Levi Brown

A former defensive tackle, Brown went on to start every game (45) during his Nittany Lions career, including 44 contests at the demanding left offensive tackle position. Brown generates outstanding pop on contact coming off the snap, but was bothered by a torn meniscus in his left knee during the 2006 season. Brown underwent arthroscopic surgery, missing two games before returning to the lineup. With Brown on the sidelines for those two games and then trying to get back into playing shape for another two contests, the PSU ground attack averaged less than three yards per carry (2.99 avg). During the rest of the season, the Lions averaged 4.82 yards per carry gaining over 60 percent of that yardage over the left side of the line. Brown was a standout two-way lineman during his playing days at Granby High School. He was selected first-team All-Tidewater and second-team All-State on both offense and defense by the Virginia High School Coaches Association. Prep Star rated him the fifth-best lineman in the Atlantic region, and he was named to the G&W Recruiting Report national Top 50 defensive players list. Brown also played in the U.S. Army All-American game. During his junior season, he recorded 102 of his 189 career tackles. Brown helped lead his team to an 8-2 mark as a senior by recording six sacks, four caused fumbles and 22 stops for losses. Brown was also a teammate of former Penn State cornerback Anthony King at Granby High. Brown enrolled at Penn State in 2002, but spent the season performing on the scout team as a defensive tackle. One of five Nittany Lions from Virginia on the PSU roster, he emerged from 2003 spring camp as the starter at one of the defensive tackle slots, along with Tama Hali (Kansas City). However, the coaching staff decided to shift their redshirt freshman to the offensive line before August camp. He went on to start 12 games at left tackle, performing in 841 plays. In 2004, the massive drive blocker started 11 games, missing the Minnesota clash with a knee sprain. He lined up at right tackle vs. Iowa and at left tackle the rest of the season, posting 35 knockdowns while appearing in 630 snaps. As a junior in 2005, Brown was selected an Associated Press and Sports Illustrated second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten Conference. He was instrumental in helping Penn State lead the Big Ten in scoring (35.2 ppg) and rank second in rushing (233.1 ypg). He also helped the Nittany Lions double their scoring average from the 2004 season (17.7 ppg) and allow only 14 sacks to rank fourth in the conference. The 2006 season looked like it would be another banner campaign for Brown, as he allowed only one solo tackle through the first three games. But, a torn left knee meniscus in practice would require surgery, forcing him to sit out two contests. Because he was unable to practice, Brown got out of shape and it took him several games to round back to playing shape. Despite earning Walter Camp and The Sporting News second-team All-American honors, there was no doubt that the 2006 season was a trying one for the Penn State left tackle. He allowed only two quarterback sacks for the season, but also had five costly penalties (four false starts, one holding call). He finished his career with winning grades for blocking consistency in 36 of 45 contests he appeared in.

positives

Has a big upper frame, with broad shoulders, long arms, big hands and good chest thickness, along with a big bubble, wide hips, thick thighs and ankles, along with a frame that has the potential to carry more bulk with no loss in quickness...Very light on his feet for a player of his size...Has excellent explosion coming off the snap and nimble footwork, especially in his kick slide...Uses his feet well to slide out and adjust on the edge rushers and knows how to shoot his hands in attempts to lock on and sustain...Has the quickness to recover when beaten and his feet allow him to redirect with ease to neutralize backside plays...Aggressive drive blocker with the hand punch needed to shock and jolt the defender...Finds ways to get the job done on the field and will not back down from a confrontation...Can dominate once he fits on a defender, demonstrating the quickness to reach and make cutoffs...For a big player, Brown is very nimble on his feet, as he has the loose hips to redirect and shows good control changing direction...Even when he gets high in his stance, he has the knee bend to slide laterally...When his head is in the game, Brown shuffles his feet and gets in front of the defender with good urgency...With his upper body strength, nimble feet and suddenness getting his hands up, he does a great job of neutralizing the defender...Flashes a powerful punch and easily contains edge rushers once he locks on to his target...If he connects, he will generally control his opponent until the whistle...The thing you see on film is his ability to roll his hips and explode off the line...Shows good hip and knee bend to deliver good lower body power off the ball...Very good at caving defenders once he lets his body go and he is quite effective at turning and sealing...Has the upper body power to combat stunts and blitzes...Edge rushers are quickly neutralized once Brown gets his paws on them...Shows very good patience, especially in his anchor, letting the defender come to him rather than overextend (will lunge some working into the second level, though)...Good at extending his arms and generating a hand punch that consistently jolts the defender...Has that long wingspan to lock out, gain placement and sustain...Can change directions to counter throughout the play, doing a nice job of getting out on the edge...Finds the games up front and does a nice job working in combination with his guards to pick up the blitz or switch off on stunts.

compares to

CHAD CLIFTON-Green Bay. Like Clifton, Brown has a punishing hand punch to shock and jolt the defender. He generates good explosion and pop coming off the snap. For a player of his size, he demonstrates nimble feet in his kick slide to mirror. He struggled with the snap count in 2006 and will get lazy at times trying to maintain position, but shows good patience letting the defender come to him and has the short area balance to defeat spin and counter moves.

negatives

Will get too high in his stance moving to the second level, but shows good knee bend when changing direction...Smart player who recognizes schemes, but he will lose concentration and jump the snap count, resulting in more than a handful of false start penalties...Classic mauler type who plays with a mean streak, but is also known to take several plays off...Struggled upon his return from knee surgery, but it was mostly due to getting out of shape during his weeks from missing practice...Takes well to hard coaching, but despite his weight room numbers he needs to monitor his weight and improve his overall ball concentration ability...Can be very explosive coming off the snap, but needs to do it with better consistency...Later in games, perhaps due to stamina issues, he will be more apt to be late off the ball and when this happens, he tends to use his mass to lean into the opponent rather than lock on and secure...Had minimal range with his left knee for several games upon his return from knee surgery, and needs to do a better job of opening his hips and moving down the line, much like how he did it in 2005...Shows good patience in pass protection, doing a nice job of sinking and sliding, but he is prone to getting sloppy and lunging when he gets his base too narrow on the move.

2004: Sat out the Purdue game (10/09) with a left knee sprain that he suffered the previous week vs. Minnesota. 2006: Suffered a left knee torn meniscus when his cleat got caught in the ground while he was executing a redirection play in practice the week before the Northwestern game (9/30), missing that game and the following contest vs. Minnesota (10/07) after undergoing arthroscopic surgery.

Campus: 5.3 in the 40-yard dash

470-pound bench press

580-pound squat

28.5-inch vertical jump

8'7" broad jump

33 1/8-inch arm length

10 1/4-inch hands.

Attended Granby (Norfolk, Va.) High School, playing football for head coach Dave Hudak

Standout two-way lineman during his playing days

Selected first-team All-Tidewater and second-team All-State on both offense and defense by the Virginia High School Coaches Association

Prep Star rated him the fifth-best lineman in the Atlantic region and he was named to the G&W Recruiting Report national Top 50 defensive players list

Played in the U.S. Army All-American game

During his junior season, he recorded 102 of his 189 career tackles

.Helped lead his team to an 8-2 mark as a senior by recording six sacks, four caused fumbles and 22 stops for losses

Was also a teammate of former Penn State cornerback Anthony King at Granby High.

Earned his degree in Labor and Industrial Relations in 3 1/2 years, graduating in December 2005

Earned his second degree (Psychology) in December 2006

One of six members of the 2006 squad that had graduated by last May

Born Levi James Brown III on 3/16/84

Resides in Norfolk, Virginia.