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Q&A: Curtis Jacobs Discusses "Linebacker U," Leadership & More

Penn State's top-ranked prospect in the Class of 2020 opens up about a handful of topics before beginning his collegiate career this weekend

Future Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs is one of 15 incoming freshmen who are set to begin their collegiate careers this coming weekend.

A native of Glen Burnie, Md., Jacobs emerged as one of the nation's top linebacker prospects in the Class of 2020, despite the fact that he never focused on that position exclusively in high school. Earning more than 20 scholarship offers, he was one of the first prospects to commit to the Nittany Lions and ended up being the highest-ranked player in the class, coming in at No. 60 overall in the nation. He was also the sixth-ranked inside linebacker and the fourth-ranked player in Maryland.

Ahead of his arrival this weekend, Blue White Illustrated caught up with Jacobs to discuss a variety of subjects, including "Linebacker U" and leadership.

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Penn State Nittany Lions Football Recruiting Curtis Jacobs Class of 2020
Curtis Jacobs was one of seven Rivals250 prospects to sign with Penn State in the Class of 2020.

Ryan Snyder: When did you actually start playing football? Did you play when you were little? Also, was football always your top sport?

Curtis Jacobs: I started real young. I started playing when I was around six. I know I was real young. I used to be a basketball guy. When I was younger, that was probably my main sport, but once I got to high school, I started realizing that I would have to be like 6-5 or taller to make it as a basketball player. That's when I started really throwing myself into football.

Snyder: What do you do outside of football? I'm trying to get a feel for maybe some hobbies of yours or something we don't know about you. Anything you can share?

Jacobs: I don't really have many hobbies outside of football. I play a lot of video games. I play a lot of [NBA2K]. But mostly, especially since this quarantine, I just work on perfecting my craft. I've been watching a lot of Penn State film. I've been watching a lot of past linebackers there. Brandon Bell is one guy I've been watching a bit. Just watching how they operate and do things. I technically still haven't really even played linebacker yet, other than the [Under Armour] All-American Game. So I've just been trying to get that flow and get a feel for it.

Snyder: What was your true position on defense at McDonogh?

Jacobs: Man, I couldn't even tell you. I just kind of played everything. I played safety and linebacker. I played a lot of defensive end last season. Wide receiver on offense then. Getting a feel for all of those definitely made me a better all-around player. I feel like I can do anything the team needs.

Snyder: When you camped at Penn State for the first time in June 2018, you came up there to play wide receiver and the staff moved you to defense. What were your thoughts after that camp? I know you thought of yourself as a receiver at the time. Were you into that move or not feeling it?

Jacobs: So, it was actually Coach [Brent] Pry that told me I was going to be a defensive guy at the next level. Before that, I didn't know or even really think about playing defense in college. That all started at the Penn State camp. I came as a receiver that day and they moved me into the [defensive back] drills. Then, after that, I did some [linebacker] stuff with Coach Pry. But yeah, he was the guy who originally told me I was gonna end up playing defense.

Snyder: What was your role at McDonogh as an underclassmen? Did you play as a freshman?

Jacobs: I played varsity that year, but I was like the fourth receiver. So, when we would play a spread, I was in the game, but that was pretty much it. I became a starter my sophomore year, playing wide receiver mainly, but I did help out a little bit at safety that year. Then, my junior year is when things took off. That's when I really started playing every snap at safety and wide receiver.

Snyder: What were your thoughts after Penn State said you weren't going to be a wide receiver? Were you down with that? What were your thoughts about Penn State after all of that?

Jacobs: Honestly, it gave me a lot of confidence. When you come for one position and you do well at it, but then they also show you that you can play a whole different position and be even better, it really gives you a different kind of confidence.

Snyder: Did you go to any other camps and work out as a linebacker that summer? It felt like Penn State was ahead of most schools in seeing your long-term potential?

Jacobs: I remember going to Florida's camp later in the summer, but they actually had me doing some tight end stuff. They tried working me out at that position. I can't remember working out as a linebacker at any other camp.

Snyder: You came to Penn State's camp a few months before your junior year and then you end up committing about seven months later. Your recruitment moved pretty fast for a junior. We always thought that PSU was the favorite with you, but was there another school that maybe gave them a challenge more than we all realized?

Jacobs: Penn State was definitely out front the entire time, I would say their closest competitor was Maryland. That is home for me, but mainly it was because I have a couple coaches there that I'm real comfortable with. I mean, some of them were pretty much like uncles to me. Cory Robinson is someone I grew up with. He's now with the New Orleans Saints, but he helped me a lot when I was young. He really kind of taught me football.

Snyder: What was maybe one thing that truly separated Penn State throughout this process? I know it's hard to pinpoint just one thing, but can you think of something that just stood out about them right from the start?

Jacobs: Man, it's hard to name just one thing. I really liked the distance from home. It's not real close like Maryland was, but it's only three hours away. But man, I would also have to say that the brotherhood there was a big part of it for me. That's probably the one thing for me. The family aspect of it, that's real at Penn State. That's big there. You just see that they really do love each other up there. It's a true brotherhood with their program.

Snyder: Your coach, Hakeem Sule, talked to me a while back about McDonogh's leadership council. He said you really became a much more vocal leader from that. Can you talk about that council? What is it?

Jacobs: We started the leadership council the season after we had a losing record. That should never happen at McDonogh. We have a lot of pride and a lot of talent. That was unacceptable, so we pretty much just came together and said that was never going to happen again. We formed a group of like 10 guys, plus Coach. We would just meet with each other and would talk about the best ways to improve the team and stuff and like that. We just came together more and I ended up having a big role in that.

Snyder: Coach Sule said you became a different kind of leader after that. Would you agree?

Jacobs: Oh yeah, for sure. That really brought me into a speaking role. Before that, I would just lead by example. I was much more quiet about things. Once we started doing that, it just gave me a way to voice my opinion easier. It really helped me come into my own I think. I felt more confident in speaking up about different things.

Snyder: I think a lot of Penn State fans look at you as the leader of this class. Did you ever look at it like that? I know it's probably strange to think like that because the class has a bunch of great players, but you were one of the first commits and were a top-ranked guy.

Jacobs: I helped with the coaches and helped bring some guys in, but I wouldn't look at myself as the leader because there were so many guys that are super talented and did just as much to help our class. Everyone was all in with it. We pretty much all helped with recruiting. We all stayed in contact with each other and created group chats and all of that. So, there's no one person that's the leader in our class. We all wanted to do everything we could to help.

Snyder: You mentioned past players earlier that you've been following. What do you know about "Linebacker U" and what are your thoughts on that?

Jacobs: Yeah, I've talked to Coach Pry about it a good bit. Every time I come up there, Coach Pry shows me this video of their history and we talk about it. At one of the practices I went to, I got to meet Mike Hull and got to know him a little bit. That was cool. It's just crazy how many guys have come out of there and made it.

Snyder: Did that tradition help at all with your commitment?

Jacobs: It kind of helped because I always knew I had to make that transition. I was never really a true linebacker in high school, so if I'm going to make that move, it's nice being coached by somebody who has put people in a position to succeed before. So, that was important, but there are a lot of things that went into it before that.

Snyder: How big of an impact did Dvon Ellies and PJ Mustipher have on you? I don't believe you played with PJ much, but you were pretty close with Dvon, right?

Jacobs: That was big for me. Me and Dvon basically lived together in the dorms [at McDonogh]. I look at him as a big brother to me. I know people say that about older teammates, but I really mean that. We're close, so having that family around when you're making these decisions, it helps a lot. I played with PJ for two years on the same team. I was a little younger then, but he's another guy that I look up to and look at as a brother. Having those guys helps.

Snyder: How have you been training during all this? Has this shutdown impacted you much or do you still have access to a gym?

Jacobs: I have a trainer that I go to every Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I've also been doing some other training to loosen up my hips and get my body right to play linebacker. So, I haven't really been impacted by this much. I was able to keep the same flow to things. My trainer just made it so we were doing one-on-one sessions now and less of a crowd around us. That's been a big help for me during all of this.

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