Dominate – Ellison Runs to Help Bring a Hoosier Turnaround
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Justice Ellison fell hard. Can you blame him? Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is persuasive when it comes to football.
Ellison fell fast. How could he not? Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan offers intriguing opportunity and a long-time connection. Running backs coach John Miller makes a big impression.
So when Ellison hit the transfer portal out of Wake Forest seeking a fresh start and promising team potential, the Hoosiers stood out in multiple ways, so much so that he became Cignetti’s first transfer commitment.
It was basically love at first meeting when Ellison and his parents came to Memorial Stadium.
“Mom and dad didn’t know what I was going to say,” he says. “They didn’t know what I was going to do. After listening to (Cignetti), I was like, ‘Coach, do I have to kick rocks, or what? I’m with the process and the transformation that you’re trying to do here.’”
Cignetti’s confident approach is matched by his passion. He came to IU after successful coaching runs at James Madison, Elon, and Indiana University-Pennsylvania with a win-now mentality. Ellison was a believer.
“I saw how passionate Coach Cignetti was. That’s what I wanted to be a part of. I want to be a part of, when all else fails, when we put our mind to it, no matter what the record was before, we can change it. We can turn it around. That was it for me.”
Shanahan recruited Ellison to play wide receiver. At Virginia’s The Flint High School, Ellison did everything but kick and punt. He played running back, receiver, quarterback, defensive back and kick return, and excelled at all of it (totaling 3,646 yards and 38 touchdowns in his career) while helping the Huskies win a pair of Division I private school state titles.
At Wake Forest, Ellison was a running back. He produced 1,909 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns over 43 games and 20 starts. He added 24 catches for 163 yards and a TD.
Ellison remains a running back as a Hoosier, although with catch-balls-out-of-the-backfield opportunities in Shanahan’s share-the-wealth approach.
“Once I came here and saw the offense,” Ellison says, “it was like, there’s going to be an opportunity for me to showcase what I can do.”
He expects to showcase a lot.
“I have a lot of experience playing four years at the Power 5 level going against the best of the best.
“Being in this system, being in Bloomington, it was like, ‘Man, this will be for the best.’”
Relationships are huge in recruiting, and while Shanahan couldn’t get Ellison to come to James Madison, their bond mattered when it came to the Hoosiers.
“He used to come to my high school and we’d be laughing and joking,” Ellison says. “We had built that connection, so when I hit the portal, it almost felt like family. I wasn’t going where it was brand new. It was like, I know these guys. They believed in me when nobody else did.”
That connection resonated in spring practice.
“Even though he’s not my position coach, Coach Shanahan would say, make sure you keep pushing, keep doing things right. I respect him and love what he stands for.”
The 5-foot-10, 211-pound Ellison describes his style as a “downhill runner, but I’ve mastered the ability to make guys miss.”
Mastery came from plenty of offseason work.
“Whatever I have to do to make guys miss. Even when I’m swinging out of the backfield one-on-one with a linebacker, that’s my mindset. I played receiver, so if a DB can’t check me, a linebacker definitely can’t check me. I have that mentality every time I’m out there.”
Mentality comes with perspective.
“I ain’t gonna win them all, but I have that mindset. Every time I get the opportunity, I’m going to take advantage of that.”
Ellison joins a talent-rich running backs room that includes James Madison transfers Ty Son Lawton and Kaelon Black. All three showed impressive speed and explosiveness in last month’s spring game.
Ellison embraces the competition.
“I rise to the challenge and the way it elevates the team. It’s a great opportunity every day for me to go get it. I’ve always had that mentality. Every practice, every rep, it’s ‘I’ve got to go get it because other people are trying to do the same thing.”
Combine that running back-room talent and experience with a system designed to maximize talent and you have the potential for an explosive attack.
“You saw the receiver skills throughout the spring,” Ellison says. “We can one punch, one punch all the way down the field. The variety of offense we can use. The plays. Coach Shanahan is a genius in being able to dissect a defense. He understands what to use, what not to use.
“I’m excited to use our techniques to run the ball, run routes out of the backfield, going empty. To be able to be very explosive. That’s our plan.”
If plan becomes reality, IU might regain the magic it had in 2020, when it soared into the top 10 and was a play or two away from beating Ohio State and winning a Big Ten title.
“We’re telling each other, ‘Let’s go; let’s do this,’ Ellison says. “Ultimately, everybody wants to win. We’re desperate to win here. You can feel it in the locker room. The fans are desperate to win, too. We’re pushing that motto and bringing everyone with us.”
Cignetti sets a tone that has delivered victories everywhere he’s been. Ellison is all in.
“Every day I think about being resilient, being detailed, being dominant. Those are the three key words. The coaches have installed that over and over again.
“It’s hard. It’s tough. Your back is against the wall every day. I feel like that breeds success. You know that, if you slack, the coaches will let you know. If you’re not doing what you’re supposed to, they’ll let you know. If you are doing the right thing, they will let you know that, as well.
“It’s a great balance. They’re not just trying to breed success, they’re trying to breed dominance. Every time I go out there, I’m like, I have to be dominant because that’s what they’re preaching. That’s who I am. It works for me.”