Penn State jumps in On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings

Penn State football’s Class of 2023 continued its surge in national prestige on Thursday afternoon with its latest verbal commitment. Adding On3 Consensus four-star linebacker Tony Rojas to the class, the Nittany Lions jumped up a spot to No. 9 in the updated On3 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings for the Class of 2023.

Rojas selected Penn State over finalists Georgia, Clemson, and Miami. At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Rojas is No. 109 nationally in the On3 Consensus, and No. 8 among linebackers in the class.

Despite the commitment, though, all three programs remain ahead of Penn State in the updated rankings. As of Rojas’ commitment, the top 10 now stands with Ohio State still leading the way atop the rankings. The Buckeyes are followed by Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, Clemson, Miami, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, and Tennessee.

Penn State football’s newest addition

Rojas became the 13th four-star commitment for the Class of 2023 upon his announcement. Joined by family members at his high school in Fairfax, Va., the addition marked the end of a recruitment that included some of the nation’s most competitive programs.

“Georgia and Clemson both came after him pretty hard,” high school coach Trey Taylor told BWI. “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.” 

According to Rojas himself, that was exactly the case.

“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.”

Penn State recruiting rankings impact

Penn State is now up to 13 four-star commitments complemented by five three-stars in the 18-man class. The total is now tied with Ohio State, Texas and Tennessee among top 10-ranked classes, each of which trails only Notre Dame’s 19.

With Rojas’ addition, the program’s updated score continues to trend upward. Boosted earlier this week by four-star running back London Montgomery’s commitment, the Nittany Lions now stand at 91.319, up from its previous overall grade of 91.050. The grade trails LSU’s 91.358 only slightly.

The commitment also boosted the class average player rating from 89.90 up to 90.04 in the proprietary rankings.