Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1082442
WHAT HE DID Ellies was a three-year starter at one of the Baltimore area's top programs. McDonogh, which plays against some of the best competition in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic As- socation's A Conference, went 17-14 dur- ing Ellies's three years, including an 8-3 ;nish in 2016. Individually, he enjoyed his best season as a senior last fall, totaling 72 tackles, including 17 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. WHAT HE WON Ellies participated in the Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu. He was a second-team selection in USA Today's All-USA Maryland team following his senior season and also earned ;rst-team All-Metro honors from the Baltimore Sun. Rivals.com has rated him a three- star prospect. Ellies is the 29th-ranked defensive tackle in the Class of 2019 and the seventh-ranked prospect in Mary- land. WHERE HE VISITED When Penn State extended its o=er to Ellies last July, he was still thought to be favoring Ohio State. He took two trips to University Park this past season, in- cluding an o>cial visit in November. Ohio State and USC also earned o>cial vis- its that month, but the Nit- tany Lions were ;rmly the team to beat heading into the early signing period. Ellies went on to sign with the Lions in December, but he didn't announce his com- mitment until Jan. 19 when he played in the Polynesian Bowl. Over the course of his recruitment, he earned more than 20 scholarship of- fers. Among the schools that pursued him were Florida, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, UCF, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wiscon- sin. QUOTABLE Hakeem Sule, McDonogh head coach: "D'Von will bring plenty of energy to Penn State University, on the ;eld and o= the ;eld. His charismatic per- sonality and dominant play at the defen- sive tackle position will make him a fan favorite. He is super athletic for a defensive tackle. ... He is very nimble and light on his feet. He also has the power of a bull." PHIL'S TAKE When you look at Ellies' highlight video, you have to be impressed with his explosiveness at the point of at- tack. Ellies stands 6-foot-1, 288 pounds, but he's still able to dunk a basketball. He's capable of playing both the three-tech- nique tackle position in a 4-3 defensive scheme and also the nose tackle position in a 3-4 scheme. He does a great job of keeping a low pad level to gain leverage against the run, but he also has the ability to provide an impressive inside pass rush, as he showed by totaling 28 sacks during his last two high school seasons. Ellies plays the game a lot like former Penn State defensive tackles Kevin Givens, Jordan Hill and Anthony Adams. ■ BREAK ON THROUGH Ellies signed with Penn State in December but didn't an- nounce his commitment until Jan. 19 at the Polynesian Bowl. Photo courtesy of Ri- vals.com Rivals.com D'VON ELLIES RIVALS ★★★ | POS DT | HT 6-1 | WT 288 | HOME Burtonsville, Md. | SCHOOL McDonogh T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 9 >>