Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
1 0 A P R I L 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's latest contingent of NFL Draft hopefuls had another chance to make their case on March 15 when the Nittany Lions held their annual Pro Day. There were 13 draftable players on hand when scouts from all 32 NFL teams descended on Holuba Hall for the workouts. Ten of those players had previously attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and they were joined by safety Keaton Ellis, running back Trey Potts and kicker Alex Felkins. Cornerback Johnny Dixon, who was in- jured prior to the Senior Bowl in Janu- ary, was present at both Pro Day and the combine but did not participate in any of the drills at either event. With the draft set to take place April 25-27 in Detroit, players are run- ning out of opportunities to impress NFL scouts. That's why Pro Day was a very important event for several of the Nittany Lions' would-be pros. Here's a look at how some of PSU's most in- triguing draft prospects fared: KEATON ELLIS: Of the players who weren't at the combine, the one who turned heads with his performance at Pro Day was Ellis. The former team cap- tain is a rock-solid leader and showed why Penn State initially played him at cornerback before moving him to safety. He ran well, turning in a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and his jumping numbers were solid, with a 39-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump. Ellis' draft profile is reminiscent of former Penn State safety Jonathan Sutherland, who signed with Seattle last year as an undrafted free agent and ended up making the active roster. El- lis proved he has NFL athleticism de- spite being passed on the depth chart by younger players last season. Throughout Pro Day, you could tell how seriously Ellis took each drill. He had a fairly long wind-up before each testing station, and the tension was pal- pable from the sidelines. CURTIS JACOBS: Jacobs looks like a different player at this point in the draft process. Listed at 235 pounds as a fourth-year junior last fall, the versatile linebacker checked in at Pro Day stand- ing 6-foot-1, 243 pounds and seemed massive. As to what position he can play, the answer, as far as Jacobs is con- cerned, is all of them. "I feel like I can play anything they ask me to do. I've done that here at Penn State, and I feel like it's going to con- tinue," he said. Jacobs has that versatility on film to back up his confidence. He's played every linebacker position situationally over the past four years at Penn State. "It's obviously been a plus for me," he said. "I've played Mike, I've played Will, I've played Sam. I feel like the tape speaks for itself." These days, it's not just the tape that's doing all the talking; his physical build is that of a prototypical NFL linebacker. And even though he's packed on nearly 10 pounds from his listed weight last year, he's still fluid in coverage and has great hands when passes come his way. That's not surprising when you consider that he had 123 catches in his first three seasons at the McDonogh School in Maryland before shifting his focus to defense. At this point, there's little question about whether Jacobs can withstand the rigors of playing in the box at the next level. The only question is whether he'll be a middle or weakside linebacker. Ei- ther way, he shouldn't last beyond Day 2 of the draft. With the possible exception of tight end Theo Johnson, no Penn State player has done more than Jacobs the past three months to improve his draft stock. KALEN KING: Has the narrative regarding King gone too far? As a ju- nior, the heralded cornerback failed to match his All-America performance from 2022 when he led the Big Ten and ranked third among FBS players with 21 passes defended. Then in December, he opted out of the Peach Bowl in order to prepare for the draft. After a rough week at the Senior Bowl, he stumbled further with a poor showing at the NFL Com- bine before finally stopping the bleeding a bit during Pro Day with a respectable 4.52-second 40 time. Here's the thing: King isn't a bad football player. The narrative surround- ing the former top Penn State defensive back seems to be that he's trending to- ward being an undrafted washout, and that's just not correct. King stuck up for himself during his NFL Hopefuls Perform For Scouts At Pro Day T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M NEWS & NOTES After missing out on the NFL Scouting Combine, safety Keaton Ellis had a strong showing at Pro Day, including a 39-inch vertical leap. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS