Penn State football’s linebacker room has seen significant changes over the last few weeks.

Tony Rojas has been doing Rojas things, but the supporting cast has a huge question mark. Kooper Ebel has struggled in Big Ten play, Alex Tatsch suffered a season-ending injury for the second straight year, and Marcus Neal Jr. moved down from safety.

Through it all, redshirt freshman Cam Smith has worked his way into prominence after coming back from an injury that forced him to miss the Temple game and Penn State’s first four Big Ten contests of the season.

“It’s just going to be trying to find more ways that we can get him on the field, and he showed up big time on special teams, even if he hasn’t been playing as much on defense,” linebacker Cael Brezina said Wednesday. “That’s by no fault of him. He continues to step up and do the right thing and keeps learning. He’s a smart kid. He just keeps getting better.”

It’s hard to work your way into a prominent role in the room when you’re sitting behind arguably Penn State’s best player in Rojas, but Matt Campbell did name Smith as Rojas’ primary backup on Tuesday.

What’s important for Smith is to keep making a name for himself heading into next year. He and Tatsch can make a serious jab at being the faces of Penn State’s linebacker room if they stay the course, assuming Rojas departs for the NFL Draft. Ebel is out of eligibility.

“I can’t say enough good things about Cam Smith. I would say literally since January, he’s been a guy I’ve been super impressed with from the jump,” Ebel said on October 28. “How he comes to practice every day, how he goes about his nutrition, all those things. It’s impressive.”

Ebel highlighted Smith’s versatility and speed as what sets him apart from other linebackers, saying he reminds him a lot of Rojas.

Smith’s emergence in the unit can date back to the offseason. Linebackers coach Tyson Veidt said Smith gained 25 pounds since he arrived on campus in January.

That physical transformation made it pretty easy for Smith to turn heads on the new-look team early in fall camp.

Still, Smith has made the biggest impact on special teams, as Brezina said. His only stat this season is four tackles against Marshall, but the main focus is his overall development.

His first steps back on the field since Buffalo were against Purdue and Washington.

“I certainly think that he has got the ability to be a big help. He had a really great week of practice. He had a great week last week. If you said ‘MVPs of the bye week,’ Cam was certainly one of those guys that had an unbelievable week,” Campbell said ahead of Penn State’s win over Purdue.

If Campbell said Smith is Rojas’ primary backup, it’s safe to assume the two are at the hip throughout practice and going through the motions together.

It’s important for Smith to have a mentor as valuable as Rojas as he shapes up to take over a starting spot next year.

“[Rojas] has got a lot of experience, which I think helps guys look up to him, and he comes out to practice every day and works hard. And I think that’s something that not everybody in his position would maybe do and let the ego kind of get into it. He’s been really good,” Brezina said.

As the season winds down, it’ll be interesting to see if Campbell, Veidt, and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn place more trust in Smith to get real in-game reps if the Nittany Lions secure bowl eligibility sooner rather than later.

Some real, tangible Big Ten experience would go a long way toward helping him realize the improvement coaches and players alike have said he’s made.

“He plays fast, he plays aggressive, and he takes coaching points good,” defensive end Caleb Bacon said ahead of the Michigan game. “He’s not the most vocal guy outside of the football field, like pretty quiet, but you can tell he’s on his stuff. He just wants to make plays out there and keep getting better.”

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