Going into the " Lasch Bash" barbecue this past Saturday, Penn State's biggest recruiting need on defense for the class of 2016 was at both outside linebacker positions. James Franklin and his staff had not yet received a verbal commitment from a top blue-chip linebacker prospect.
Early Saturday [July 18] morning even before the scheduled start of the "Lasch Bash" barbecue all that changed. DE/OLB Cameron Brown [6-6, 210] from the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., who had arrived on campus on Friday [July 17] a day before the scheduled "Lasch Bash", announced his verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions.
Brown, who is rated a 4-star hybrid DE/OLB by Rivals selected the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame, USC, North Carolina and Pitt. When he made his announcement for Penn State, Brown had amassed close to 25 scholarship offers. In addition to Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, North Carolina and Pitt, Brown had scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Rivals ranks Brown as the 11th best prospect in Maryland and the 24th best overall weakside DE prospect in the country for the class of 2016. In 2014 Brown totaled 94 tackles, 12 TFL and 9 sacks.
When I sat down and had the opportunity to analyze in detail Brown's 2014 hudl football highlight video, which accompanies this update, right away two aspects of Browns' performance immediately caught my attention. His versatility and his explosive style of play.
It will be extremely interesting to see how Penn State's defensive coordinator, Bob Shoop, plans to use Brown in his defensive scheme once he arrives on campus in June of 2016. Right now Brown is listed at 6-6, 210, but his frame can easily add an additional 20 to 40 pounds in my mind at Penn State without losing any of his athletic ability and explosive style of play. Personally, I would classify Brown as a candidate to play a DE/ hybrid OLB position at Penn State.
I actually can see Brown tipping the scales at 6-6, 230 by the time he arrives at Penn State in June of 2016. He can play either a standup DE position or put his hand in the dirt at DE in Penn State's traditional 4-3 defensive scheme and also have the athletic ability to play at the Sam OLB position in both a 4-3 and 3-4 defensive setup. Brown has reportedly been electronically timed as having 4.68 40-yard speed and I was impressed by the way he defensed against the pass from his OLB position on the video.
Brown shows an explosive first step coming off edge from a DE position. He uses his hands extremely well to shed blocks and I was completely surprised how well he was able to perform in traffic at and around the line of scrimmage. What also was impressive on his hudl highlight video was his angles of pursuit down the line of scrimmage to the ball-carrier, how well he read his "keys" and diagnosed plays from his OLB position, his explosive style of play and the way he got penetration into opponent's backfields. He never seemed to give up on a play.
But to me the most surprising aspect of his play on his highlight video was the toughness he displayed. What convinced me Brown was one tough football player was his play at the 3:39 mark on his highlight video. At that moment on his highlight video Brown was shown on offense as a wide receiver split out to the short side of the field.
As the play proceeded Brown ended up putting a pancake block on the defensive back in front of him. That indicated to me Brown has the desire to play a physical brand of football and that he doesn't ignore the physical aspect of the game.
In my opinion what Brown needs to work on the most between now and the time he arrives on Penn State's campus is his upper-body and lower-body strength. Once Brown arrives on campus and becomes involved with Coach Galt's strength and conditioning program, I don't think it will be that long until Penn State fans see a physically dominant 6-foot-6, 240 pound DE/hybrid OLB performing at Beaver Stadium.
Enjoy Brown's 2014 highlights.
Early Saturday [July 18] morning even before the scheduled start of the "Lasch Bash" barbecue all that changed. DE/OLB Cameron Brown [6-6, 210] from the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., who had arrived on campus on Friday [July 17] a day before the scheduled "Lasch Bash", announced his verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions.
Brown, who is rated a 4-star hybrid DE/OLB by Rivals selected the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame, USC, North Carolina and Pitt. When he made his announcement for Penn State, Brown had amassed close to 25 scholarship offers. In addition to Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, North Carolina and Pitt, Brown had scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Rivals ranks Brown as the 11th best prospect in Maryland and the 24th best overall weakside DE prospect in the country for the class of 2016. In 2014 Brown totaled 94 tackles, 12 TFL and 9 sacks.
When I sat down and had the opportunity to analyze in detail Brown's 2014 hudl football highlight video, which accompanies this update, right away two aspects of Browns' performance immediately caught my attention. His versatility and his explosive style of play.
It will be extremely interesting to see how Penn State's defensive coordinator, Bob Shoop, plans to use Brown in his defensive scheme once he arrives on campus in June of 2016. Right now Brown is listed at 6-6, 210, but his frame can easily add an additional 20 to 40 pounds in my mind at Penn State without losing any of his athletic ability and explosive style of play. Personally, I would classify Brown as a candidate to play a DE/ hybrid OLB position at Penn State.
I actually can see Brown tipping the scales at 6-6, 230 by the time he arrives at Penn State in June of 2016. He can play either a standup DE position or put his hand in the dirt at DE in Penn State's traditional 4-3 defensive scheme and also have the athletic ability to play at the Sam OLB position in both a 4-3 and 3-4 defensive setup. Brown has reportedly been electronically timed as having 4.68 40-yard speed and I was impressed by the way he defensed against the pass from his OLB position on the video.
Brown shows an explosive first step coming off edge from a DE position. He uses his hands extremely well to shed blocks and I was completely surprised how well he was able to perform in traffic at and around the line of scrimmage. What also was impressive on his hudl highlight video was his angles of pursuit down the line of scrimmage to the ball-carrier, how well he read his "keys" and diagnosed plays from his OLB position, his explosive style of play and the way he got penetration into opponent's backfields. He never seemed to give up on a play.
But to me the most surprising aspect of his play on his highlight video was the toughness he displayed. What convinced me Brown was one tough football player was his play at the 3:39 mark on his highlight video. At that moment on his highlight video Brown was shown on offense as a wide receiver split out to the short side of the field.
As the play proceeded Brown ended up putting a pancake block on the defensive back in front of him. That indicated to me Brown has the desire to play a physical brand of football and that he doesn't ignore the physical aspect of the game.
In my opinion what Brown needs to work on the most between now and the time he arrives on Penn State's campus is his upper-body and lower-body strength. Once Brown arrives on campus and becomes involved with Coach Galt's strength and conditioning program, I don't think it will be that long until Penn State fans see a physically dominant 6-foot-6, 240 pound DE/hybrid OLB performing at Beaver Stadium.
Enjoy Brown's 2014 highlights.
