I had a good talk with Rico Smith, father of Brandon Smith, a few days ago. Following JaQuan Brisker’s sudden commitment Thursday evening, plus Devyn Ford’s commitment Friday, I thought it would be best to save these quotes for today. I think you guys will enjoy some of the things his father had to say.
As most of you should know by now, Brandon hasn’t released a top list of schools going into his commitment later today. I feel like Ohio State and Texas A&M are PSU’s top competitors, but I also feel like the Lions are a clear favorite here. In fact, out of the three players that have recently committed, plus the two that are making decisions later today, Smith is the player I always felt most confident about it.
With that said, his father has done a pretty good job at keeping the details to himself.
“Brandon and my wife and I like to do things a little bit different than everyone else,” Smith said, late last week. “We’re not really into doing a Top 10 and a Top 5, things like that. He gets enough attention for football as it is, so we’re not the kind of people that want to bring more attention onto ourselves.
“I know most people probably want to know why he’s doing this all of a sudden. Honestly, this was always part of our plan. We always kind of planned to do things before his senior season, so it was planned, but it wasn’t, if that makes sense. We didn’t know exactly when he’d be ready, but we knew we weren’t going to drag this out forever. Brandon always felt like, when he’s ready, he’ll be ready to announce his decision. I think once we got back from the Texas A&M official visit, Brandon was ready to set a date and get this over with.
Mr. Smith went on to add, “Remember, we’ve been all over the place. From the midwest to down south and all over. We’ve also now visited a lot of these schools multiple times, so there’s not much more that we need to know or see. We went to some great places, too. We met a lot of great coaching staffs. It’s definitely not easy building bonds with all of these people, then telling a bunch of them that he’s going somewhere else. But that’s part of this process and I know he’s going to handle it well. It’s time.”
So, why do I think Smith is going to end up at Penn State? Well, it’s simple: he’s a perfect fit for this university and football program. Out of all the top prospects still considering the Nittany Lions, Smith is probably the one I would point to as the best fit. From a character and maturity perspective, he’s right up there with guys like Caedan Wallace. You all should get a taste for that maturity during Smith’s announcement later today, which I do expect to be streamed online.
“There are a couple of reasons why we’re doing this announcement at his school and not just posting something online,” said Mr. Smith. “Brandon has a big, huge support system that have been mentors and part of his family from the very beginning. He wants them to be there to share that moment. He also has an 89-year old great grandfather that started all of this. He blazed the path for myself and Brandon. They’re the shoulders that we’re all standing on, so we want them to be there for this big moment. Of course, we’re also doing this for his school. Brandon is the first and only one from his school to play at this level. He wants to provide a platform that says, ‘if Brandon Smith can do this, any of you can do this.’
“But there’s also one other thing big reason, and that’s the two young men that Brandon has been mentoring lately. They lost their father about a week and a half ago and have been dealing with some circumstances in life that no kid should have to go through. Brandon is one of the few people out there that always makes them smile, so we’re hoping to have them there with us and have them sitting up at the table with Brandon. We want them to have a special day, too.”
Of course, I had to end the interview with a question about Penn State and why the family is so high on the Nittany Lions. I thought his father made it pretty clear.
“I would just say that Penn State fans need to know that they have someone special in charge of their team. The way he teaches, the way he leads, the way he interacts with everyone. Coach Franklin is a special guy. Penn State fans should be really proud of the fact that they have that man leading their program.
“Whether Brandon goes there or not, we’ve build an incredible relationship with that man and all of the people helping him at Penn State. We’ll always have a ton of respect and admiration for Coach Franklin, no matter where Brandon ends up.”
The announcement is scheduled to take place at 6 PM EST, one hour after DB Tyler Rudolph announces his commitment. I expect the Nittany Lions to be sitting at eight verbal commitments by the end of the day.
As most of you should know by now, Brandon hasn’t released a top list of schools going into his commitment later today. I feel like Ohio State and Texas A&M are PSU’s top competitors, but I also feel like the Lions are a clear favorite here. In fact, out of the three players that have recently committed, plus the two that are making decisions later today, Smith is the player I always felt most confident about it.
With that said, his father has done a pretty good job at keeping the details to himself.
“Brandon and my wife and I like to do things a little bit different than everyone else,” Smith said, late last week. “We’re not really into doing a Top 10 and a Top 5, things like that. He gets enough attention for football as it is, so we’re not the kind of people that want to bring more attention onto ourselves.
“I know most people probably want to know why he’s doing this all of a sudden. Honestly, this was always part of our plan. We always kind of planned to do things before his senior season, so it was planned, but it wasn’t, if that makes sense. We didn’t know exactly when he’d be ready, but we knew we weren’t going to drag this out forever. Brandon always felt like, when he’s ready, he’ll be ready to announce his decision. I think once we got back from the Texas A&M official visit, Brandon was ready to set a date and get this over with.
Mr. Smith went on to add, “Remember, we’ve been all over the place. From the midwest to down south and all over. We’ve also now visited a lot of these schools multiple times, so there’s not much more that we need to know or see. We went to some great places, too. We met a lot of great coaching staffs. It’s definitely not easy building bonds with all of these people, then telling a bunch of them that he’s going somewhere else. But that’s part of this process and I know he’s going to handle it well. It’s time.”
So, why do I think Smith is going to end up at Penn State? Well, it’s simple: he’s a perfect fit for this university and football program. Out of all the top prospects still considering the Nittany Lions, Smith is probably the one I would point to as the best fit. From a character and maturity perspective, he’s right up there with guys like Caedan Wallace. You all should get a taste for that maturity during Smith’s announcement later today, which I do expect to be streamed online.
“There are a couple of reasons why we’re doing this announcement at his school and not just posting something online,” said Mr. Smith. “Brandon has a big, huge support system that have been mentors and part of his family from the very beginning. He wants them to be there to share that moment. He also has an 89-year old great grandfather that started all of this. He blazed the path for myself and Brandon. They’re the shoulders that we’re all standing on, so we want them to be there for this big moment. Of course, we’re also doing this for his school. Brandon is the first and only one from his school to play at this level. He wants to provide a platform that says, ‘if Brandon Smith can do this, any of you can do this.’
“But there’s also one other thing big reason, and that’s the two young men that Brandon has been mentoring lately. They lost their father about a week and a half ago and have been dealing with some circumstances in life that no kid should have to go through. Brandon is one of the few people out there that always makes them smile, so we’re hoping to have them there with us and have them sitting up at the table with Brandon. We want them to have a special day, too.”
Of course, I had to end the interview with a question about Penn State and why the family is so high on the Nittany Lions. I thought his father made it pretty clear.
“I would just say that Penn State fans need to know that they have someone special in charge of their team. The way he teaches, the way he leads, the way he interacts with everyone. Coach Franklin is a special guy. Penn State fans should be really proud of the fact that they have that man leading their program.
“Whether Brandon goes there or not, we’ve build an incredible relationship with that man and all of the people helping him at Penn State. We’ll always have a ton of respect and admiration for Coach Franklin, no matter where Brandon ends up.”
The announcement is scheduled to take place at 6 PM EST, one hour after DB Tyler Rudolph announces his commitment. I expect the Nittany Lions to be sitting at eight verbal commitments by the end of the day.
