson and Tony Rojas have shown glimpses of their potential taking second-team reps for players who have been limited in spring practices.
Perhaps the highest praise Diaz offered of the freshmen, in fact all of his first-year defensive players, was this.
"Of all the freshmen we have on defense, we’d recruit them all over again," Diaz said. "We’re happy we have all those guys here. They have all already made some sort of flash play or plays to say, 'Yeah, that’s the guy we envisioned. That’s why we brought them here.'"
1) Robinson and Rojas are showing the talent that made PSU recruit them so far in Spring practice. And they are taking 2nd team reps. Annointing either of them starters seems very premature, but it seems they will have a great chance to contribute in some capacity next season.
2) Coaches always say the positive about their players, but Diaz making a blanket statement that the players he brought in across the board on defense look to have the skills and talent that made PSU recruit them has to be a positive.
It's the nature of college players to improve as they mature with game experience and practice reps. I'm looking for both Elsdon and King to be better at Mike in 2023, but especially King who really did improve as the 2022 season went along. The backups will also make progress - DeLuka, Wylie, Rojas and Robinson. The 3rd class of 2023 LB arriving this summer will have a hard time avoiding a redshirt but even after the staff had the first 2 LB's in his class they never stopped their pursuit of him so he will likely be the icing on the cake for the LB unit as he acclimates.
Penn State returns All-America freshman Abdul Carter, all-Big Ten selection Curtis Jacobs and experienced starters Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon to a highly competitive linebacker room. In addition, Diaz said that true freshmen Ta'Mere Robinson and Tony Rojas have shown glimpses of their potential taking second-team reps for players who have been limited in spring practices.
Perhaps the highest praise Diaz offered of the freshmen, in fact all of his first-year defensive players, was this.
"Of all the freshmen we have on defense, we’d recruit them all over again," Diaz said. "We’re happy we have all those guys here. They have all already made some sort of flash play or plays to say, 'Yeah, that’s the guy we envisioned. That’s why we brought them here.'"
1) Robinson and Rojas are showing the talent that made PSU recruit them so far in Spring practice. And they are taking 2nd team reps. Annointing either of them starters seems very premature, but it seems they will have a great chance to contribute in some capacity next season.
2) Coaches always say the positive about their players, but Diaz making a blanket statement that the players he brought in across the board on defense look to have the skills and talent that made PSU recruit them has to be a positive.
It's the nature of college players to improve as they mature with game experience and practice reps. I'm looking for both Elsdon and King to be better at Mike in 2023, but especially King who really did improve as the 2022 season went along. The backups will also make progress - DeLuka, Wylie, Rojas and Robinson. The 3rd class of 2023 LB arriving this summer will have a hard time avoiding a redshirt but even after the staff had the first 2 LB's in his class they never stopped their pursuit of him so he will likely be the icing on the cake for the LB unit as he acclimates.
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Penn State spring practice notes: A young defender bulks up, the challenge of replacing Ji’Ayir Brown, more
Freshman linebacker Tony Rojas is a player to watch in the fall.
Rojas up to around 225.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-state-rookie-has-added-29-pounds-in-3-month/
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-state-rookie-has-added-29-pounds-in-3-month/
Sounds like he is forcing his way in to serious reps this year. I cannot imagine he starts unless they move either Jacobs or Carter (now has ideal size for this) inside. But imagine if they did move Carter inside and Jacobs and Rojas were flying around outside. That would be some crazy positional speed.
Elsdon has enough experience that he might not be here if he is passed by anyone else on the depth chart. He was probably passed by king at the end of last season. Robinson is not an option for 2023. He missed all of 2022 and was learning a new position. Carter and Jacobs are getting reps at MLB. Rojas is getting reps at SLB and WLB. The staff wants Rojas on the field and they are going to shuffle the deck to get their three best on the field.
I don't see the staff eliminating Robinson as an option at Mike. Robinson enrolled early which will get him back into the mentality needed to compete this Spring and he'll be ready to compete at Mike in Fall camp. I just believe the staff would rather redshirt him given that King and Elsdon are experienced Mike LB's and Carter may slide to Mike in the 2 LB defenses.
I don't believe we'll see Jacobs at Mike or that he is getting anything other than fun/emergency reps at Mike. Jacobs best asset is his mobility and pursuit that together with his experience at Sam and Mike makes him pretty much an outside LB for PSU. And with King, Elsdon and Carter capable Mike LB's there is no need for Jacobs to play there unless there are injuries.
Yep, with all the better athletes at Mike it would not surprise me to see Elsdon go to the portal and look for the opportunity to start at a MAC school. But he may be a player that loves PSU and just wants to stay and contribute even if he ends up mainly on special teams.
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