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Oh, Hello: Maryland DT Ellison Jordan Commits to Penn State

Penn State grabs a third defensive tackle in the last week.

By Nick Polak

Ellison Jordan, ladies and gentlemen!

Stats:

Hometown/High School: Baltimore, MD/Gilman

Height/Weight: 6'0"/255 lbs.

Recruited By: Sean Spencer and Bob Shoop

Starz n' Sheetz:

Starz: 4 stars across the board

Sheetz: Maryland, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Charlotte, UConn, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, James Madison, Kentucky, Marshall, Michigan State, NC State, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, West Virginia

Cinema:

The Tale:

The Nittany Lions offered Jordan way back in October of last year. He's been on their radar for some time, and has been on Penn State's campus multiple times. Most recently, he made an appearance in late February for Junior Day. Since then, he named his top three of Penn State, Virginia Tech and Maryland. I spoke to him just before he named that top three about how his recruitment was going.

He had made plans to attend the Lasch Bash next month (he had intended to visit for Blue/White, but his ACT's conflicted). He had originally planned on releasing a top 10 back in May, but schoolwork got in the way of that. Back then, he told me that he wasn't sure of a commit date, but he was certainly watching other guys and their statuses. I'll confirm this when I talk to him later, but surely he saw Penn State starting to fill up on defensive tackles, which helped him pull the trigger.

He told me that he loves the passion, energy and desire that Coach Franklin shows, and also acknowledged that they still need more defensive line help. Clearly this availability to early playing time was attractive. He also has an existing relationship with Penn State offensive lineman Brian Gaia.

In the end, the allure of the depth chart and the passion of James Franklin were enough to overcome Maryland and The Movement.

Even to the end, 247's Crystal Ball believed he was headed for Maryland. Of course, Matt and I correctly predicted his destination. No big deal.

The Outlook:

Right off the bat, it's easy to compare Jordan to former Penn Stater and current Seattle Seahawk, Jordan Hill. Plus, their names! It just makes sense.

Obviously Jordan isn't the biggest guy on the defensive line. He'll look tiny when standing next to new commits Christian Colón and Michael Dwumfour. He plays a different style than those guys, though. Similarly to Hill, Jordan has a very quick first step off the snap, and very active hands when getting through the line. He'll need to continue to develop those skills in order to become an every-down type player at the college level, but he shows a great feel for both of those skills already.

He will pair really nicely with a big, space-eater next to him, similar to the Austin Johnson-Anthony Zettel pairing. Having a guy that has the ability to eat up a guard and a center, leaving Ellison to deal with a single guard will lead to a lot of quick penetration by the fleet-footed Gilman product.

In terms of whether or not he will redshirt, that may be a tricky question. Jordan is in a unique spot, where he likely won't grow much more. He is already at a good weight for his size, although he could always add more muscle (who couldn't?). For that reason, a year off to physically transition won't really be necessary for Ellison. Therefore, he could find time in the very young and inexperienced defensive tackle depth chart right away as a freshman.

Ellison's commitment brings Penn State's class to 14. You can follow Ellison on Twitter at @bigeazy95.

Welcome to Penn State, Ellison!

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