#12

Brandon Smith

Former linebacker at Penn State. 2021: 81 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

LB · Penn State · So. · #12

6′3″ · 244 lb · Louisa, VA

CFB Index 46 · #323 of 578 LBsHigh confidenceCarolina — drafted 2022, Rd 4, Pick 15, #120 overall

Recruiting

4★

RB recruit

No. 255 nationally · Signed with Oregon

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former linebacker at Penn State. 2021: 81 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Oregon in 2026.
Drafted round 4 by the Carolina in 2022.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Penn State, 131 tackles — drafted at #120 overall by Carolina.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2022

Drafted by Carolinaround 4, pick 120

2026

Signed with Oregon4-star out of Central East

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★

#255 national

CFB

College

Penn State

2019–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

R4 · #120

Carolina · 2022

Coaching lineage · 2019–2021

1 coach

2019–2021

James Franklin

Penn State

Played his entire career under James Franklin.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

CarolinaEntering 5th NFL season

#120Rd 4 · Pick 15

CarolinaEntering 5th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under James Franklin — 22-13 over that span.

2019Penn State11-2HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning

2020Penn State4-5HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

46Rotational starter #323 of 578?

High confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (94th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (93rd percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles#171 / 2743 · 94th pct

Solo tackles#169 / 2743 · 93rd pct

Tackles for loss#183 / 2743 · 93rd pct

9.0

Passes defended#207 / 2743 · 91st pct

QB hurries#323 / 2743 · 84th pct

Sacks#529 / 2743 · 78th pct

2.0

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

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

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Campbell

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Starter

Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

46 · #323 of 578 LBs

Former four-star. Now #323 at the position.

Career stats

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	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2021

W 16–10

at Wisconsin

8 TOT · 6 SOLO · 1 TFL

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 6 on the road.

With J. Stout — 24 LONG · 50 PCT · 4 PTS · S. Clifford — 247 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 73.5 · 5 rush yds (6 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 16-10@ 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 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@ 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@ 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 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@ Michigan State	5	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		81	45	9.0	2.0	—	5

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology