Penn State Football Recruiting: LB recruit wins Virginia Player of the Year
Big news for Penn State football recruiting
A member of the Penn State football recruiting class of 2019 class recently received a big award. Five-star linebacker Brandon Smith took home some serious hardware Thursday. The six-foot-five stud was named the Gatorade Player of The Year in Virginia.
Smith is the best player in the 2019 recruiting class, and he has the accolades to back that up. Smith put up eye-popping numbers this season; 135 tackles, 14 quarterback pressures, and five sacks. Those stats are a testament to Smith’s instincts, awareness and play pursuit ability. He’s the kind of linebacker any coach would want on their team.
The Louisa County (Mineral, Va.) linebacker is first player from Central Virginia to win the award since defensive end and current Philadelphia Eagles star/Super Bowl Champion Chris Long. Penn State running back Ricky Slade won the 2017-2018 Virginia Gatorade Player of The Year.
Think about this: Penn State landed Smith, the nation’s No. 14 overall player, as well as four-star linebacker Lance Dixon for 2019, and Micah Parsons is a sophomore next year.
It’s too early to say, but it looks like “Linebacker U” may be back.
Louisa County’s Brandon Smith honored as the Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year tonight at halftime of the Powhatan-LC game. pic.twitter.com/tW9K4h1ogN
— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) December 7, 2018
The award couldn’t come at a better time for Smith and Penn State football recruiting. This weekend will prove to be a big one for the Nittany Lions. Four-star running back, Penn State commit and fellow Virginia native Devyn Ford will join Smith on campus, along with other PSU commits. Smith and Ford will be taking unofficial visits. Being an unofficial visit, everything from lodging to travel costs falls on their shoulders.
There’s multiple reasons Smith and Ford will be road tripping to Happy Valley. It’s going to be the last time for the 2019 Class to bond before they’re all enrolled students. Smith and Ford stated that they want to attend the get-together to prove to uncommitted recruits that this class is a family, and families always stick together. Bravo, gentlemen.
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There will be a handful of three and four-star uncommitted recruits this weekend, and hopefully Smith and the Penn State football recruiting class can sway them to join the PSU family.