Rhett Ellison
 Ellison in 2012 | |
| No. 85 Minnesota Vikings | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight End |
Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | October 3, 1988 |
| Place of birth: | Portola Valley, California |
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Mountain View (CA) Saint Francis |
| College: | USC |
| NFL draft: | 2012 / Round: 4 / Pick: 128 |
Career history | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Career NFL statistics as of 2014 | |
| Receptions: | 31 |
| Receiving Yards: | 334 |
| Touchdowns: | 2 |
|
Stats at NFL.com | |
Rhett Marshall Ellison (born October 3, 1988) of Māori descent is an American football tight end and fullback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. While at USC he played both fullback and tight end. He is the son of former NFL and USC linebacker Riki Ellison.[1]
High school career
Ellison played high school football at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California, where he received some honors playing linebacker and tight end. Both major recruiting rating agencies of the time, Rivals.com and Scout.com rated him as a three star (out of five) recruit and in the 20s among other high school tight ends in his high school senior class.[2][3] He was recruited by several BCS conference programs and, beside USC, received athletic scholarship offers from Arizona State, Cal, Oregon and Virginia Tech. He committed to USC on February 6, 2007, the day before National Signing Day, a part of a recruiting class that ranked in the top two in the country in 2007.[2][4][5]
College career
Ellison redshirted the 2007 season, his freshman year with the Trojans.
NFL Draft
Ellison was taken in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, 128th pick overall, by the Minnesota Vikings. He was not expecting to be drafted, and as such was on a river excursion and not watching the draft when the Vikings called him to let him know he was about to be selected; the surprise was such that he cried in joy.[1] Trojan teammate and 4th pick overall Matt Kalil was also selected by the Vikings in the first round. He is the second player of Maori heritage to play for the Vikings since David Dixon. 2013 November, 24 Ellison made his first career touchdown catch against the Green Bay Packers.
Personal life
Rhett is the son of three-time Super bowl winner Riki Ellison. He is a of Ngāi Tahu descent and is the grandnephew of the first captain of the All Blacks, Thomas Ellison who led NZ on their first tour to Australia in 1893. He is also related to current New Zealand rugby union players Jacob Ellison and Tamati Ellison.[6][7] Ellison completed a bachelor's degree in international relations from USC and as of 2012 is working on his master's in communication management.[8]
NFL Combine
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in | 251 lb | 32 3/4 in | 10 1/4 in | 4.88 s | 31 1/2 in | 109 ft 0 in | |||||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gary Klein, USC football: Rhett Ellison happy to join Vikings, Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2012, accessed April 30, 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Recruiting Profile: RHETT ELLISON, Rivals.com, accessed April 30, 2012.
- ↑ Rhett Ellison, Scout.com, accessed April 30, 2012.
- ↑ McKnight pushes USC to the top, Scout.com/ESPN.com, March 7, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
- ↑ 2007 Team Ranking, Rivals.com, February 12, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
- ↑ Kiwi Ellison drafted by Minnesota Vikings New Zealand Herald, 4 May 2012
- ↑ St Andrew's old boy Ellison picked in NFL Draft stuff.co.nz, 4 May 2012
- ↑ "Chip Scoggins: Vikings rookie Rhett Ellison has his own beat". Retrieved October 3, 2014.
External links
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