FORT COLLINS — Randi Ellis can remember the sounds radiating from the family’s garage early each morning.
Music bumping at full blast. Dumbbells clashing. And the thump, thump, thumping of her brother’s hands pounding a heavy bag.
“He knew that one way or another, he was going to follow in our father’s footsteps,” Randi said of her younger brother, Jacob.
This fall in Fort Collins, Jacob Ellis is playing his final year of college football with boxing in his blood and his late father in his heart.
The new CSU linebacker’s grandfather, Jimmy Ellis, was a world heavyweight champion. And Jacob’s father, former Ohio State tight end Jeff Ellis, has been Jacob’s primary motivation since Jeff died of pancreatic cancer during his son’s junior year of high school.
Those two family backstories are Ellis’ fuel as the Iowa State transfer chases the same success he found in 2021, when he emerged as one of the best junior college players in the nation at Iowa Western.
“My hope for this year is to have that (NJCAA) national defensive player of the year Jacob come back out,” Ellis said. “But most importantly, I want to help this team win, and to continue to play for my last name. Play for the name on the front of the jersey, but also on the back of the jersey.
“I play with a lot of passion and with my emotions on my sleeve. Rams fans are going to see me continuously remember my ‘why.’ ”
Ellis trained like his grandfather ahead of his season, building himself up with boxing gloves and hill sprints.
In his hometown of Sacramento over the summer, Ellis sparred with other local players in the garage gym of his trainer, Bob Sebring. Then, Ellis ran up and down Sebring’s property to the point of complete exhaustion.
“When we’re sparring, we’re working on footwork, our hand speed in and out, because it all translates over to when an offensive lineman comes to block you and how fast can you get your hands on him and how fast can you get his hands off of you,” Ellis said. “After we get done boxing, we run the hill five, six times.
“A couple times, I almost fell down (and passed out) because of how much I pushed my legs and my body to the limits.”
After eight starts over three seasons at Iowa State, Ellis is set up for a big role with CSU. One of the team captains, he quickly emerged as a leader for a rebuilt Rams defense.
“Jacob’s come in and been a force,” fellow linebacker and captain Owen Long said. “Not only with his play, but his knowledge for the game and his leadership has been something that has rubbed off on me and everyone. Throughout fall camp, there were times when he’d call out a play before it even comes. He helps the defense play three times faster.”
As he’s done throughout college, Ellis will continue to write “RIP DAD” on the tape on his wrist, in addition to the date his father died. Jeff Ellis coached his son throughout Jacob’s childhood. The linebacker says he wouldn’t be playing Division I football without his father’s influence.
“I always feel his presence with me,” Ellis said. “That helps me so much when I’m out there. When I’m tired, when I have a bad play, I just look down at my tape.”
Ellis didn’t get to know his grandfather as well. Jimmy Ellis battled Alzheimer’s disease at the end of his life and passed away when Jacob was in middle school. But the reminders of Jimmy’s fame in the ring were everywhere around Jacob’s childhood home.
Jimmy, one of the lightest heavyweight champions ever, was a sparring partner with Muhammad Ali. He held the World Boxing Association belt from 1968-70 and fought some of the biggest names in the sport, including Ali, Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier and Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. He was 40-12-1 as a pro before retiring in 1975.
“I’ve gone to the Muhammad Ali Museum in Louisville and seen my grandfather in there, so the Ellis legacy is something I take a lot of pride in and it’s something I want to continue,” Jacob Ellis said. “It’s my job to continue that legacy in the sport of football.”
The fact that he is even still playing is a testament to his resilience, according to those closest to him.
Considered undersized as a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, Ellis injured his shoulder in high school and received little college interest. He started at American River College in Sacramento, but took a grayshirt amid the COVID season in 2020.
His football future was bleak, but Ellis wanted to keep playing and found a spot at Iowa Western.
“Injuries and COVID basically gave him the right to say, ‘I’m done with football,’” said Bob Sebring, who was Ellis’ position coach in high school. “A typical young man probably would’ve gone in the tank after losing his dad, multiple shoulder issues, no college really wanting him. But he was always playing for a higher cause, and that kept him motivated.”
Jeff Ellis was a highlight on so-so Ohio State teams in the late ’80s, before a knee injury in ’89 derailed his NFL potential. As a sophomore for the 4-6-1 Buckeyes in ’88, he had 40 catches for 492 yards, the last tight end to lead the Buckeyes in both receiving categories.
Jacob is hoping for a similar impact on the Rams this fall — except with more team success.
CSU’s leading tacklers from last year, linebackers Buom Jock and Chase Wilson, transferred and graduated, respectively. That left a gaping hole in the middle of the defense that Ellis believes he can fill. The Rams open the season on the road on Saturday as 21.5-point underdogs against Washington.
“I felt like my time in Iowa was up and I was looking for a new opportunity for this final season, and I was also looking for a program that fully believed in my abilities,” Ellis said. “That was here (in Fort Collins). Now, I’m ready to pay that faith back.”
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