Penn State Football: For Ellis, Commitment Is Dream Come True

It is unlikely in sports, for a myriad of reasons, that your biggest dreams will ever come true. 

That’s something often forgotten in the media frenzy and a news cycle that eats up college football recruiting faster than kids can commit. They’re seen as assets, things to make your favorite team better somewhere down the road.

But for those same kids, it’s a moment long dreamt about and endlessly chased. Even the best player at your local high school faces an impossible climb to receive a major collegiate scholarship. There are too many players, too many options. The odds will never be in their favor.

So for players like senior Keaton Ellis, a State College native turned State High cornerback, turned Penn State scholarship-receiving commitment, it’s a weird world to be living in. What do you do when one of your biggest goals is suddenly a reality?

You enjoy it.

‘It’s awesome, a lot of stress off my shoulders, not having to think about a lot of things,’ Ellis said earlier this week when looking back on his decision to commit to Penn State. ‘There was a lot of stuff going through my head, coaches texting you, DMing you, having those conversations and figuring out was best for you. So that took a lot of stress off my shoulders once I finally made that decision.’

Like most everyone who grew up in State College, the allure of Beaver Stadium has always been there. Listening to the radio call, hanging on every word, playing catch in the backyard wondering what it would be like to one day take the field in front of a hundred thousand people.

In just over a year, Ellis will never have to wonder again.

‘Obviously growing up here, I bleed Blue and White, and I was always going up to games,’ Ellis said with a grin. ‘So yeah it really was surreal. I’m just blessed to have this opportunity. It really is a dream come true.’

Of course there is work left to be done at Memorial Field, a place that has churned out its fair share of future Nittany Lions. State College has lost just three regular season games in the past two years, not too far off from the larger Lions up the street. So Ellis is excited for what lies ahead, like many of his teammates, the pull of college so, so close.

But first things first.

‘This is something that since they were in pee-wees they’ve been looking forward to, that senior year,’ Coach Matt Lintal said. ‘(Keaton) knows where he’s going, and we have a couple of other guys that already have opportunities to go and have their college paid for, and those are great things and nice when they know because the pressure is off. Yes we know he’s got Penn State in the future, he knows he’s got Penn State in the future, but he knows he has got to come out and show for his school and his buddies and the kids he has grown up all his life.’

So for now, one dream will have to wait while the Little Lions take care of another that might find them in Hershey not long from now.