Big Ten Football: Top 10 recruits joining the conference in 2019

Penn State is long-known for their tradition of “Linebacker U” dating all the way back to the 1960’s. Just some of the names that are associated with “Linebacker U” include Jack Ham, Shane Conlan, Lavar Arrington, Cameron Wake, Tamba Hali, Paul Posluszny, Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman are the most famous members of this select fraternity. However, Brandon Smith could very well soon, etch his name in with the rest of these great players.

Smith is a 6-foot-4, 228-pound linebacker from Mineral, Virginia and is ranked as the 18th-best prospect in the Class of 2019 overall and the top inside-linebacker in the class, according to 247 Sports. Smith will join Micah Parsons as two young linebackers for Penn State that have a chance to be really, really good in a couple of years, if not already this year.

Watching Smith on tape, what stands out right away is how hard he hits people. This kid is a speeding bullet coming at you a hundred miles an hour and trying to knock you out. He has some absolutely bone crushing hits at the beginning of his tape. He also has great instincts as a linebacker and takes great pursuit angles and has ridiculous closing speed for a linebacker of his build. Without a doubt, Smith is a very likely candidate to become a member of the “Linebacker U” fraternity.