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.
Continuing this effort is a look at a real homegrown talent that has gone from local high school standout to a fixture in the Penn State defense going into his senior season, safety Keaton Ellis. Ellis was easy to keep on Penn State’s recruiting radar from State College, and it is easy to see why James Franklin and his staff made sure nobody came into their backyard to lure him away from Happy Valley. Ellis’ father, Bruce Ellis, is a former Penn State player (1973-76) and both of his parents are Penn State graduates. You might say Ellis was born to be a defensive leader for this team.