Signed: Brelin Faison-Walden
WHAT HE DID Grimsley High struggled in 2016, finishing the year with a 4-7 record. Even so, Faison-Walden was a standout, racking up 75 tackles, five sacks, nine tackles for loss and an interception on the year. He also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
WHAT HE WON Faison-Walden was named the Defensive Player of the Year at Grimsley, a prelude to his All-Conference and All-State nods. Rivals.com rates him a four-star prospect, and he checks in among outside linebackers at No. 20 nationally. He’s also considered the No. 6 prospect in North Carolina.
WHERE HE VISITED Faison-Walden took unofficial visits to Duke, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech last spring. But an unofficial visit to Penn State in late July changed his outlook, and he gave the Nittany Lions a verbal commitment just a few days later. He returned to Penn State for another unofficial visit the first weekend of the 2016 season, but he then took official visits to Michigan and Georgia. Taking in Penn State’s upset win against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on an official visit, Faison-Walden made one final official visit to Virginia Tech in November. Holding firm to his original commitment, he enrolled at Penn State in January.
QUOTABLE Faison-Walden: “Penn State is known for its linebackers. It’s known for all positions, but linebackers mainly. That’s pretty much what I’m going to be playing: that hybrid safety-linebacker, which pretty much walks into the star position.”
PHIL’S TAKE A January enrollee, Faison-Walden is likely to line up as an outside linebacker when Penn State opens spring practice in March. I expect him to practice primarily at the Sam OLB position, but he has enough speed (4.5 seconds in the 40) to play strong safety, too. He’s listed at 200 pounds but appears capable of adding 20 to 25 pounds. Having enrolled early, Faison-Walden has an excellent chance to play as a freshman, particularly on the punt- and kickoff-coverage teams. He has a very physical style of play and performs well both in traffic and in space. He’s a perfect fit for Penn State’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme.