Keaton Ellis: S · Penn State · #2.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Keaton Ellis
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Fifth year in the Penn State secondary. A game that shows it: 3 tackles against Northwestern — Week 5, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
17 tackles. 0 passes defended. 1 interception. 0 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Penn State | 17 | 13 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2022 | Penn State | 22 | 14 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2021 | Penn State | 18 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2020 | Penn State | 12 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2019 | Penn State | 18 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 87 | 58 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-15vs West Virginia | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 63-7vs Delaware | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 30-13@ Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 41-13@ Northwestern | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 63-0vs Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 12-20@ No. 3 Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 51-15@ Maryland | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 15-24vs No. 2 Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 25-38vs No. 11 Ole Miss | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 13 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
Week 7 · 2023
W 63-0
1 interception · 1 tackle · 6 interception return yards
Dominant 63-point win at home against Massachusetts.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
17tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL17 tackles · 1 interception.
5 seasons under James Franklin — 43-18 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
44.6%
412 pass / 512 run
Plays / game
71.1
13 games
Team sack rate
3.1%
425 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #487 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Penn State, 87 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 40 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under James Franklin.
