SMU adds D-IA transfer safety

[PonyPride]

One of the new faces on the SMU squad this fall is K.J. Ellis of Arlington (Lamar). Coming out of high school in 2005, Ellis (2 stars/5.2 on rivals) was listed at 6-0, 188, 4.68. He had offers from SMU, New Mexico and Colorado before signing with Texas Tech (at the time, he also said he had interest in Washington State, Fresno State and San Diego State). On last year's Tech roster (where it appears he redshirted), Ellis was listed at 6-2, 201. Saw him at practice this afternoon, and he looks like he might have even bulked up a little more.

[HFvictory]

KJ is a good kid and great athlete. Not sure why he left Tech, but great for SMU.

[Stallion]

we discussed K.J. Ellis in 2005 when he was recruited by SMU. I'm 99% sure he didn't sign as a schorship player at Tech or anywhere else in the spring signing period. He was one of those guys that appeared to get holding the bag on signing date for some unknown reason-could have been academics but that's speculation. Now he could have been taken as a greyshirt or late qualifier at Tech not sure but he did have some interest from good schools coming out of high school.

[GoRedGoBlue]

2005 Scout.com HS Football Rankings (full list):
Pos: S Pos Rank: #43 Pos Rating: * * * (Three Stars)

Biography:
Scouting Report: Ellis projects as a cross between a safety and an outside linebacker prospect. He's well-suited in the size department for a safety role in the secondary, but his ability suggests he may be more equipped to play linebacker. If he does make that move he'll need to add a little more bulk (at least another 20 pounds).

S 43 K.J. Ellis
(Lamar HS)
Arlington, TX 6-2/200/4.65
New Mexico, Fresno State, San Diego State, SMU, TCU, Utah, Washington State

RIVALS:
http://sandiegostate.rivals.com/viewpro ... _key=24216
Safety
Arlington (TX) Lamar

Ht: 6-foot-0 (Event)
Wt: 188 lbs
Forty: 4.68 secs
Bench max: 275 pounds
Bench reps: 15
Squat max: 330 pounds
Vertical: 31 inches
Shuttle: 5.15 secs
Class: 2005 (High School)

Rivals.com Rating: 5.2 (About)
Position Ranking: NR


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The Latest: Cougars set to come see Texas safety — 1/3/2005

Arlington (Texas) Lamar safety K.J. Ellis is looking at several schools as he tries to make a decision on where to attend college. The two-star rated prospect has taken one official visit, but has a few others he plans...[details]

[abezontar]

So does he have to sit this year, or can he go ahead and play? If he didn't have a scholarship from Tech, he should be available right away correct?

[SMUltimedia]

Cross of an outside linebacker and a safety? I'm sure PB is thrilled. This kind of hybrid is his bread and butter. Ask Alvin Nnabuife.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Congratulations coaches!

[Stallion]

Checking on an internet search I did find that K.J. Ellis did participate in Texas Tech's spring practices(saw a comment that made a nice deflection) the significance being that he did enroll at Tech so he will have to sit out this year. He was not issued a number by Texas Tech last year but was listed among a small group at the bottom of the roster last year indicating that he was probably a preferred walk-on or a greyshirt much as SMU lists our greyshirts on the Roster. There doesn't appear to be any stories on the internet that he signed with Texas Tech that I could find but again he is not an unknown recruit and apparently had some nice offers that apparently never came through for whatever reason.

[Stallion]

an old Ponyfans.com report on Ellis said that in high school he had a 3.0 core GPA and 1170 SAT which would easily make him a full qualifier unless he flunked a required core class.

[Stallion]

I went back and checked on some of the Rivals old stories on Ellis and here is the generally what happened. He had offers from his favorites SMU and Colorado shortly before the Christmas Dead Period. He delayed a Colorado trip to attend a relatives graduation. He tried to set up a new date and probably intended to commit to Colorado but they had filled up at his spot and revoked his offer. Meanwhile SMU also backed off and revoked his offer because SMU filled up at LB too. offer So heading into the Dead Period his recruitment was basically starting over which is very late in the game these day. He did take a visit and reported an offer from New Mexico and was scrambling for new schools who appeared to show genuine interest like San Diego St. Washington St.(Coaches' visit) , Colorado St.(constant contact) Utah, TCU and Fresno around the start of the January recruiting period. There were no further updates after that. Tech wasn't even mentioned in the reports I saw so who knows. Ellis was a two-time All-District selection with 75 tackles as a Junior and 101 tackles as a Senior. Was selected the DMN Player of the Week as a Senior

[OC Mustang]

So if he never played, never signed a scholarship, and never formally participated in TT's program, is he able to play this year or must he sit out?

[Stallion]

I said above he did participate in spring practice for Tech meaning he was enrolled meaning he will have to sit out. He was also the No. 77 Rated Player on the DMN Area Top 100 in 2004

[ALEX LIFESON]

Reliable sources say, there are four transfers.

[GoRedGoBlue]

Reliable sources say, there are four transfers.

So that helps make up for the last two years' subpar recruits/next few years' graduation - depending on who they are.

[westexSMU]

Does anybody know about any of the other transfers ?