James Franklin addresses when he will decide who will have helmet communication on defense

The Penn State Nittany Lions are entering the 2025 season with a new look on defense. With new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in place, head coach James Franklin knows everyone is learning the defense and needs leaders to step up.

One of the key roles on the defense is going to be the player who wears the helmet communication. There, Franklin recently shared that he’s looking at three key contributors on the defensive side of the ball. They all share a few things in common, most notably that they’re experienced and play on the inside of the defense.

“Yeah, the three most experienced inside guys,” James Franklin said. “Obviously, [Tony] Rojas, [Dominic] DeLuca, and Amare [Campbell], are the three most experienced guys. So, we’ll see how that goes, but we’re working towards it.”

Tony Rojas started 16 games last season for Penn State as a sophomore in 2024. In that time, he broke out as one of the better defenders on the team. In that time, he made 58 total tackles, six tackles for a loss, and a sack to go with three interceptions. Then, Dominic DeLuca has more experience as a redshirt senior. He’s played in 44 career games with five starts. All of those starts came last season, and he’d put up 40 tackles, four tackles for a loss, and 0.5 sacks. He even snagged three interceptions.

In the case of Amare Campbell, he comes to Penn State as a transfer from North Carolina. He started 13 games there last season, making 76 tackles with 10.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. There was some question if Campbell could handle the communications, given that he hasn’t been at Penn State as long as the other two linebackers James Franklin mentioned. However, Franklin insisted he could handle that and, given the defensive coordinator change, he isn’t really behind.

“Not really. When I say not really, it’s not really a short run-up for him,” Franklin said. “Because in my mind, he did it at North Carolina. We got a new defense. They’re all learning a new defense. So, it’s about the same for everybody, right?”

This is the second season that college football will have in-helmet communications. One player on either side of the ball can wear the headset. On offense, that will almost always be the quarterback. Defensively, there is a bit more room for various players to wear it. However, coaches, like Franklin, often like to have the player be someone who plays on the inside, to communicate more easily, and not leave the field.

At the latest, James Franklin will need to decide who wears the green dot by Week 1. Penn State opens with Nevada on August 30th.