2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 92 Smith Vilbert
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
Next up in our series is a look at one of Penn State’s veteran backups on the defensive line, Smith Vilbert. Vilbert is entering his redshirt senior season and should be counted on to continue adding depth to the roster at a position Penn State happens to be pretty strong. Here is a snapshot look at Smith Vilbert entering the 2023 college football season.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Monsey, NY
Height: 6-6
Weight: 275
247Sports Composite Ranking
Career Stats
Games | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | FF | |
2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Smith Vilbert hasn’t had much time to shine on the field despite his multiple years in the program, but he did shine in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas at the end of the 2021 season. All three sacks he recorded that season came against the Razorbacks for the school record for most sacks in a bowl game and tying the Outback Bowl record for most sacks in a game.
His only appearance in the 2022 season came in the Rose Bowl win over Utah.
Depth Chart Overview
Heading into the 2023 season, Penn State has one of the best defensive ends in the Big Ten, and potentially the nation. Chop Robinson, who joined the program last year after transferring from Maryland, should be one of the top defensive players in the Big Ten this season, and he’ll lock down the starting job for the defensive line in Happy Valley.
Backing up Robinson will likely be Dani Dennis-Sutton, who enters his sophomore season with Penn State this season and is quickly rising the depth chart as a potential playmaker. That leaves Smith Vilbert looking to be a third option at defensive end behind Robinson and Dennis-Sutton this fall.
With Adisa Isaac starting on the opposite side, Penn State will likely have backups in Amin Vanover and Zuriah Fisher, although Vilbert could work into the mix if needed there as well.
