5/21/2018 football Edit

Lions add LB Brandon Smith

Smith poses for photos with boys he's been mentoring recently.

Ryan Snyder • Happy Valley Insider

Recruiting Analyst

Penn State's run in the Class of 2019 continued Monday, as four-star linebacker Brandon Smith verbally committed to head coach James Franklin and his staff.

A 6-foot-3, 218 pound prospect from Mineral, Va., Smith has been a regular in State College over the past year, visiting on five occasions, including last July's Lasch Bash barbecue followed by the game against Pitt in September. More recently, he and his family made the trip north to Happy Valley in the beginning of April to watch spring practice and meet with the staff.

“I would just say that Penn State fans need to know that they have someone special in charge of their team," said Rico Smith, Brandon's father, when asked about their relationship with the coaching staff. "The way he teaches, the way he leads, the way he interacts with everyone. Coach Franklin is a special guy. Penn State fans should be really proud of the fact that they have that man leading their program."

A member of the Rivals100, Smith earned 25 verbal scholarship offers. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia Tech were some of the bigger programs that he visited over the past year. Smith also took an official visit to Texas A&M, April 20-22, as he built a good relationship with Jimbo Fisher and his staff dating back to their time at Florida State.

Last month, Smith also attended the Rivals/Adidas 3 Stripe Camp in New Jersey, taking home MVP honors at linebacker . That earned him an invite to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in June.

Ranked No. 53 overall in the nation, Smith is the first linebacker that Penn State has added to its Class of 2019. The Nittany Lions are expected to take one more player at his position. They'll host West Bloomfield, Mich., native Lance Dixon for an official visit in second week of June.

Smith is the seventh prospect overall to join Penn State's class and the fourth to commit in the past five days. He's expected to be one of two commitments that Franklin and his staff add this evening, as four-star defensive back Tyler Rudolph will also be making his commitment around 6 PM EST. He's down to Penn State and Clemson.