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. - Tribune Review