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player in Penn State's contingent of early enrollees. He was the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018 and was rated by one internet recruiting service as the best overall linebacker in the Class of 2019 and a =ve-star prospect. He had even evoked comparisons to former All- American LaVar Arrington, the most heralded member of the Nittany Lions' Class of 1997. At 6-3, 240 pounds, Smith had the size, speed and athleticism to play all three linebacker positions. He started out behind Parsons and Luketa at the Will OLB spot but =nished as Cam Brown's backup at the Sam position. Smith made 14 tackles, including two tackles for loss. When Penn State begins spring practice, he will be the leading contender to re- place Brown. On paper, the Lions' starting linebacker trio looks like it should be the Big Ten's best this season, with Par- sons back at the Will spot, Smith at Sam and redshirt junior Ellis Brooks sharing the Mike position with Luketa. Depth here will also be a major plus, with Dixon and redshirt sophomore Charlie Katshir back at the outside linebacker positions and three freshmen set to ar- rive: high four-star outside linebacker Curtis Jacobs and three-star box line- backers Tyler Elsdon and Zuriah Fisher. With its recent recruiting e>orts, Penn State is de=nitely regaining its Line- backer U label. That brings us to Wilson. In many re- spects, he was the most overlooked member of last year's group of January enrollees, perhaps because he didn't play as a high school senior a?er trans- ferring from Avon (Conn.) Old Farms to Windsor High just before the start of the 2018 school year. When he arrived at Penn State a year ago, he had not played competitive football since the 2017 sea- son. That absence may have hindered his progress last spring and summer, but once the season began, it didn't take him long to start showcasing his outstanding coverage ability and ball skills. Wilson ended up playing in 10 of Penn State's 13 games, =nishing with 18 tackles and tying Ellis with three forced fumbles. He also had two interceptions to tie Reid, Tariq Castro-Fields and Jaquan Brisker for the team lead. Wilson's performance during the sec- ond half of the season prompted James Franklin to state that the freshman "had the best ball skills of any cornerback on the team." Going into spring practice, he'll likely be behind Castro-Fields at the boundary cornerback position along with Gordon. Now we come to Penn State's latest batch of January enrollees. As was the case last year, there are 11 players in the Class of 2020 who enrolled at the start of the spring semester earlier this month. On o>ense, that group included Holmes, tight end Theo Johnson, o>en- sive lineman Nick Dawkins, and re- ceivers Jaden Dottin and KeAndre Lambert. On the opposite side of the ball, Penn State has welcomed Elsdon, defensive linemen Cole Brevard, Fa- torma Mulbah and Bryce Mostella, and defensive backs Enzo Jennings and Joseph Johnson. There were nearly 50 underclassman players on Penn State's roster before the =rst members of the Class of 2020 began arriving on campus this month. That means it's going to be hard for this year's contingent of freshmen to have the kind of impact that last year's early arrivals did. Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at the January enrollees who are most likely to play in more than four games this coming season. My best guess is that there are three or four players who won't end up being redshirted in 2020. 1. THEO JOHNSON According to Rivals, Johnson is the No. 4 tight end prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle. He had 29 scholarship o>ers, choosing Penn State TOP PROSPECT Lambert may have a chance to contribute at wide receiver this coming fall. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

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