Injuries shouldn’t be a problem for the Nittany Lions come fall.

After dealing with health issues all spring, Penn State football head coach Matt Campbell said at Big Ten Media Days that he expects the team to be “fully healthy” when fall camp begins on August 5.

He hopes that full availability from his team during fall camp will allow him to figure out just how great the team really is.

“The fact that we are “fully healthy”, I think, will be big for us to continue to move our team closer to where we need to be as the season comes fast and furious,” Campbell told reporters before taking the podium on Big Ten Network.

Here are the updates Campbell gave reporters.

Tony Rojas – Linebacker

Tony Rojas is back.

Campbell said the Nittany Lions star linebacker will be a full go for fall camp after recovering from a long-term injury in practice that kept him out of most of the 2025 football season.

In the four games he did play, however, Rojas put up 25 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Andrew Rappleyea – Tight End

Andrew Rappleyea’s health update brings more good news as one of the Nittany Lions’ projected starters at tight end will be a full go for fall camp.

Rappleyea missed spring practice with a lower-body injury he suffered in February, but is coming off a season where he put up 20 receptions for 180 yards and three touchdowns.

Campbell will get his first look at how he fits into the Penn State team during the fall camp.

Alex Manske – Quarterback

One of the surprise gets for the Nittany Lions in the portal was former four-star quarterback Alex Manske. Though he knew it would mean sitting behind Rocco Becht in 2026, Manske chose to follow his coaching staff from Iowa State to the Nittany Lions.

Manske missed spring ball after dealing with an undisclosed medical procedure, but he is now fully cleared to play, Campbell said.

“He’s been throwing. He’s had the opportunity to go through the majority of our summer program, and he’s ready to go and fully clear it as we start fall camp,” the Nittany Lions head coach said.

Last season with the Cyclones, Manske played in three games, completing four of five passes for 28 yards and rushing seven times for 33 yards. 

At fall camp, Manske could see a quarterback battle for the No. 2 spot behind Becht, with Appalachian State and Christopher Newport transfer Connor Barry, or either of the two freshmen, Kase Evans and Peyton Falzone, who joined the team for 2026.

“I think that is a monumental win, because Alex, certainly we believe in what his talent level is, the development piece, and when you talk about the first year and a half of his career, has been a little bit choppy, and so to be able to have him this summer, to have all of fall camp and as we get into this football season, to continue to grow and develop his skill set, I think that’s huge for us as evaluating Alex, but also for Alex’s confidence to grow forward, so he can be the quarterback of the future of our program,” Campbell said.

Alex Tatsch – Linebacker

Campbell has been really high on linebacker Alex Tatsch since arriving in Happy Valley, saying he “has got a chance to be one of the great linebackers of all time here.”

While likely not a starter in 2026 regardless, Tatsch suffered a blow to his chances during the lead-up to the Pinstripe Bowl, suffering a long-term injury.

Campbell said the linebacker will be limited to start fall camp, but could push to be fully available in the first game of the season, should everything go right.

Tatsch, who played 108 defensive snaps in 2025, finished the season with 14 tackles, two missed tackles, one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup.

Jeremiah Cooper – Safety

Jeremiah Cooper came from Ames, Iowa, with Campbell and projects to be a starter in the safety room for the Nittany Lions. This spring, though, he has been recovering from a knee injury that he suffered during Week 4 last season.

Campbell said he is in the same boat as Tatsch and will be fighting to return for the first game of the season on September 5.

Cooper’s participation, even if limited, is vital to a Penn State safety room that will likely have three new starters this season. He will also want to get back into the safety mindset after stepping in as a corner for the Cyclones last year due to injuries around him.

Gabe Burkle – Tight End

Gabe Burkle is another former Cyclone who suffered an injury in the fall. He’s also another that Campbell put in the same boat as Cooper and Tatsch as players working towards a return in Week 1.

“I think all three guys are kind of in that same lineage, and you know, Gabe’s maybe a little bit ahead of those two right now where he’s at,” Campbell said. “But I think you’re talking about all three football players; their target line is that first game, and you could be a little bit past or a little bit forward based on how their recovery continues to go.

“We kind of were more on target where, was it going to be the Big Ten season that those guys would be ready for us? Now I think all three of those guys have done such a great job, and a lot of them have done it together, that I think they’re way ahead of the game.”

Burkle appeared in nine games for Iowa State last season, starting in seven, and recorded 26 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown.