Penn State Football Recruit Spotlight: DT Cole Brevard

Penn State Nittany Lions. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Penn State Nittany Lions. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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The best player from the state of Indiana will be a key member of the Penn State football defensive line for years to come.

Cole Brevard is on campus and certainly will be a key cog of the Penn State football defensive line over the next few years as he enters the Nittany Lion defensive line rotation as the best player overall from the state of Indiana. Hailing from Carmel High School, Brevard was ranked as the 19th-best defensive tackle overall and the best player from his state from 247Sports.

Follow along with our Penn State football recruit spotlight series:
TE Theo Johnson
S Enzo Jennings
RB Caziah Holmes

He had at least 20 scholarship offers from schools across the country including Clemson, Florida State and Big Ten rivals Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin, among others. He chose Penn State after a long-term commitment that stemmed from a visit at last year’s Blue-White game in April.

At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, Brevard capped his high school career with a state championship in 2019 and all-state nominations for the second straight season. He may not have crushed the box score statistics in his years in high school but he was a constant force and required multiple players to block him, therefore, yielding favorable matchups for the next level defenders on his high school team. His high school coach praised that ability to 247Sports.

"“What he does is makes it so our linebackers don’t get blocked,” Carmel coach John Hebert said. “(One) week he had one assist and that was what his contribution was, but when you watch him play he’s in the right place and he’s not getting driven and he’s taking up two or three blockers. It’s like you’re playing with 12 or 13 guys.”"

Robert Windsor’s departure leaves a gap of over 600 snaps to replace as he’ll hear his name called in April during the 2020 NFL Draft. Cole Brevard should factor into the rotation heavily and at the very least play in four games this fall barring any injury or setback.

National recruiting network Rivals also had him as a four-star player and the second-best player in Indiana while ESPN gave him the nod as the best player from his state and four stars also. Brevard is a top-notch player no matter which way you look at it and will definitely be someone to watch in the spring game this season.

With the way the Nittany Lions have produced next-level defensive linemen over the past few seasons, and despite Sean Spencer’s departure, it would be no shock to see Brevard develop into the next great DT from Happy Valley. And let’s just say we’re here for that.