In a change from recent years Penn State football named three captains following the conclusion of spring practice including State College native Keaton Ellis, Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin announced on Saturday.
“Last year we had veteran, strong leaders that have been around forever,” Franklin said. “We had guys that had been multiple year captains. So, it’s obviously something that we need to be aware of. But, it’s going to be different than it was last year. Instead of there being four to six really strong voices in the locker room, there may be 12 to 16 that aren’t as strong as those four to six but still have the same impact spread out. We did name three captains today. We will wait until we get through training camp and then possibly add three more on offense, defense and special teams. It gives us a really good understanding of who the team sees as leaders right now going into the summer and lean on them and still leave it open to add another offense, defense and special teams.”
When asked, Franklin noted that offensive lineman Olu Fashanu (offense), safety Keaton Ellis (defense) and linebacker Dominic DeLuca (special teams) would be the first three bestowed with the captaincy. Fashanu returned to Penn State this offseason despite being a projected Top 10 draft choice while Dominic DeLuca enters his redshirt sophomore season as a special teams coverage ace.
For his part Ellis is one of the oldest members of Penn State’s defense looking to reprise his starting safety role. The senior and State College native has played in 43 games while at Penn State making 72 tackles and defending 13 passes. Last season Ellis set career-highs in both areas.
The trio of captains were announced much earlier than in recent years. Prior to the 2022 season Penn State announced its seven captains in late August just ahead of the season. With the Nittany Lions looking to replace all seven captains, figuring out leadership roles earlier than usual was a clear objective for Franklin and his staff from the outset of spring ball.
“I want to be a leader for this team,” Ellis told StateCollege.com earlier this spring. “Talking to the coaches about just setting a standard for what leading is. Everybody’s different, so it doesn’t have to look like somebody else and how they lead you. It’s you and I feel like I’ll set the standard and lead by example by how I’m working on my business. I’m just trying to gain the respect of everybody in the program and just care for care for everybody. Make sure everybody is taken care of and holding people accountable. In order to do that, you have to hold yourself accountable.”
