Brandon Smith: LB · Penn State · #12.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Brandon Smith
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Third year in the Penn State linebacker corps. On tape: 10 tackles against Michigan, Week 11, 2021.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
81 tackles. 5 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 9 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Penn State | 81 | 45 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2020 | Penn State | 37 | 15 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | Penn State | 13 | 8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 131 | 68 | 19.0 | 4.0 | 6 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 16-10@ No. 12 Wisconsin | 8 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-13vs Ball State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 28-20vs No. 22 Auburn | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 38-17vs Villanova | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-0vs Indiana | 5 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 20-23@ No. 3 Iowa | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 18-20vs Illinois | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-33@ No. 5 Ohio State | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-14@ Maryland | 9 | 6 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 2 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 11 | L 17-21vs No. 9 Michigan | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-0vs Rutgers | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 27-30@ No. 12 Michigan State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 81 | 45 | 9.0 | 2.0 | — | 5 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
81tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%9 TFLSack rate
2%2 sacksPD rate
6%5 pass breakups81 tackles · 9 for loss · 2 sacks.
3 seasons under James Franklin — 22-13 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 6.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 7.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 7.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
52.2%
458 pass / 419 run
Plays / game
73.1
12 games
Team sack rate
6.8%
547 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2021
81 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #323 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Penn State, 131 tackles — drafted at #120 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
A stat line in 27 games over three seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under James Franklin.
Next stop · NFL
Carolina PanthersEntering 5th NFL season
Carolina PanthersEntering 5th NFL season
