Virginia's Brandon Smith becomes Penn State's five-star prize

Frank Bodani
York Daily Record

Recruiting at Linebacker U. has finally taken that expected turn under James Franklin.

With lingering questions over the most iconic position at Penn State, the Lions' head coach is certainly making strides in bringing in elite talent the past two cycles.

After a slow start, James Franklin is reeling in one top-shelf recruit after another. The latest is Virginia five-star linebacker Brandon Smith.

Last year, Harrisburg's Micah Parsons was considered one of the top players in the nation and received the coveted five-star ranking. The true freshman will begin his college career at linebacker.

On Monday, Virginia's Brandon Smith joined him. He kept Penn State's epic recruiting surge flowing — the fourth highly-rated verbal commitment since Thursday evening. 

Smith (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) is the nation's No. 2-rated linebacker from Louisa County High in Mineral, Virginia, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the Nittany Lions' seventh member of its 2019 recruiting class.

He is the No. 30 overall player nationally by 247Sports.

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He can play inside or outside linebacker and is skilled at rushing the quarterback off the edge, according to Brian Dohn, a recruiting analyst with 247Sports. Smith's other top scholarship offers include Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

Coincidentally, Penn State just lost another linebacker named Brandon Smith. The former walk-on from Lewisburg High became an integral part of the Penn State defense and has earned an NFL tryout with the Buffalo Bills.

This "new" Smith signals a change in Penn State recruiting.

Though Parsons was a five-star recruit, some sites listed him as a defensive end and he could still grow into that position in college. The last five-star linebacker recruit before him to choose Penn State?

Will five-star linebacker recruit Brandon Smith turn out as good as this guy? Paul Posluszny was a promising linebacker out of Pittsburgh in 2003. But he wasn't rated this highly. Smith is Penn State's first true five-star linebacker recruit since Dan Connor in 2004.

Go back to 2004 and Dan Connor, a five-star by Rivals.com.

Now, things figure to stay hot for Penn State recruiting.

Connecticut four-star defensive back Tyler Rudolph also is scheduled to make his college announcement this evening and is expected to pick Penn State.

Since Thursday, the Lions also have added Jaquan Brisker (the nation's top junior college safety), Virginia's Devyn Ford (nation's No. 1 running back by Rivals.com) and Connecticut four-star defensive back Marquis Wilson.

Before that, the Lions had commitments from New Jersey four-star offensive lineman Caedan Wallace, New Jersey three-star quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson and State College three-star defensive back Keaton Ellis.