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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

(DS#33 FS) rSr/2024

FS Keaton Ellis, Penn State
News Source: Tribune Review
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06/08/20 - Sean Clifford, rSr/2023, Penn State, 6-2, 218 (DS#20 QB) + More +

Penn State's redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford is no stranger to change. In his four years with the Nittany Lions, he's had three different offensive coordinators/quarterbacks coaches. Now headed into his second season as the presumed starter, he'll have a new coach in former Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca, whom Clifford has had to get to know mostly virtually since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled spring football and sent students home from the university in mid-March. Despite the challenges of not getting to work together in-person, the pair have still been able to form a strong relationship since they first met ahead of the Cotton Bowl game in December.

"Clifford and Kirk's relationship is going really good," head coach James Franklin said. "I think getting Kirk here early for our bowl game was important...I think we're heading in the right direction there." The relationship between the new offensive coordinator and his quarterback will be especially important this season, as the new offensive will have less time to work together before the scheduled start of the season on Sept. 5. Clifford will be tasked with leading an offense that, less than three months until the scheduled start of the regular season, he hasn't practiced in yet. The overall success of the transition from former OC Ricky Rahne's to Ciarrocca's offense will largely depend on Clifford's ability to excel in the system. - Centre Times

(DS#20 QB) rSr/2023

QB Sean Clifford, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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06/05/20 - *Micah Parsons, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-3, 246 (DS#1 OLB) + More +

Penn State will begin bringing some students back to campus Monday, including 75 football players. Voluntary workouts for football players who have been medically cleared can begin on June 15. The school said players have been prescribed quarantines in preparation for their return. All players will be tested for COVID-19. Players will be limited to groups of 20 for their workouts and will be supervised by performance enhancement and sports medicine staffs. A date for the return of the rest of the team will be set later. - AP College Football

(DS#1 OLB) Jr/2021

OLB *Micah Parsons, Penn State
News Source: AP College Football
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06/03/20 - Shaka Toney, rSr/2021, Penn State, 6-3, 242 (DS#8 DE) + More +

Shaka Toney earned second-team All-Big Ten honors while recording 6 1/2 sacks last season. That makes him the sack leader among Penn State's returning players. But that's only part of the reason junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher respects the Nittany Lions' fifth-year senior defensive end. The other part stems from a conditioning session last summer when Toney pushed Mustipher further than the younger player thought he could go. Mustipher, 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, was doing pull-ups one day when he decided to use elastic bands for assistance. "Doing pullups for bigger guys is difficult," Mustipher said. "Shaka walks over and says, 'You don't need the band. You can do that pull-up. I'm not going to allow you to do the pull-up with the band.'"

Mustipher wasn't sure he could do it, but all of a sudden, he did eight without the band. "That goes to show you he cares so much about who you are and wants to develop you," Mustipher said. "He's not always going to tell you what you want to hear. He's going to tell you what you need to hear. "He's been a leader of this team since I stepped on campus. He's always pointed me in the right direction. It's going to be some tough love with Shaka, but at the end of the day, he's going to have your best interests at heart because he really cares about you and cares about the team as a whole." - Tribune Review

(DS#8 DE) rSr/2021

DE Shaka Toney, Penn State
News Source: Tribune Review
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05/27/20 - *Pat Freiermuth, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-5, 251 (DS#2 TE) + More +

Don't bother trying to contact Pat Freiermuth on social media. "I actually deleted my social media a week ago," the Penn State tight end said Wednesday. If you see one of those too-soon NFL mock drafts projecting Freiermuth as a 2021 first-round choice, he would rather not talk about it right now. "I need to focus on my time being at Penn State," he said. "If I don't have a good season, it's all down the drain. It's just preseason hype." But if the conversation comes around to Freiermuth becoming the best tight end in the country, he knows what that takes and isn't afraid to embrace the possibility. Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen also doesn't run from it.

"The biggest thing he's focused on is, 'How can I be the best tight end in the country?' " Bowen said. "He has the skill set to excel at every facet of the tight end game. The big thing for him is putting it all together." Said Freiermuth: "I completely agree with what he said. My goal is to be the best tight end in the country, win the Mackey (Award) and become an All-American." The 6-foot-5, 259-pound Freiermuth has played only two seasons at Penn State after earning five letters at Brooks School, a prep institution in Massachusetts. Freiermuth, 21, claims he was an "awful" route runner when he arrived at Penn State in 2018. "Looking back on the film, I still don't know how I played," he said. - Tribune Review

(DS#2 TE) Jr/2021

TE *Pat Freiermuth, Penn State
News Source: Tribune Review
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05/25/20 - *Pat Freiermuth, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-5, 251 (DS#2 TE) + More +

Penn State's most important player, and probably its most irreplaceable player, is tight end Pat Freiermuth. He is a third-year player who has the size (6-5, 258), hands and athleticism to give any defense problems. The Nittany Lions don't have another tight end like him. - Harrisburg Patriot-News

(DS#2 TE) Jr/2021

TE *Pat Freiermuth, Penn State
News Source: Harrisburg Patriot-News
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05/25/20 - *Micah Parsons, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-3, 246 (DS#1 OLB) + More +

If Parsons stays healthy and focused and plays the 2020 season (all bets are off if football gets pushed back to the winter of 2021), I think he is the conversation for a Top 10 finish in the Heisman Trophy race. Because of his speed, athleticism and power, Parsons is a top-five pick in the NFL draft, or at least he should be. Really, the only comparison for him at Penn State is LaVar Arrington. I think athletically he is on the same level as Arrington and I think he is a more productive football player. - Harrisburg Patriot-News

(DS#1 OLB) Jr/2021

OLB *Micah Parsons, Penn State
News Source: Harrisburg Patriot-News
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05/06/20 - Journey Brown, rSr/2022, Penn State, 5-11, 215 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Penn State football could return sooner than most expect once the program gets the go-ahead from government and health officials that its safe to do so, head coach James Franklin said Wednesday on a teleconference with media. The NCAA's Football Oversight Committee has suggested a six-week period of practice before teams return to games, according to Stadium's Brett McMurphy. But Franklin believes that window could be shortened. Franklin said he could see a world where his team is ready to take the field for a game a month after it returns to practice.

"People forget, very quickly we forget, that when I played college football and a lot of people played college football, you weren't there all summer," Franklin said. "You were at home, working out on your own. You'd show up and you'd be in training camp for three weeks or a month before the season started and you went and played. I think you definitely can do it under six weeks. I think you can do it in a month. Because that's how it was always kind of run before." If Franklin's potential timeline was followed, that would mean his Nittany Lions would have to be back on campus Aug. 5 in order to play their season opener against Kent State on Sept. 5 as scheduled. - Centre Times

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2022

RB Journey Brown, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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05/04/20 - *Micah Parsons, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-3, 246 (DS#1 OLB) + More +

The Big Ten Conference has once again extended its suspension of organized team activities through June 1, as announced Monday. Sports events and practices have been canceled for nearly two months during the coronavirus pandemic. The conference initially had activities potentially resuming April 6 and then again Monday. A moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting also continues. Should the Big Ten uphold that June 1 date, Gophers football could be looking at the possibility of trying to fit in a truncated "spring practice" in June before training camp in August and the season in September. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#1 OLB) Jr/2021

OLB *Micah Parsons, Penn State
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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05/02/20 - *KJ Hamler, rSo/2020, Penn State, 5-09, 178 (DS#11 WR) + More +

For the sixth time in seven years Penn State football will have a former player showcased on ESPN's "Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL." Denver Broncos wide receiver K.J. Hamler will be on the show, which airs at 7 p.m. Monday. The show features four players as they progress through the pre-draft process from the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine through the 2020 NFL draft. Hamler will be featured alongside fellow Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy, Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown and New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas. This will be the third year in a row the show features a former Nittany Lion after Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley were on the show in 2019 and 2018, respectively. - Centre Times

(DS#11 WR) rSo/2020

WR *KJ Hamler, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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04/30/20 - Journey Brown, rSr/2022, Penn State, 5-11, 215 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Few players broke out in the second half of Penn State's 2019 season like Brown did. He closed his redshirt sophomore season out as the team's best running back and looks to be the clear-cut starter heading into his redshirt junior year. Brown has a unique blend of size, strength, speed and balance that will attract NFL teams, even in a world where his position has lost value. It's highly unlikely Brown becomes a surefire first-round pick because of the position he plays, but it's easy to see a world where he becomes a second-round pick. - Centre Times

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2022

RB Journey Brown, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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04/26/20 - Cam Brown, Sr/2020, Penn State, 6-5, 233 (DS#15 OLB) + More +

Linebacker Cam Brown will join two former teammates and a former coach with his first NFL team. Brown was taken No. 183 overall by the New York Giants in the sixth round Saturday afternoon. He was the fourth former Nittany Lion to be taken in this season's draft after Yetur Gross-Matos and K.J. Hamler went in the second round and John Reid went in the fourth round. He'll join former teammates Saquon Barkley and Grant Haley on the roster, and former Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who's the current Giants defensive line coach. Heading into the draft, Brown was projected all over the map. He could be found as high as the fourth round in seven-round mock drafts or as an undrafted free agent. The 6-foot-5, 233-pound linebacker is a long athlete who can disrupt in pass coverage, which will play to his advantage with the NFL becoming an increasingly pass-heavy league. He was used in that role at Penn State where he used his athleticism to attack downhill in the run game and stay with tight ends and running backs in the passing game. - Centre Times

(DS#15 OLB) Sr/2020

OLB Cam Brown, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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04/26/20 - Robert Windsor, rSr/2020, Penn State, 6-4, 290 (DS#16 DT) + More +

Penn State defensive tackle Robert Windsor traveled a long road to become a college starter and, now, the defender is officially taking his talents to the next level. The redshirt senior was picked by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft Saturday, becoming the No. 193 overall selection. He was the fifth Nittany Lion off the board, after DE Yetur Gross-Matos (second round), WR KJ Hamler (second round) , CB John Reid (fourth round) and LB Cam Brown (sixth round). According to scouts, coaches and teammates, the Colts are getting a quick, smart and determined athlete.

"He's scientific about everything he does, almost to a fault," said former PSU defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who's now with the New York Giants. "He analyzes everything. You kind of look at him and say, 'That's not the type of guy he is.' But he's very, very bright in the football world and outside of the football world." Added Penn State DT PJ Mustipher: "He was willing to sacrifice to get where he's at today." He arrived in Happy Valley as a three-star defensive tackle with little fanfare and limited playing time his first three seasons. But, as a redshirt junior in 2018, he burst on to the scene with 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. - Centre Times

(DS#16 DT) rSr/2020

DT Robert Windsor, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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04/22/20 - *Micah Parsons, Jr/2021, Penn State, 6-3, 246 (DS#1 OLB) + More +

Penn State special teams coordinator Joe Lorig wasn't trying to trick anyone when the Nittany Lions released their depth chart Saturday. The Nittany Lions listed Micah Parsons atop the group of kick returners when they initially released the spring depth chart over the weekend. The program then sent out and updated version later Saturday afternoon with two return positions listed and Parsons as the starter at the "off" returner spot. Lorig said that was simply the result of a miscommunication. "I think it was a little bit of us not all being in the same room and we went through it because I saw it differently," Lorig said on a conference call with the media Tuesday morning. "I saw the first two guys listed as the two returners that would be on the field."

Parsons had the ball in his hands as a returner in his high school career and has pined for those opportunities at Penn State. He's taken to social media to make his plea for return chances, but may not need to go to those lengths to get them. He could receive those chances based on his own merit, and based on where the opponents kick the ball. "Well, who's gonna be the returner?" Lorig said. "Well it depends on which way they kick the ball? I don't know which way each team is gonna kick the ball." For now, he'll have to keep pleading on social media and impressing Lorig in whatever way he can. - Centre Times

(DS#1 OLB) Jr/2021

OLB *Micah Parsons, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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04/15/20 - Tariq Castro-Fields, rSr/2022, Penn State, 6-1, 197 (DS#17 CB) + More +

Penn State's secondary is going to look very different next year without John Reid, who exhausted his eligibility after five years with the Nittany Lions. Reid played inside and outside at cornerback and often faced the opponent's best wide receiver because he was the team's best cornerback. With the former Nittany Lion headed to the NFL draft, Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith has a replacement in mind to step up as the unit's best player - senior Tariq Castro-Fields. "(Castro-Fields) is the leader of the corner room," Smith said in a teleconference with the media Wednesday morning. "Tariq, not to put pressure on him, needs to have a great year for us. We need a lock-down corner that can handle the best receiver of whoever our opponent is. We expect Tariq to be that guy."

Penn State will need Castro-Fields and several other cornerbacks to step up next season for the defense to take another step forward and improve its pass coverage. The 6-foot, 190-pound Castro-Fields has all of the measurables to succeed as a shutdown corner. He has the size, length and athleticism to stick with cornerbacks of any size, but needs to find consistency to do it on a weekly basis. He began the 2019 season as if he was the team's best corner, but soon struggled to find success as a defender. "His season last year was almost like two different season," Smith said. "The first half of the season he came out of the gate looking like a first-round draft pick. Then he suffered an injury and from that injury on, he was a different player. He wasn't as confident, he wasn't as sure of himself. ... One of our offseason plans and goals for him is to make sure that he can be more consistent throughout the season." - Centre Times

(DS#17 CB) rSr/2022

CB Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State
News Source: Centre Times
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