James Franklin provides insight into safety depth

When it comes to having depth in big time college football, it’s always a good problem to have. After two weeks of spring practices, PSU head coach James Franklin is excited about the talent and depth his team has at the safety position. In his most recent press conference earlier this week, Franklin said Penn State will have four talented players at safety and the coaching staff will have to figure out when to get them all on the field.

James Franklin on the depth of the safety position at PSU

“Yeah, I think we’re gonna have at least a two-deep of four guys that are gonna play a ton of football for us on defense and special teams. So, we’ll see how that plays out. I think there could be some other guys that factor in there, but I think there’s four guys that have kind of separated themselves right now. And guys that have made plays for us, so we’re gonna have to find ways to get them on the field, whether that is in our three down package on third down, getting more of those guys on the field. Or whether it’s just rotating in normal situations. But, I think they’ve shown enough flashes that they need to be on the field,” Franklin said.

One of the top safeties returning for Franklin this fall is Keaton Ellis. The fifth-year senior is coming off his best season yet in Happy Valley, finishing the 2022 campaign with 24 tackles, two tackles for loss, and seven passes defended. In the Purdue game, he tallied a career-high four pass breakups. His sophomore season in 2021, Ellis racked up 18 tackles after appearing in 11 games.

Coming out of State College Area High School (State College, Pennsylvania) in the 2019 cycle, Ellis was rated as the nation’s No 37 cornerback, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 ranked Ellis as the No. 380 overall player in the country.

Franklin and the Nittany Lions are fresh off an exciting 2022-2023 season, which saw the team finish 11-2 overall, including a 35-21 win over the Utah Utes in the Rose Bowl. On offense, Penn State returns a number of tantalizing weapons on offense, especially at the running back (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) and quarterback positions (Drew Allar).

A five-star quarterback prospect, Allar was one of the most highly regarded prospects in the nation in the 2022 cycle. He was rated as the nation’s No. 28 overall prospect, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Allar was also selected as an Elite 11 finalist and was named a U.S. Army All-American.