Eyeing starting spot, why this fifth-year USC senior aims to prove ‘it’s possible’
Even during quarantine, South Carolina defensive lineman Jabari Ellis doesn’t spend much time watching TV. He doesn’t even turn it on.
Instead, he’s typed the phrase “It’s possible” onto sheets of paper and taped them all over the screen.
Little phrases like that one are part of what Ellis calls his “mental training.” He surrounds himself with positive affirmations and nourishing quotes, sayings that keep him focused on where he wants to go.
“I always think about this quote,” Ellis said over a Zoom video call with reporters. “It said, ‘Through every dark, there’s a brighter day.’”
Like many junior college transfers, Ellis’ collegiate career has been an uphill climb. He could have lost faith in himself after his first season with the Gamecocks in 2018 when he appeared in only four games and ended up redshirting. But his playing time increased a tick last year, and as the 2020 season nears, Ellis certainly seems to be heading toward brighter days.
In the early part of training camp, the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Ellis has practiced with the first-team defense, earning rave reviews from head coach Will Muschamp, who called the lineman “extremely disruptive.”
“I walked by Jabari the other day before our fifth practice, and I said, ‘Think about Day 1 practice and compare it to where you are right now. Would you have ever thought?’” Muschamp said. “He said, ‘No, but I was gonna stay the course. I know that.’
“He’s a guy who continued to work through it and didn’t get frustrated, didn’t throw the ball in, didn’t blame a coach, didn’t blame another player and continued to improve himself. And you got to credit Jabari Ellis with that. And that’s a talent to me — to have a guy who’s willing to persevere and push and battle through adversity and battle through not playing as much as you want to play.”
With star defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw and Kobe Smith off to the NFL, Ellis will be one of the players the Gamecocks count on to fill the void in a new-look defensive line. USC also expects a year-two leap from highly touted tackle Zacch Pickens.
A transfer from Georgia Military College, Ellis appeared in eight games last season, tallying seven tackles and earning his first-career start in the season finale against rival Clemson. Like every other student-athlete, his offseason workouts were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he still managed to work out with former South Carolina football player Syvelle Newton.
And he was able to maintain his focus and positivity.
“I’m built for it, man,” Ellis said. “I’ve been through a lot in my life. I train my mind. That’s another thing a lot of student-athletes really don’t harp on, you know, mentally that you got to have a strong mind for this game. ... I look at adversity straight in the eyes and take it on.”
Part of Ellis’ underdog mindset stems from his upbringing in Holly Hill, a small town in South Carolina with a population hovering around 1,200. Growing up, Ellis didn’t have many local role models to look up to or examples of people who made it.
Throughout his football journey, Ellis has remained mindful of his roots. As much as he reminds himself of what’s possible through positive affirmations and phrases taped on his TV, he tries to do the same for his community. He spent time this summer back home in Holly Hill, mentoring children.
“A lot of kids around there, they don’t really get a chance to see somebody making it to the next level,” Ellis said. “So I just feel like I took it upon myself to really be the one that the kids can see, like visibly see. I mean, give them hope. Just being around is enough. I get messages from kids around the area saying, ‘Man, I seen you today,’ or whatever the case may be.
“I just want to inspire and let them know that it’s possible.”
