Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> easily gone down as the most spectacular offsides penalty in Penn State history. But it didn't, and Smith understands why. "Being able to time the snap like that – it shows the kind of dedication he put in throughout the week leading up to that game," Smith said. "That really shows how dedicated you are to being a student of the game. That's first and foremost. And then you see the actual jump. You know that his athletic ability and the hard work he put in on the field and the count- less days [of practice] when nobody was watching were really what you need to do to be great. That's the blueprint." Over the years, Penn State has had more than its share of great linebackers, a line- age that dates back to the early years of the Paterno era when Jack Ham was beginning his rise to college and pro stardom. It has continued through the decades with play- ers like Arrington, Greg Buttle, Shane Conlan, Paul Posluszny, Sean Lee, Na- Vorro Bowman and dozens more. This year, Smith and the other players at his position group will be looking to add to Penn State's Linebacker U lore. They intend to follow the blueprint. Those other players include Micah Parsons, a consensus All- American as a sophomore last year, along with re- turnees Ellis Brooks, Jesse Luketa, Lance Dixon and Charlie Katshir and fresh- men Tyler Elsdon, Zuriah Fisher and Curtis Jacobs. Parsons is Penn State's headliner after leading the team in tackles each of the past two seasons, but Brooks, Luketa, Dixon, Smith and Jacobs all re- ceived four-star ratings from Rivals.com, giving Penn State its deepest linebacker talent pool of the James Franklin era and possibly its deepest since 2006, when the unit featured five future NFL draftees in Posluszny, Lee, Dan Connor, Tim Shaw and Josh Hull. Except for Parsons, this year's group doesn't boast a wealth of starting experi- ence. Between them, Brooks, Luketa, Dixon, Smith and Katshir have made only two career starts, both by Luketa last sea- son. But their potential appears to be vast. "Every one of those guys today is about 238, 240 and can run and is athletic," said Ham, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who for the past 20 years has served as color ana- lyst on the Penn State Sports Network. "It's not only Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa, who are on the inside. I saw Brandon Smith at the [Cotton Bowl], and he's a 240-pound outside linebacker who can fly out there. He's just literally scratching the surface of his athletic ability, and he could end up as a great Penn State linebacker. And Micah Parsons, that was a coming- out game for him in the bowl game." Indeed, Parsons was an easy choice as the Defensive MVP in Penn State's 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis this past December, finishing with 14 tackles, including two sacks, along with two forced fumbles and two pass break-ups. But Ham sees comparable athleticism everywhere he looks. "This collection of linebackers has an opportunity to be most athletic group collectively that I have seen in a long time," he said. "They all can run. Micah Parsons and Luketa are running 4.5s out there, and Brandon Smith may be the quickest. And you are looking at probably at least a 20-pound differential in the linebacking position than when I played." Ham, along with fellow All-American Denny Onkotz, was there at the start of Penn State's emergence as Linebacker U in the late 1960s. The Johnstown, Pa., na- tive totaled 251 tackles in three starting seasons with the Nittany Lions and went on to become an eight-time Pro Bowler NOWHERE TO RUN Smith (12) and Brooks (13) chase down Maryland quar- terback Josh Jackson during last year's 59-0 victory over the Terrapins in Col- lege Park. Photo by Steve Manuel

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