Familiar 2025 prospect who committed elsewhere is visiting Penn State on Saturday

Penn State is hosting a few 2025 prospects Saturday for its second barbeque of the weekend, and now another familiar name is confirmed to be on campus in linebacker Cam Smith.

A 6-foot, 200-pound prospect from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, Smith committed to Duke back on Feb. 8, but not before he took four visits to Penn State in 10 months. That includes a trip to State College for a junior day just a few days before he announced his decision to commit to the Blue Devils.

At the time, the Nittany Lions already held a commitment from New Jersey linebacker DJ McClary. That was followed by a commitment from Greater Latrobe prospect Alex Tatsch on Feb. 4. Once those two were committed, the staff wasn’t quite ready to add a third linebacker so quickly.

But now, with McClary no longer committed, interest in Smith has picked up in recent weeks.

“I like the new defensive coordinator,” Smith said, referring to Tom Allen. “He’s cool and he keeps things simple. That’s something we already do here at St. Joe’s Prep, so I feel like after talking to him, it won’t take me much to get used to what he wants to do.”

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A 4.0 student, Smith and his family have put a big emphasis on academics throughout his recruitment. That’s a big reason why he ultimately committed to Duke, but Penn State also has a lot to offer from that perspective.

“I like the academic stuff they do. They showed us what they make the freshmen do every day,” Smith said. “I’m an academic person. That’s one of my big factors when I’m looking at different schools. So, just seeing how they handle that, I really appreciated it.”

Smith played his first two seasons at Salem High School in New Jersey before transferring to St. Joseph’s Prep a alongside multiple Division 1 prospects, Smith finished his junior season with 72 tackles, 4.5 sacks and one interception. He said he believes he developed into a ‘pure linebacker’ this season.

“The stuff they teach has definitely helped me improve,” Smith said. “I’m better at using my hands and getting off blocks. I’m better at reading now. Things like where to take the gap and how tight to take the gap. I’ve gotten better at when to spill and seeing [offensive linemen pull]. So, I feel like I improved at all of it.”

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