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Top 5 players to watch this spring: No. 5 LB Ellis Brooks

By Marty Leap

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 23: A homecoming crowd of 108,062 pack the stands as the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated Penn State Nittany Lions 6-4 during NCAA football at Beaver Stadium on October 23, 2004 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 23: A homecoming crowd of 108,062 pack the stands as the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated Penn State Nittany Lions 6-4 during NCAA football at Beaver Stadium on October 23, 2004 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Today starts the countdown of the top 5 Penn State football players to watch this spring with no. 5 – linebacker Ellis Brooks

With less than a week to go until National Signing Day, Penn State landed linebacker Ellis Brooks during the 2017 recruiting cycle. The former 4-star linebacker recruit chose the Nittany Lions over LSU, Michigan, and Oregon, among others.

After a redshirt year, Ellis Brooks is now in a position to make an impact for the Nittany Lions during the 2018 season. Combine this with the MIKE linebacker position being wide open, and Brooks checks in at no. 5 on the list of top-5 Penn State football players to watch this spring.

Due to Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith graduating as well as Manny Bowen no longer being with the team, the MIKE linebacker position is wide open for Penn State in 2018. There may not be a player on Penn State’s roster with more to gain from this than the six-foot-one, 234-pound Brooks.

While Ellis Brooks will never be confused with a track star, he is a good athlete and a better athlete than Jason Cabinda was. Like Cabinda before him, Brooks is an extremely physical player and this will serve him well as a MIKE linebacker in Brent Pry’s system.

Ellis Brooks is also a very intelligent player with a great football IQ. During the 2017 season Brooks drew praises from both his teammates and coaches for asking plenty of questions and taking notes during film sessions.

Being a film junky who knows the playbook inside and out will benefit Brooks greatly in his efforts to win the starting MIKE linebacker job for Penn State in 2018. That is because it will assist Brooks with setting the defense and making the calls, a duty that has always fallen on the MIKE linebacker under Brent Pry and Bob Shoop before him.

Strong, reliable play out of their MIKE linebacker is one of the few hurdles between Penn State and having one of the top defenses in the Big Ten in 2018. Ellis Brooks could help the Nittany Lions go a long way toward clearing this hurdle.

Next: Where will Mike Gesicki land in the NFL Draft?

Keep an eye on redshirt freshman linebacker Ellis Brooks this spring as he competes for the starting job at MIKE linebacker for the 2018 season.

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