All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at sophomore linebacker Tyler Elsdon.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 233 pounds
Hometown: Frackville, Pennsylvania
Before Penn State: Elsdon grew up in a place where Penn State football is the college team to root for.
“Everyone’s a Penn State fan,” Elsdon told reporters in a Zoom call this past April.
He then illustrated Penn State’s standing in Schuylkill County.
“I always tell this story, we have an ice cream joint called ‘Chill Out.’ We always go there, and if you go into the bathroom, just to wash your hands, go into the bathroom, whatever, there’s a big picture of Beaver Stadium. I just think it’s funny because you can never really escape Penn State football where I’m from.”
Penn State was the last school to offer Elsdon, and when he got the offer, the college choice became an easy one.
“I was kind of recruited pretty late just overall from colleges,” Elsdon said in April. “I think I was going into my senior year before I got any attention. Penn State was obviously my last offer, and I committed almost immediately. When they offered me, I said, ‘Yeah, I’m 99.9 percent sure this is where I’m coming.’
Elsdon said his mother took care of the .1 percent that might have had doubts.
A three-star recruit according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, he committed to Penn State in June of 2019.
2020: Elsdon made his college debut and his first college tackle in Penn State’s season-ending win over Illinois at Beaver Stadium.
2021: Elsdon played in 12 of Penn State’s 13 games, both at linebacker and on special teams.
In the Outback Bowl against Arkansas, Elsdon received increased playing time due to Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks opting out and picked up a career-high six tackles.
2022: Elsdon started all 13 games of Penn State’s games at MIKE linebacker, ending the year with 44 tackles (25 solo, three for loss), two quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and a sack.
Where he stands: Kobe King is Penn State’s projected starting MIKE linebacker, but Elsdon should get a solid amount of playing time. Each played in all 13 games last season.
A quote by Elsdon: “It’s crazy how much you could grow in a year. It’s also crazy how fast a year can go. I got super close with a lot of seniors and seeing them get emotional and just thinking, I’m going in my fourth year next year. It goes fast.” — Elsdon to reporters on his time at Penn State late last year.
A quote about Elsdon: “You’re starting to see Kobe and Elsdon (take control) at linebacker, but coming into the season, obviously we didn’t know that,” Franklin said. “We didn’t know how that was going to be.” — Coach James Franklin to reporters last season
