New Penn State football LB Curtis Jacobs earns fifth star

The Penn State football team earned a big offseason win as one of their incoming freshman players earned a 5-star rating by 247Sports.

Curtis Jacobs, an outside linebacker from Owings Mills, Maryland has earned his fifth star from the national recruiting service 247Sports, giving the Penn State Football program their first 5-star prospect of the 2020 recruiting cycle. Jacobs had a great final season ad McDonogh School in Maryland and earned the fifth star during 247’s final recruiting rankings.

"Always a player with enormous upside evidenced by elite basketball and wide receiver athleticism, Jacobs took a big leap on senior film with his linebacker presence and followed that up at the Under Armour Game. Jacobs is headed to Penn State."

At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Jacobs is one of the nation’s best players regardless of position and the third-best outside linebacker prospect in the entire country. He had offers from at least 20 schools including Big Ten rivals Nebraska, Rutgers and Wisconsin as well as SEC teams such as Florida, Texas A&M and Kentucky.

247Sports national analyst Charles Power said Jacobs’ senior season is what earned him that fifth star, as well as some additional tape he watched.

"“Jacobs had a great senior year. Definitely one of the best high school players in that Atlantic eastern seaboard area. Going back watching one-on-ones and just clips from The Opening Finals (in Frisco, Texas), I thought he was maybe one of the best cover linebackers out there. He’s a guy who could play on the edge. He really kind of played as a pass rusher in high school. So you talk about just the complete skill set. His size, athleticism, (he) makes plays at every event he goes to, on top of being a great high school player.”"

Jacobs is likely to earn some valuable playing time in Year 1 as well as likely be a key contributor on the defensive side of the ball as Penn State is forced to replace Jan Johnson and Cam Brown outside. Jacobs will add a fierce component to the Penn State football linebacker corps that consists of Micah Parsons and Ellis Brooks already and other 4-star linebackers in Tyler Elsdon and Zuriah Fisher.

Fittingly enough, Jacobs isn’t the only player on the Penn State football team from McDonogh School either as he’s set to become the third player from the school on the team and third player on defense. Fellow defensive tackles PJ Mustipher and D’Von Ellies each played at McDonogh and will be key for the Nittany Lions on the defensive side of the ball as they’re set to replace their defensive line coach after Sean Spencer’s departure to the New York Giants.

Jacobs will be one of the highest-rated recruits on the defensive side of the ball when it’s all said and done as his national place on the final recruiting ranking looks like it may even top that of ILB Brandon Smith.

Either way, a 5-star linebacker is on his way to Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions defense will once again be a force in 2020 and beyond.