How State High grad Keaton Ellis is making the transition to safety in his junior season
Keaton Ellis has been a hometown favorite since the former State College high school star first stepped foot on Penn State’s campus in 2019.
Ellis had a standout season as a freshman, before injuries limited his playing time as a sophomore. This year, his coaches are hoping a position change will help maximize the junior’s potential and get his hand on the ball more.
Defensive Coordinator Brent Pry told reporters at media day in early August that Ellis has been working to transition from cornerback to safety, with the ability to play at either position if needed.
“Keaton is primarily playing free safety right now,” Pry said. “Keaton’s a guy who we feel like we need to train at either or, boundary or free. We’ve got a lot of respect for Keaton, we’re excited about his abilities at the position. He’s a guy if we need, we’re comfortable putting back at corner. This wasn’t about him to being good enough at corner, it was about possibly his best position potential being safety.”
Ellis’ move to safety comes as no surprise to his former high school coach Matt Lintal. Lintal told the Centre Daily Times in 2020 that he believed Ellis was best suited as an NFL safety. Lintal reiterated that opinion this week, saying he envisioned Ellis as a safety since he first stepped foot on campus two seasons prior.
Lintal watched Ellis be chosen as a Class 6A All-State selection, an All-Mid Penn Commonwealth Conference first team as a defensive back and wide receiver and a second team pick as a return specialist. The normal epithet is that cornerbacks don’t possess the ball skills to play receiver. Ellis was the opposite of a “typical corner,” with 50 catches for 888 yards and 15 touchdowns during his high school senior season.
“I think that you don’t find kids with his skill set and physicality that he has and when you take a corner’s skill set and put it at safety, obviously you can do some tremendous things and bring that physical nature,” Lintal said. “Also, [he brings] the man-to-man coverage and the ability to come up in the run game. We’re super proud of Keaton and I’m excited to watch him at safety this fall.”
Ellis began his career with the Nittany Lions in 2019, appearing in 13 games with one start, making 18 tackles (nine solo) and forcing three fumbles with one recovery and two pass deflection. He was additionally named to the second-team Pro Football Focus Big Ten Team of the Week after his performance against Michigan State on Oct. 26, 2019. Despite battling injuries his sophomore season, he appeared in six games and made five starts. He had 12 tackles (seven solo) with a tackle for loss, an interception and two pass breakups.
As a freshman, the former cornerback had a standout season per PFF’s metrics* — finishing with a 75.3 defensive grade (above average), a 93.6 run defense grade (elite), 44.8 in tackling (below average) and a 67.3 grade in pass defense (average). Ellis completed his sophomore year with a 60.5 PFF defensive grade — a 74 grade in rush defense, 61 in tackling and a 55.8 in pass defense.
So far, Ellis said his transition to safety has been going smoothly. He built himself up over the offseason, working to add the strength and speed needed to play free safety.
“It’s been good. (I’m) just trying to get in as much information as I can, learn as much as I can,” Ellis said. “Going into camp, I’m really excited, I’m feeling really comfortable back there (at safety). I’m just exited for the opportunity, working hard, keeping my head down and getting better every day.
“On both sides we decided that safety fits my skill set really well and would be a good transition for me. It’s been going great. I’ve been learning fast and taking it how it comes and trying to get better every day.”
Another reason behind moving Ellis to safety is the abundance of depth in Penn State’s cornerback room. Veteran Tariq Castro-Fields decided to forgo the 2021 NFL Draft and return to the Nittany Lions for his final year of eligibility, and redshirt sophomore Joey Porter Jr. all but secured the second starting spot after a breakout season last year. The Nittany Lions also added South Carolina transfer Johnny Dixon to the already-talented group this offseason.
Porter Jr., for one, is excited for his former position-mate Ellis to get more opportunities to get onto the field, and has high expectations for how he’ll do.
“Keaton, I feel like he’s a big jump from spring to fall camp and I feel like he’s made big improvements,” Porter Jr. said. “He’s going to be a great player at the position once he’s got all the plays down. He’s an athlete, so he can do it.”
Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith told the CDT that Ellis continues to train with both cornerbacks and safeties, so he can move back and forth between positions if needed. Smith has watched Ellis grow as a player and leader since he first stepped foot on campus., talking about how he’s seen Ellis take younger players under his wing to mentor.
Like Porter Jr., Smith is confident in Ellis’ ability to seamlessly make the transition and be ready to go at safety by Penn State’s Sept. 4 opener at No. 12 Wisconsin.
“Keaton is a great kid, he’s a tremendous talent who has played a lot of football for us. He’s super smart, so I don’t think that transition will be difficult for him — it hasn’t been,” Smith said. “He’s picking up the system as a safety now. Obviously, he’s going to play a lot of football for us this year. We’re excited about where he’s at. This training camp will give him enough reps to get him ready for Game 1.
“We’re excited to put him in the lineup at safety. He’s had a great knack for getting his hands on balls in the past, and at the safety position and we’re hoping we can put him in position to touch more balls.”
*PFF grading scale:
Elite: 90.0+
High Quality: 80.0-89.9
Above Average: 70.0-79.9
Average: 60.0-69.9
Below Average: 50.0-59.9
Poor: 49.9 or lower
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 5:52 PM.