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O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T on a defense that led the Pittsburgh Steel- ers to four Super Bowl championships. Throughout the 1970s, '80s and '90s and into the early 2000s, Penn State con- tinued to serve as an incubator of NFL- caliber linebacking talent. Every decade of the Paterno era featured a handful of su- perstars. In the 1970s, Buttle totaled an incredible 165 tackles during his junior year alone and finished his career with a then-school-record 343 stops before joining the New York Jets as a third-round draft pick and playing for nine seasons. The biggest star of the 1980s was Con- lan, the centerpiece of a defense that spearheaded Penn State's romp to the '86 national championship, while the '90s were headlined by Arrington and another standout from the Pittsburgh area, Bran- don Short. After a lull in the early 2000s, Posluszny became one of the key players in Penn State's return to form, breaking Buttle's school record for most career tackles while helping lead the Lions to an 11-1 finish and Orange Bowl victory in 2005. He was followed by future pro standouts Lee, Connor and Bowman, and they were followed by Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges, both of whom were taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2013 draft. Mauti and Hodges both finished their ca- reers under Bill O'Brien, but they were re- cruited by Joe Paterno and played most of their college football during his tenure, making them perhaps the last great line- backers of the Paterno era. It's now been nearly a decade since that era ended, and Penn State's production of elite linebackers has slowed. That's partly been due to bad luck. One potentially great linebacker – Nyeem Wartman- White – was waylaid by injuries, another – Troy Reeder – transferred out, and still another – Manny Bowen – was beset by off-the-field problems. In the midst of those losses, the Lions did find a few very solid multiyear starters in the likes of Jason Cabinda, Brandon Bell and Jan Johnson, but prior to Cam Brown's selec- tion by the New York Giants in the third round of this year's NFL Draft, Line- backer U hadn't had a single linebacker chosen during the Franklin era. Since 2014, Penn State's most successful NFL linebacker has been Mike Hull, who joined the Miami Dolphins as an un- drafted free agent in 2015 and ended up spending five seasons with the team be- fore being cut this past March. The Lions haven't had a linebacker taken in the first round of the draft since Arrington went to Washington with the second overall pick in 2000. That drought is assuredly going to end next year, with Parsons already labeled by some analysts as a top-10 pick. But there's (hopefully) a lot of football to be played before the NFL starts breaking up Penn State's current linebacker group, and the players on hand are eager to join their predecessors in the LBU pantheon. When he was being recruited out of Louisa (Va.) High, Smith said he didn't know much about the school's linebacker tradition; his idol as a kid had been Balti- more Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis. "I really didn't get caught up in the history of the linebackers at each and every school," he said. "When I committed to Penn State, I kind of started gathering more information about it. My father and my uncles grew up in that era. They weren't really watching them, but they knew about them because of film that they'd seen or from watching games. That's when I started getting more tied into it and knowing what's going on." The sideline conversation with Arring- ton helped fill in some of those blanks. Said Smith, "That kind of kick started everything as far as me getting more knowledgeable about the history of the school." The 6-foot-3, 240-pound prospect en- rolled in January 2019 and played in all 13 games as a true freshman, making 14 tackles. His highlight reel moment came early, when he lowered his shoulder and sent an Idaho receiver sprawling backward after ramming into him following a short completion late in the season opener. The hit earned Smith some internet fame, with an assist from offensive tackle C.J. Thorpe, whose stunned reaction on the sideline helped the clip go viral. A few weeks later, Smith was moved from the Will OLB spot to Sam, where he spent the rest of the season backing up Brown. The new position didn't faze him, because there was some carryover from the Will spot in terms of his responsibili- ties on certain plays. By the time Michigan visited in October for a White Out game, he felt as though he had fully adapted. "I really felt confident whenever I was on the field that I knew what to do," Smith said. "At first I was kind of hesitant in cer- tain situations and was unsure on certain calls, but then right before [that game], it just clicked. I felt calm on the field, more confident, and that's when everything started to go up for me." Now that Brown is off to the NFL, Smith is the favorite to start at outside line- backer, with Parsons back at the Will po- sition and Brooks and Luketa battling for the starting spot in the middle. With

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