commit #6 andrew Ellison

[mavsrage311]

Forget all this talk of "quickness", this guy is apparently big and FAST !

Big AND fast, as opposed to tiny and slow???

I Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike

[davidsmu94]

bump

[Hoss]

I hear there's a good chance he ends up on defense.

[Stallion]

Updated Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Getting back on defense

Consol tight end moves to outside linebacker

By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

A&M Consolidated senior Andrew Ellison finally made it home last week, nearly two years and a dozen starts after he moved to College Station from Normangee.

Ellison spent all of last year and the first two weeks of this season as Consol's starting tight end. He missed four games because of a severe ankle sprain, then returned to the starting lineup at outside linebacker as the Tigers beat Killeen Ellison last week.

"I've always been a defensive-inclined player," Ellison said. "It was all about the team last year with me playing tight end. It wasn't about me."

Ellison played defensive end and some running back as a freshman and sophomore on the varsity at Class A Normangee. His family moved to College Station during the spring semester of 2005.

Consol defensive coordinator Ray Kavanaugh considered Ellison a good prospect at linebacker, but the Tigers had several veteran linebackers at the time and needed help at tight end. Ellison plugged the gap, starting in his first season with the team and catching two touchdown passes while earning praise for his blocking.

This year, the Tigers were not as settled at linebacker. Ellison had been recruited by several colleges as a defensive player and seemed like an easy choice to move back to defense. Yet he was willing to stay at tight end.

"That's typical of Andrew. I could tell him I need him to be my holder for kicks, and he'd do it," Consol head coach Jim Slaughter said. "He's a really, really good kid, and he's a team player."

Ellison orally committed in August to sign with Southern Methodist, which plans to use him as a rush end.

He entered this season with great expectations as a tight end, hoping to earn all-state recognition among other goals.

The opener didn't produce any receptions for Ellison, but he was one of the blockers who helped Consol average 6.4 yards per carry. The next week, Ellison made a couple of catches against Leander. He took the second one for 19 yards to the Leander 7, but a defender fell on his leg and caused a severe high ankle sprain.

Consol scored three plays later to go ahead 12-7. The Tigers did not lead again for the next 10 quarters as they started the season 0-4. Ellison missed four full games, aching on the sidelines during every loss.

"It was really, really, really tough," Ellison said. "It was the toughest year of football I've had in my life."

Ellison returned to practice two weeks ago and worked at fullback before the Tigers played Temple. Hampered by the ankle injury and the position switch, Ellison missed that game, too.

Last week, coaches moved the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder to weakside linebacker. Ellison practiced at the new position on Monday and Tuesday, then started there Thursday. He earned an early talking-to from Slaughter after a bad play, but Ellison finished third on the team with eight tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

"I watched hours and hours and hours of film before the game," Ellison said. "I felt like I had a pretty good grab on it, but the two days [of practice] made me nervous. I hadn't played linebacker since the eighth grade.

"I felt pretty good about how I did in the game. I was frustrated with my ankle, because it wouldn't let me cut right, and it wouldn't let me run 100 percent. It's getting better and better every day."
Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | © 2001-2007 The Bryan-College Station Eagle

[Corso]

Last week, coaches moved the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder to weakside linebacker.

Sounds to me like Hoss has some pretty good sources.

[SApony]

I don't know about his speed, but that is the size we need at LB.