Penn State got a commitment from defensive back prospect Jordan Smith on Saturday according to ESPN's Jared Shanker. The verbal is the program's first to the 2013 recruiting class since the NCAA handed down heavy sanctions on the program last month.
↵Scouting services vary greatly in their evaluation of the Washington, D.C. native. ESPN rates him a three-star prospect and gives him a scout's grade of 77. Rivals.com is slightly less optimistic, rating him two stars, and Scout.com gives him no stars.
↵His ESPN profile says he fielded scholarship offers from Colorado and Kansas before committing to coach Bill O'Brien and the Nittany Lions.
↵Smith now takes up the spot formerly held by four-star defensive back prospect Ross Douglas in Penn State's 2013 recruiting class. Douglas decommitted from the program on July 24, the same day the NCAA sanctions were issued against the program.
↵The sanctions didn't cause Smith to hesitate, though. He told Shanker:
↵↵↵"The only thing it means is this is an opportunity for me to go out and show everyone what I can do, that this is a blessing from God," Smith said while driving back from Penn State late Saturday evening. "... I can't speak to the sanctions. All I know is Penn State is my dream school and the place I wanted to go since Day One."
↵
For the latest on the Lions, be sure to stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh.
↵