O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T
ust about everyone knows the LaVar
Leap. If you're a Penn State fan, or
even if you're not, you've probably
seen it on TV highlight packages
and vintage YouTube clips. It's an all-
time great play by an all-time great
player, and a lot of Nittany Lion fans can
probably break down LaVar Arrington's
most famous tackle frame by frame: How
he comes rushing up from his spot in the
second level. How he sails over Illinois'
left guard the instant the ball is snapped.
How he comes crashing down on Elmer
Hickman just as the Illini fullback takes
the handoff, slamming into him from
above like a piece of falling space junk.
Brandon Smith knows that play, too.
The sophomore outside linebacker
checks in with Arrington regularly, hav-
ing struck up a relationship after meeting
him on the Beaver Stadium sideline dur-
ing a recruiting visit in 2018. To know Ar-
rington is, of course, to know that mo-
ment in Penn State lore. Not for nothing
is the former All-American known on
Twitter as LaVar Leap Arrington.
It's easy to marvel at the athleticism
that Arrington displayed in that other-
wise uneventful victory over the Illini in
1998. But Smith is an analytical player.
What impresses him about the play is not
just Arrington's athleticism but his antic-
ipation. The play could, after all, have
|
J
DOUBLE
TROUBLE
Ellis Brooks
and Micah
Parsons
close in on
Purdue run-
ning back
Zander Hor-
vath during
a game last
year.
Photo
by Steve
Manuel
