Berks Catholic’s Brandon George signs with Chiefs following NFL Draft
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Brandon George was never an all-conference pick during six years at the University of Pittsburgh and it took until his final season to become a full-time starter with the Panthers.
A jaw-dropping performance by the Berks Catholic grad during his pro day last month caught the attention of people around the NFL; Saturday he got a chance to pursue his dream when he was offered a chance to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to media reports.
The 6-2, 246-pound linebacker was not taken during the six rounds of the NFL draft, which ended Saturday, but was immediately swooped up by the AFC champs.
Despite not being listed among the top linebacker candidates entering the draft George knew he had a chance to play pro ball.
“I am not going to be the first linebacker off the board,” George told the Pittsburgh Tribune following his pro day. “I am not delusional to that. But I feel like the ability to play special teams that I have. . . been playing here at Pittsburgh definitely helps my case.
“Because some teams think that I am a guy who even though I was not drafted high I am a guy who will stick because I can play special teams, all four (core) phases.”
George appeared in more games than any player in Panthers history, and much of that time was spent on the punt and kickoff return and coverage units.
George’s combine performance saw him put up 28 reps on the 225-pound bench press and record a 42.5-inch vertical jump, numbers that would have received top marks at the NFL combine among linebackers. He ran a 4.62 in the 40.
“I feel like I showed my athleticism,” George told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I feel like I showed that, even though I’m 246 pounds, I can still move well at that weight,”
George recorded a 6.94 three-cone drill and a 4.09 shuttle drill.
“He’s explosive,” Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi told Pittsburghnowsports.com. “You saw him jump 42 inches and he can run. That’s kind of what we do. That’s part of the development of what we do with our players.”
George spent the offseason in Florida training for the event in Florida with Pitt defensive end Nate Matlack.
George set the program record at Pittsburgh for games played with 65. He made 197 tackles, 16.5 for a loss, with four sacks. He took advantage of his first and only season as a full-time starter in 2024, setting career highs in tackles (80), tackles for loss (six), sacks (two) and forced fumbles (three).
“This place has done a lot for me,” George told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s somewhere that I’ve grown up. I’ve become a man here at this university. I’ve gained a sold degree from this university. I credit them and the coaching staff here with helping me out a lot. All the support staff here phenomenal. You can’t really put into words how thankful I am that I came here.
George, a stalwart on special teams since his freshman season in 2019, began to emerge as a team leader at Pittsburgh before the 2022 season. His hopes of creating a foothold at linebacker were dashed when he suffered torn ligaments in his ankle on the first day of contact drills. That required surgery and a month of rehab.
He returned at midseason only to reaggravate the injury his third game back and was sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. (He received a medical redshirt. That, plus the Covid year granted to all NCAA student-athletes, allowed him to compete for six seasons.)
George was all-everything at Berks Catholic, where he was Berks Player of the Year as a senior, a two-time All-State pick, and scored 41 touchdowns.
He helped the Saints become the first Berks team to win three straight District 3 football championships and helped them set Berks records for scoring (45.3 points) and margin of victory (41.3 in the regular season, 34.3 over the full season).
He also played on the basketball team and won a PIAA silver medal in the discus.
