I didn't seem to remember seeing him on many plays, especially big ones or stops where he prevented a play going much longer. His stats show him as only 9 tackles behind Brooks, so he must have had some. Maybe his number was partially covered by assisted tacklers. Brooks and Jacobs seemed active and effective, as were our 2 DEs. With Mustipher out, we needed all the upfront defenders to perform.
Where was Brandon Smith on Saturday
- Thread starter KC-KS-Lion
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To me, he is still a work in progress. I have seen him miss some sure tackles because he is not in good position to square up the opponent. He needs to work on that, IMO.
He clocked the Iowa runner on a big gain but once again didn’t wrap up - tried to kill him with a shoulder.
Brooks had an outstanding game even with his cast, and when did that injury happen?
Smith is not the LB'r I thought he would be...yet. He's done ok but I really expected more out of him. He also needs to learn to wrap up when he tackles.
PJ is and was HUGE loss. IMO he was playing at AA level.
What I was impressed with was Ellies and Izzard. They both look to have a very bright future.
Once PJ leaves Ellies will be a force as one of the starting DTs next season, he had a great game. Izzard will be good as well, think another year in the strength program will put him to another level.
I've felt that Smith is more of an athlete than a LB and he is not a sound tackler, but the NFL loves those guys and assuming he tests well will probably be a second round pick. I'm a big fan of Katshir and have really liked what I've seen from him in limited time, think he will do well as a starter next season.
Katshir seemed to have the profile of the 'traditionally' less visible Penn State LB, is in position to make plays, makes all the tackles closer to the line of scrimmage, with the occasional fumble recovery or interception. I didn't think I'd say this early in his career, but I will miss Brooks.
IMHO he has a problem shedding blockers.
Katshir looks like a psu throwback for sure...just a rough and tumble LB that, if he can stay healthy, one would think will play next yr? Smith tries to shoulder and body check the ball carrier...never wraps up below the belt. He is too upright. In 3 years he hasn't made an impactful, game-changing play ala Brisker, Brown, Ebiketie, etc. He's been a disappointment.
Brandon seems to have short, stubby arms like a certain dinosaur that make it almost impossible to wrap up an offensive player to make a tackle. Plus, he hates pushups.
I had a buddy years ago that I started calling T-Rex because if a group of us were out drinking and ran a tab whenever the bill came his arms became short and stubby. When BS misses a tackle now I say out loud "He T-Rexed it" reflexively.
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality depth PSU showed on the D-line. Be nice to have Adisa Isaac back next year, too.
Agree w/ Roy, the dline really picked up the slack when PJ was lost, great effort. Smith, between running cleanly past or trying to ram a ball carrier he has not made much improvement. It he would actually tackle and be in position he could be great, shame. Who is coaching him and allowing a continuance of this style pseudo tackling. He appears to be an air to air missile, hitting but not bring down the target.
He’s always looking to hit someone. He doesn’t ‘tackle’ much. The good news is Jacobs appears to have turned a corner.
Smith has a torn labrum? When did that happen? Regardless, his tackling form is too high and just doesn't make enough plays. Ellis Brooks had a cast on his hand and was a monster vs Iowa.
If Luketa moves on, I'd probably advocate for Smith to make a similar move to the hybrid DE/LB if we can develop a good replacement for Brooks next year.
Jacobs is coming into his own. I think it helps that we bring in Hardy and they split reps the way they do. I also would not be shocked if they consider bulking him up for Brook's LB spot. Probably depends on Katshir, Elsdon, and Kobe King development.
Would not be shocked if we go portal for LB.
Jacobs is coming into his own. I think it helps that we bring in Hardy and they split reps the way they do. I also would not be shocked if they consider bulking him up for Brook's LB spot. Probably depends on Katshir, Elsdon, and Kobe King development.
Would not be shocked if we go portal for LB.
B. Smith is a freakish athlete. But he is not a good football player. There was an old ball coach who recognized the difference.
Y'all would have griped if he committed elsewhere." Franklin can't pull the 5*s! "
Ok. We all recalibrate expectations and opinions as time goes by in sports with players, teams, etc...we all do it. As a 5-star, he has hardly lived up to it. Hard to disagree with that.
Of course we would. 5 stars should mean the kid can play the game at a very high level. Are you insinuating that Franklin was duped by the ratings services?
He hasn't made any game changing / winning plays, but he's been a more than competent LB. Not quite a 5*, no. Nowhere near Shorter and Slade. He's done more than Oweh did while here arguably, and is a similarly freakish athlete who will test well and get drafted as such.
Check the hit/miss rate on that. Franklin wasn't duped. Smith is a guy who probably needs a 4th year to excel. The question is, does he do like Oweh and take his 4th year in the NFL?
Without question, he will forego his 4th year. I'm sure he thinks he's NFL ready now.
My question is...why does a 5-star guy like Smith need his last year to excel then? As you mentioned with Shorter, Slade...we can even add Lamont Wade who was a high star guy (who obviously was rated too high), and even Devyn Ford...these are all guys who were at least high 4's to low 5's and all were pretty bad or marginal. JF's hit rate on the highest of the high stars hasn't been great.
Peek your head outside the PSU box. About 3-4 teams recruit better each year then the rest of the nation. They have plenty of misses, but since they are doing this annually, they can afford the misses. I honestly think the biggest critics of Franklin really just don't have the ability to critically look around and see what is gong on. I can go back to the Paterno days and show tons of misses. I can go to UM and show tons of misses. I can go to LSU and show tons of misses. I can got to UT (both) and show tons of misses. USC too. Honestly, these statements that you make have little or no merit at all because when you look at the big picture, you basically have 3 teams...4 with UGa that tend to recruit well and finish high every year. Clemson plays in a cupcake league, but they still show up in the playoffs. tOSU and Bama are the other 2.
I think the issue is what does a 5* rating truly mean?
Take Shorter. He had size that was prototypical. Supposedly did well at camps (I don't think you ascend high without attending them). And he never improved one bit once he got here. Probably got depressed. Gained some bad weight. He leaves, loses the weight, but he is still playing like a 2*. Stars don't account for drive and motivation.
Take Wade. I think he played in the lower levels of PA ball. He was built, ran fast. Probably should have been a slot WR/RB and kick returner. He comes in as a CB. Plays early, has bad hips for CB, moved to safety. Great against the run, mediocre against the pass. Short on top of that. Probably peaked early or was evaluated wrong.
Slade, I don't know. He wasn't a brute, and he certainly played slow. Knowing how Virginia football is, he was probably the fastest kid on the field and likely put up his stats on sweeps and pitches. Don't think he had the motivation as he's out of football last I read.
As for Smith, I'll play the covid card. He is really in his second year as far as football learning goes. His 5* is definitely body composition and speed for his size. LB instincts are tough to train. Take our previous Brandon Smith. 5* instincts, 2* body and skills, probably left here a shade higher than a 3* with coaching.
Another example. Aaron Harrison at OSU. We pined over him. He's under LJs tutelage, among the best in the country. He's not lived up to being the next Young/Bosa brother. Much like Smith, he just doesn't have that finishing gear.
This is exactly why he hits on these. Because they’re not actually as good as the services rate them and the real power players aren’t pressing as hard to get them
