Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519242
1 6 M A Y 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 Dvon Ellies could have tried his luck in the NFL this year, but instead the veteran defen- sive tackle opted to return to Penn State for one final season of eligibility. E l l i e s , a n e i g h t - g a m e starter and honorable men- tion All-Big Ten performer as a redshirt junior last sea- son, will help anchor a Penn State defensive line that has the potential to be one of the conference's best in 2024. The Nittany Lions also return ju- nior Zane Durant, an 11-game starter last season, along with experienced seniors Hakeem Beamon and Coziah Izzard. Last year, those players helped the Nittany Lions lead the FBS in rushing defense with an average of only 75.5 yards allowed per game. Op- ponents managed only 2.26 yards per carry, another FBS- low average. Ellies spoke to reporters re- cently about his hopes and expectations for the PSU defense in its first year un- der new coordinator Tom Allen. BWI: Having made the decision to return, what's it been like now that you're back in it? You're one of the older guys working alongside a lot of young guys. What's that been like? ELLIES: "It's been a pleasure. Just seeing the young guys coming up, see- ing how they've been developing since our last game has been tremendous. "It's been an honor, you know, see- ing the things that I've seen in the years that I've been here. I'm able to im- part to them a lot of wisdom. I've seen the ins and outs of it all, and I've just been able to give them that insight into what it takes to win those big games and how to think, how to operate on a day-to-day basis, recovery and every- thing of that nature. I have to take that to a whole new level, so I'm showing the young guys. It's just like being the uncle around here." BWI: Would it be fair to say you don't have to worry about yourself as much? You're not a freshman or sophomore anymore. You know what you're doing, so now maybe you can pay attention to what the other guys are doing? ELLIES: "For sure. That's what I mean by imparting a lot of wisdom. I can see a block and say, 'This is how I learned to overcome this pitfall that I had when I was a sophomore coming up.' Or, 'This is how I learned how to take on a double team.' I just operate that way, because I've been doing it for- ever now." BWI: The other guys who came back with you all have a lot of experience. Coziah and Hakeem and Zane all have gotten a lot of reps. What does it mean for the defense to have almost all of that defensive tackle corps returning? ELLIES: "You know how we oper- ated last year. We were the best defen- sive line in the country. Nobody could tell me different. So, just to have them all back and then to have that experi- ence between the four of us is incred- ible, especially for the young guys, just because they can ask us, 'Hey, how did you do this?' There are different playing styles among the four of us, so it's just an encyclopedia of foot- ball at this point." BWI: What's changed for you now that Tom Allen has taken charge of the defense a f te r two s ea s o n s u n d e r Manny Diaz? ELLIES: "Not much. The mentality is the same, the attitude is the same. We're looking to be the best, so with Coach Allen, we're just get- ting comfortable with his play-calling and how he op- erates on a day-to-day basis — his core values, which are takeaways, tackling and ef- fort. We do that every single day. Those are his three core values in terms of how he sees the defense operating, so it's just [a matter of] getting ac- customed to that and oper- ating at his standard every single day. "That's really been the only change. It's been a changeup from Coach Manny to Coach Allen, but they're both great, so now it's just a transition between the two." BWI: Even with a new coordinator, do you think the confidence this defense gained last year can carry over into the coming season? ELLIES: "Oh, 100 percent. Because we know what it looks like. We've had All-America corners, we've had All- America offensive linemen, we've had All-America defensive linemen. At ev- ery level of the game since I've been here, we've had tremendous talent, and so we know what the work ethic needs to look like on a daily basis. "It's definitely a process. We're try- ing not to harp on the fact that we were great, because last year was last year. This year is this year. We have a lot of talent. And now it's just up to us to cap- italize on that talent and continue to grow as a team. You don't want to stay stagnant, as good as we were." Sitting Down With Super Senior Defensive Tackle Dvon Ellies Ellies played in all 13 games for the Nittany Lions last fall with eight starts. Among his 26 total tackles were 5 for loss. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL