Penn State football: True freshman OL separating himself, says veteran Nittany Lion defender

When young players receive praise they can either stop working because they think they’ve made it. Or they can work harder as they know it’s just the beginning. For Penn State football early enrollee true freshman offensive lineman Cooper Cousins, the latter is true. Cousins has received praise from recruiting experts, head coach James Franklin, and now his Nittany Lion teammate Dvon Ellies believes Cousins has a bright future.

Penn State veteran defender praises early enrollee true freshman

Dvon Ellies is someone who has seen plenty of talent come through the Penn State football program. His true freshman season came in 2019 where he redshirted. In 2024 Ellies will play in his redshirt senior plus season due to COVID-19. This has led the veteran defensive tackle to have seen and played a lot of football in his career.

Ellies recently spoke to the media following a spring practice where he had high praise for Cooper Cousins.

“That’s going to be a guy right there” Ellies stated to the Penn State media regarding Cousins. “He’s definitely putting in a lot of work that most freshmen never would put in.”

Ellies is coming off of a career season where he accounted for 26 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble in 2023. Now, he looks to use this season to develop his leadership skills and to add more high-level defensive tackle tape for his potential NFL future.

Chuck Losey has big expectations for Cousins

The Penn State strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey recently spoke to the media as well. He shared high praise for  Cooper Cousins regarding his work in the weight room.

Losey stated, “Cooper Cousins is a guy that flashes. Rarely do you get a guy to come in here who just fits in from a body type standpoint, from a mentality and demeanor standpoint…”

If he continues to take steps in this direction Cousins has a chance to play for playing time during his true freshman campaign with the Nittany Lions. We will see how he fairs in the Blue White game on April 13th when he will take the field for the first game-like action of his college career.