Penn State Flips Four-Star St. Joseph’s Prep Linebacker From Manny Diaz, Duke

Penn State has dipped into the bag of an old friend and stolen a top in-state recruit.

Cam Smith, a four-star linebacker from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, flipped to the Nittany Lions from Duke and Manny Diaz on Thursday. 

Smith had been committed to the Blue Devils since February, just two months after Diaz became the team’s head coach after two seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. 

His commitment comes two weeks after unofficially visiting the Nittany Lions, whose 2025 recruiting class grew to 24 members with his addition. He fills a void at linebacker left by DJ McClary, who flipped to Rutgers in June.

Smith is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 9 player in Pennsylvania and No. 278 prospect nationally.

He is the first product of St. Joe’s Prep to commit to Penn State since John Reid in 2014 — James Franklin’s first recruiting class as the program’s head coach. The school has placed a number of high-profile players into the NFL in recent years, including but not limited to Marvin Harrison Jr., Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and D’Andre Swift.

By adding longtime St. Joe’s coach Gabe Infante as an analyst in 2022, the Nittany Lions likely hoped to turn a stone with the high school. Unfortunately for Franklin, no notable progress was made over Infante’s tenure, and he has since followed Diaz to Duke.

With Smith committed, that could mean a turning point for Penn State and the powerhouse prep school.

Smith joins four-star running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman of Imhotep Institute as the Nittany Lions’ second Philadelphia commit this recruiting cycle. He is also the team’s third linebacker commit alongside four-stars Alex Tatsch and Dayshaun Burnett.