Mom knows best: The woman who recruited Jabari Ellis harder than Will Muschamp

Ruth Ellis didn’t want to push her son’s college decision in a direction that wasn’t what he wanted.

But she also had a favorite in mind.

Williams-Brice Stadium is a 45-minute drive from the Times and Democrat building where Jabari Ellis announced his college commitment the morning of the Fourth of July holiday. N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium is more than 3 hours away.

It’s pretty clear what mom would want, and her son’s choice aligned with that.

“I just love my son and I’m so proud he picked the right decision,” Ruth Ellis said in front of a crowd of friends. “That’s where I wanted him to go.”

And she wasn’t subtle.

“I’d get up every morning, put on a (Gamecocks shirt),” Ruth Ellis said. “So he knows that’s where I wanted him to be. But I didn’t want to persuade him. I wanted him to do what he thought was right.”

Her son had starred at Lake Marion High School and went the junior college route at Georgia Military College. He was a three-star prospect, and his high school coach, Chris Carter, praised the way he matured the past year.

Will Muschamp got on Ellis early and came after him hard, but not as hard as someone else.

“I actually told coach Muschamp,” Jabari Ellis said, “I told him the person the was recruiting me the hardest to go to Carolina was my mom, not them.”

This story was originally published July 4, 2017 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Mom knows best: The woman who recruited Jabari Ellis harder than Will Muschamp."