Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/991949
J U N E 8 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 6 The decision is out of the way for Ri- vals100 linebacker Brandon Smith. Now his attention turns to his senior season, and aAer that a January enrollment at Penn State. Smith, who will be a senior this fall at Louisa County High in Min- eral, Va., recently talked to BWI's Tim Owen about his recruitment and what lies ahead with the Nittany Lions. Here, edited for length, is what he said: BWI It's been about two weeks now since your commitment. Now that the recruiting process is done, what's differ- ent, if anything? Or is it just back to nor- mal for you? SMITHEverything is pretty chill as far the whole quote-unquote recruiting process. I've already given my decision, so all I'm really doing is just talking with the [Penn State] coaches and small talk- ing with them every now and again, whenever we're both free. BWIYou're one of the first big recruits to come out of your high school. How did you learn to navigate your recruitment, and did you have any examples or anyone to turn to? SMITHThere were definitely a lot of ups and downs, as far as getting pulled one way or another just because of the way you feel at the moment, so dealing with that [was a challenge], but really just talking with Kerry Wynn [helped the most]. He graduated in the 2000s from Louisa and he went on to Richmond and now he's playing with the [New York] Gi- ants. I've just been talking back and forth with him and getting his side of it and seeing how he dealt with it. That's just really been good to not only me but my family as well, getting a chance to see to see their perspectives by talking with him and his family. BWI You took a lot of visits before your commitment. If you can, recap some of those experiences. SMITH We've been on the road a lot. There have a lot of miles. There have been goods and there have been bads; I'm just not saying which ones were which. It's just a learning experience for every- body, seeing the pros and cons for every school and just learning more informa- Smith has big aspirations for Nittany Lion career A four-star prospect from Louisa County High in Min- eral, Va., Smith became the first linebacker to join Penn State's class when he an- nounced his decision on May 21. Photo courtesy of Ri- vals.com I N T E R V I E W