The Little Things Made Ellis Better

Sedrick Ellis quickly spotted the clue. Settling into a three-point stance for the Chino High defense last season, Ellis looked over the opposing offensive lineman and knew what play was coming. It would be a run.

The ball was snapped and Ellis stormed the backfield before the ballcarrier could barely make a move. A split second later, they both lay in a pile three yards behind the line of scrimmage.

“I could tell [it was a run play] by the color of his fingertips,” said Ellis, selected The Times’ lineman of the year. “Experience has taught me the little things, like when [an offensive lineman] is leaning into [his] stance, it’s a run play.”

The little things helped Ellis improve over his last two seasons. Despite having multiple blockers assigned to him on most plays, Ellis still managed 62 assisted tackles, 35 unassisted tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks this season.

He also blocked a punt, caused a fumble, recovered two fumbles and pressured the passer 19 times. In a nonleague game against Lompoc, the Southern Section Division X champion, Ellis recorded 22 tackles.

Ellis, at 6-3, 260 pounds with a time of 4.78 in the 40-yard dash, is being pursued by such top collegiate teams as Miami, USC, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

“The colleges are just drooling about him,” said Chino defensive coordination Pete Merandi. “If I ever had a player who could play on Sundays down the line, he could be it.”