Cornerback Keaton Ellis followed his dream to Penn State, now looking for starting job - TribLIVE

The first steps taken in the direction of Keaton Ellis’ dream occurred when he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at a Penn State camp. It was late spring, 2017.

He hadn’t even started his junior year at State College High School.

Later that day, when coach James Franklin invited him into his office and offered a scholarship, Ellis fought back tears. Successfully, he told the Centre Daily Times. He was the first State College player offered by Penn State in 10 years.

Not even three months later, he verbally committed to the Nittany Lions. He had offers from Buffalo and Syracuse and had attended a Pitt camp, but his father, Bruce, was a walk-on wide receiver at Penn State in 1973 and was an assistant athletic director at the school. His mother was a student there, too.

Was their son going to college anywhere else?

Ellis played two more seasons at State College, became the third-ranked player in Pennsylvania and a four-star cornerback, per Rivals.com, and eventually joined Penn State’s class of 2019 that ended up No. 11 in the nation.

Ellis played in every game last season as a freshman, started the regular-season finale against Rutgers and finished with three forced fumbles.

Back on campus this week after a three-month covid-19 quarantine, he finds himself in a position battle with three other cornerbacks from the class of ’19 — North Allegheny’s Joey Porter Jr., Penn Hills’ Daequan Hardy and Marquis Wilson of Windsor, Conn.

The competition ramps up later this summer. For now, Ellis is just happy to be with his teammates in a place that has been almost like a second home since he was young.

After being gone since March, he said, “I’m a little more motivated because sports can go away in an instant.”

He called Penn State’s phased return “the first step in trying to get back to normal.”

He is aware this won’t be a normal football season, and it’s only partially because of the closing of the players’ lounge (for safety’s sake). Also, there will be no more picking off the popular nutrition bar or lunch buffet.

In-person team and position meetings are out.

“You can’t have 150 people in a room. You just can’t. It’s not smart,” he said.

He said the required covid-19 testing was “a unique experience.”

“It wasn’t too, too invasive. It took 15 seconds, tops.”

The workouts, which start Monday, remain the same. The biggest difference could be Saturdays when there might not be 100,000 people in Beaver Stadium.

“You always talk about the 12th player. The fans are the best,” he said. “They really can change a game just by their support and being vocal.

“We’ll find the extra juice we get from the fans. We’re all going to find a way to still get that. It’s going to be a lot different not having that same fan base there.”

Ellis was invited back to his alma mater recently to speak to a group that included State College athletes, student council members, teachers and coaches.

“The leaders at the high school,” he said.

“I was trying to preach to them they have power and influence in their community,” he said when asked about his speech. “They can make a huge impact, even in State College, spread love and unity.

“What makes sports so powerful is it brings people from different backgrounds, different races together.

“Use that and be the influence,” he told the group. “I’m glad people are making the effort to have these talks.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Cornerback Keaton Ellis followed his dream to Penn State, now looking for starting job - TribLIVE

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