This Gamecock didn’t expect to redshirt, but he didn’t let it discourage him
Jabari Ellis isn’t the sort of football player one expects to take a redshirt year at a four-year school.
He came to South Carolina from a junior college. Most JUCO players are brought in for immediate help at some position. Midway through the 2018 season, that’s not what he was doing.
He saw the field in USC’s first two games against Coastal Carolina and Georgia and didn’t step on the field the next nine contests.
“Towards the middle of the season. I remember coach Muschamp came up to me,” Ellis said. “He was like, nothing is set in stone yet. We’re going to go and see how it’s going to be, but he was like, ‘You’re going to be a good player for us.’”
Ellis didn’t come back until there were two games left, allowing him to get under the four-game requirement to take a redshirt (per the new NCAA rule). He’ll have two more seasons in garnet and black after a solid career at Georgia Military College.
He took his coach’s words as encouraging. That’s not something every player does when they don’t get snaps.
“You know you can do it,” Ellis said. “But just the whole process of not being in the mix, that helped me out a lot.”
He feels like he’s made progress from last season. He’s working all over in spring, a little tackle and a little end at 6-foot-3, 272 pounds.
He made six tackles, with a sack in his four games last season.
In line with his optimistic view, Ellis explained the best thing for him last year was being on scout team. It meant battling the starters every day in practice, honing his skills against the likes of offensive linemen like Zack Bailey.
He admitted the transition from junior college to an SEC team was a big one, but he’s optimistic about what’s coming next.
After all, he took what many players would see as a big setback in stride, seeming to turn it all in a positive direction.
“It was a process,” Ellis said. “Big expectations, playing, and having to redshirt and everything. It was a process, but it was definitely an advantage to me.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 1:19 PM.
