Unbeaten Hoosiers Keep Putting In the Work
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Appreciation finds Justice Ellison basking in Indiana football team achievement. The Hoosiers have gone from unranked to unbeaten top-13 status, from under-the-radar to national acclaim, and this fifth-year running back can’t get enough of it.
“It’s great for the program, the school, for the community,” he says. “This is the environment we needed. This is something I believed in. It’s been great to experience it, and I plan on experiencing more.”
Ellison’s experience comes via the transfer portal. Four seasons at Wake Forest had produced 1,909 rushing yards, 163 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns, and a sense something better was out there.
He found it the moment he met with head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff in Bloomington.
“When I hit the portal,” he says, “I knew I wanted to be part of something greater than myself. Indiana was a no brainer. I didn’t need to go anywhere else. I took one visit, that was here, and committed on the spot. I’m thankful and excited to continue making history.”
Ellison leads IU in rushing yards (514), is tied with fellow running back Ty Son Lawton for the lead in rushing touchdowns (both have eight), and averages 7.0 yards a carry. He’s also caught four passes for 40 yards.
But team accomplishment -- a 7-0 record, seven blowout victories, the Big Ten’s best offense and second-best defense, a chance to win a conference title, make the 12-team playoffs and, yes, win a national championship -- overshadows individual numbers.
“I’m so thankful for everything Indiana has given me,” Ellison says. “I walk around the locker room smiling. Guys look at me like I’m weird, but when you have this much to be thankful for, there’s nothing that can get in your way.”
Nothing has gotten in the Hoosiers way this season. Their nationally televised blowout of a ranked Nebraska team during last Saturday’s Homecoming statement-maker led to this Saturday’s national opportunity against Washington (4-3) via ESPN’s College GameDay.
IU’s 7-0 start is the second best in program history behind the 8-0 run of the 1967 team that shared the Big Ten title with Purdue and Minnesota, received a Rose Bowl bid, and finished 9-2 and ranked No. 4 nationally. That team won a series of cliffhangers. These Hoosiers are winning by an average margin of 35 points a game. They’ve never trailed this season and have beaten everyone by at least 14 points.
“I’m excited,” Ellison says. “Who wouldn’t be? We have to continue to do it. Everybody loves winning.”
Continuity means maintaining focus and putting in the work, he adds.
“My job as a veteran is to continue to keep that message the same. The minute you start thinking you can get away with not using a tool today, that’s when that tool can get you. I’ve seen ups and downs in a season. I’ve seen teams not play at a high level because guys got complacent.”
Ellison says he saw a Bloomington community hungry for a football winner when he made his official visit. Listening to Cignetti’s plan to achieve it sealed his become-a-Hoosier deal.
“The people are desperate for winning. This town needed it. I saw it in their faces and heard it in the conversations about it. They wanted to get back to the success they had in the past.”
IU’s offensive line play is a huge part of that success. Few benefit more than Ellison and his fellow running backs.
“They’ve been great,” he says of the offensive line. “A lot of times, the holes are huge. Every time I come back to the sidelines, I want to jump in their arms and thank them for what they’re doing. We need it. They have stepped up in a lot of ways. I wonder what else they’re going to be able to do. I tell them, keep on going. I know they will.”
IU’s national attention -- including last week’s appearance on the FOX Big Noon Kickoff show -- has created a huge program buzz that could derail a less-focused team.
“It’s like I tell the guys, don’t get too high or too low,” Ellison says. “In one minute, it can change in a heartbeat. You have to stay in the middle and continue doing the things that got you here.”
Winning vindicates the process and work like nothing else can, he adds.
“It helps guys when they’re able to see when they put in the work, when they do the drills and think, ‘Man, I hope this pays off,’ and then it does.
“Once you see this is what happens when you stay focused, this is what you can do, this is what happens when you focus on all the great things that got you there, it keeps feeding itself.”
IU keeps creating lifelong memories, and Ellison sees no reason for that to stop.
“I told these guys I would do my best to have success with them so 20 years down the line we can look back and reflect on this phenomenal season and say we put the work in.”