Penn State football end Smith Vilbert talks breakout Outback Bowl performance
Penn State entered the Outback Bowl down a pair of defensive end starters with Arnold Ebiketie opted out of the game while Jesse Luketa was forced to play linebacker.
It meant that the Nittany Lions would need to pick two new first-teamers to face a run-heavy attack. One choice was easy, as Nick Tarburton started earlier this year. The other required a bit more thought, but the team ultimately went with Smith Vilbert.
The decision paid off in a big way.
A third-year defender from New York who played his high school ball in New Jersey, Vilbert tied an Outback Bowl record with three sacks in the 24-10 loss to Arkansas. It’s something both the player and program hope can be a springboard for the 2022 season, when two new starters will be needed at end. Ebiketie and Luketa are both off to the NFL.
“It felt good because all of these guys have faith in me,” Vilbert told reporters after the game. “At practice and stuff like that, they can see how
consistent I’ve been. And it felt good that Coach believes in me enough to keep me out there.
“Most of the guys knew it was my first time starting so I just appreciated Coach believing in me and telling me I could start this game. I went out and did the best I could do.”
What to expect from Vilbert at Penn State in 2022
Vilbert, who focused on basketball for a long stretch before deciding to pursue football during his junior year of high school, is still not a complete product. He flashed but also showed the same rawness that has kept him from having a bigger role earlier in the 2021 season. With that said, Saturday’s performance was a big step in the right direction.
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Luketa told reporters after the game that he was not surprised by the performance. Vilbert ultimately finished with four total tackles.
“This is exactly who Smith’s going to be moving forward,” Luketa said.
“He’s an extremely talented player, and he’s finally being able to come into himself and display that he can be as dominant as anyone in the country.”
Added head coach James Franklin:
“Obviously three sacks. I knew he had a couple sacks. I didn’t know he had three. It’s an Outback Bowl record. Obviously that is promising for our future. It’s going to be really, really important that he continues to grow and develop. Obviously coming to Penn State he was a new-to-football guy, being mainly a basketball player.
“Excited about his development. That will be something to build on, for sure.”
The focus for Smith, and Penn State, will be to grow in the weight room this offseason before fine-tuning his technique during spring practice. If the 6-foot-6, 263-pound end can put it all together, it would go a long way toward shoring up the Lions’ starting defense next fall.
