Senior day should be a success for Penn State’s football program.
Coach James Franklin’s Nittany Lions (8-2) host a Rutgers team that never has beaten them in Big Ten play.
PSU is 9-0 vs. the Scarlet Knights in conference action and 31-2 vs. the New Jersey program overall.
Saturday should be no different. Rutgers, coming off a 22-0 road loss to Iowa, is a three-touchdown underdog.
Veteran safety Keaton Ellis, a team captain and a State College Area High School graduate, will be one of the seniors appearing in their final game at Beaver Stadium.
The Lions typically play four safeties on defense, but the same two have started the first 10 games: Kevin Winston Jr. and Jaylen Reed.
Ellis, who began his PSU career as a corner, has 14 tackles in a supporting role. He also has an interception and a forced fumble.
“A local guy that we have known for a long time,” Franklin said when asked about Ellis on Wednesday.
“(He) came to camp, and his dad (Bruce) actually was working on campus when I first got here, in the athletic department.
“Really, (Ellis) had a really good senior year in the recruiting process, as both a wide receiver and a defensive back. And then (he) was able to come in here with maturity and play, and he’s kinda seen it all.”
No Wallace vs. Rutgers
The Lions’ passing game, coming off a 77-yard day in the team’s 24-15 loss to Michigan, will be without wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for the third consecutive game.
“We won’t see him this week,” Franklin said when asked about Wallace. “But I’m not sure after that.”
Wallace left the first quarter of PSU’s 33-24 win over Indiana at Beaver Stadium with an apparent upper arm injury.
The third-year Lion has 15 catches for 161 yards.