Penn State has added its first linebacker recruit for the class of 2013 in Brandon Bell, according to Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder.
The Mays Landing, N.J. native measures in at 6-foot-2 and 224 pounds. He is rated a three-star recruit by three major scouting services: ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com. ESPN gives him a scout's grade of 77. The three services rank him in a variety of spots, though. ESPN comes in on the low end, ranking him No. 57 among linebackers nationally. Rivals takes the middle ground, ranking him as the No. 36 linebacker in the country and Scout is the most optimistic, ranking him No. 13 at his position in the nation.
Bell held offers from a number of schools, including Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia, according to his Rivals profile. He was reportedly considering Rutgers most closely alongside Penn State before giving his verbal to the Nittany Lions.
Here's an excerpt from the Oakcrest High School standout's ESPN scouting report.
Bell is productive as both a running back and linebacker; has the size and athleticism for either position at the next level however we feel his skills, playing speed and strength are best suited for the outside linebacker position at the major level of competition
Check out Bell's highlight video after the jump.
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