2021 Target Greg Penn Says LSU Football Has Impressive Track Record of Getting Linebackers to NFL
It wasn't that long ago that 2021 linebacker Greg Penn remembers playing basketball with LSU 2020 safety signee Jordan Toles. The two grew up in the Baltimore area and played on the same team for a little while and have remained friends throughout the years.
Toles committed to LSU in the summer of 2019, signed during the Early Signing Period and was one of the eight early enrollees that arrived to campus back in January. Even though it was for only a few short months, Penn made sure to pick Toles' brain about the LSU life.
"He says he loves it down there, they were able to practice a little bit before everything got shut down," Penn said. "He loves that all of the coaches are pushing him and he'll make little jokes about wanting me to come there. One workout, for example, I had a sweatshirt of another school on and he was like 'hey, why are you giving me mixed signals.' So just little jabs like that but it's all love."
When LSU can return to practice, Toles has actually set himself up nicely to compete for a starting safety spot. Competing for a starting role as a freshman is something that Penn one day hopes to do for the team he winds up signing with.
Penn, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker, recently released his top six schools of LSU, Alabama, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas A&M, all schools he talks to on a daily basis. Before Penn locks in on a commitment, he wants to take official visits to most if not all of the schools in his top six.
"Once this is all over, I'll be down there as soon as I can," Penn said about LSU.
When he is able to make it to Baton Rouge for a visit, it won't be for the first time. Penn attended the LSU-Florida game last fall, an experience that he won't soon forget.
"That atmosphere was crazy, I was there with my dad and it was a great game," Penn said. "I got to talk to coach O a little bit after the game and he said he really likes my game. He feels I'm the type of linebacker they're looking for, a guy that can move sideline to sideline. He says the game is changing, it's more about speed and being able to move and he feels I can come in and compete at the highest level."
Penn said the recent trend of LSU sending linebackers to the NFL is something that has left him most intrigued about the possibility of committing to the purple and gold.
"All of those schools have shown a lot of love to me," Penn said. "LSU is getting a lot of linebackers to the league, they just have a great history of that. Devin White and now Patrick Queen, you go back and look at Kwon Alexander, I mean it's a trend."
Even though LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini has only been with the team a few short months, Penn said the two are starting to build that strong relationship already.
"I feel like that 4-3 defense really fits me well and that coach Pelini will do everything he can to get me to the next level," Penn said. "He feels I can play any linebacker position, very versatile and really just feels I fit the system he's looking to put back in place at LSU."
Penn prides himself on that versatility but feels there are areas he needs to improve, mainly getting off blocks faster, film study, coverage and continuing to work on his leadership skills.
"I want to continue to work on really all aspects of my game," Penn said. "I want to be an all around linebacker and I feel like I'm very physical in the run game and I have the ability to do everything a linebacker needs to be successful. But I do feel like I need to work on every facet of the game to be the kind of player I want to be."
If he were to one day commit and sign with the Tigers, there'd only be one goal on Penn's mind.
"I would try and bring another championship to LSU and control the SEC, that would be the plan," Penn said.
