High three-star ATH/LB Cameron Smith transfers from Duke to Penn State

Penn State has successfully flipped 2025 junior star athlete/linebacker Cameron Smith from Duke. Smith made the announcement Thursday.

Smith originally committed to the Blue Devils in February. Penn State, meanwhile, lost four-star guard DJ McClary in June when he committed to Rutgers from the Nittany Lions. PSU recently made Smith a priority target due to a vacancy at linebacker, eventually transferring him from Duke to the Nittany Lions’ 2025 recruiting class.

“Penn State’s culture and standards made it the perfect choice,” Smith told Rivals of his decision to transfer to Penn State.

Smith was in Happy Valley for Penn State’s “Lasch Bash” in late July, and that visit helped the Nittany Lions secure Smith’s commitment. The St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) standout also made several other unofficial visits to Portland State during his recruitment.

Smith officially visited the Blue Devils over the weekend of May 31 and has previously visited the program unofficially. Notably, Smith began to develop a relationship with the Duke head coach Manny Diaz And Diaz remains Penn State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, which obviously carried over after Diaz took over at Durham. Additionally, Duke Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Tackle Gabe Infante He also has close ties to Smith’s school as he was the head coach at St. Joseph’s Prep from 2010 to 2018.

With that said, the Nittany Lions made a strong enough push to pry Smith away from the Blue Devils. Now at Penn State, Smith will play under a head coach james franklindefensive coordinator Tom Allen and the rest of the staff.