FAYETTEVILLE -- When Brooks Ellis made the short drive from his home here to the University of Arkansas to start his life as a college student and Razorback, he looked like a very likely candidate to redshirt.
Ellis was a 6-2, 215-pound linebacker. That's very light for that position in the SEC.
It didn't take many days into fall camp for it to become obvious Ellis played much bigger.
Hitting was never a problem for him. He could have been nicknamed "Collision" because they always seemed to happen when he was around.
It was no secret that Bret Bielema had inherited a team that had gone through a huge transition from ultra-disciplinarian Bobby Petrino to nice-guy John L. Smith.
Plus, there was not an overabundance of talent -- not void either -- and the defense looked to have the greatest needs.
It didn't take long for members of the staff to know they needed Ellis. His enthusiasm and passion helped him stand out.
Ellis was uncommon.
He played in all 12 games as an 18-year-old freshman and started the last four -- against Auburn, at Ole Miss, Mississippi State and at LSU.
In those four weeks, he made 30 of his 33 tackles for the season, including 10 at Death Valley against LSU.
Ellis, with a 4.0 grade-point average, was a member of the National Honor Society at Fayetteville High School and active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is a worker, and almost as soon as his first season at Arkansas ended, he dedicated himself to being stronger.
For his sophomore season, he was up to 240 pounds and looked like an SEC linebacker.
He started 11 games at linebacker, missing only the Georgia and Alabama-Birmingham games because of injury, and finished second on the team in tackles with 72, behind Martrell Spaight's SEC-high 128.
Ellis had an interception against both Mississippi schools, returning one 27 yards against Mississippi State and another 36 yards against Ole Miss.
He was asked after the season to move to Spaight's position as an inside linebacker and did so without hesitation. He's the consummate team player.
In fact, that's one of the biggest influences Bielema has had on the Razorbacks: He's made them into a family.
"Coach B [Bielema] has changed the mind-set since I got here," Ellis said recently. "There's camaraderie on offense and on defense but also as a team.
"There's accountability and everyone looks out for everyone else."
Despite losing Spaight, defensive end Jeremy Flowers and defensive tackle Darius Philon, the defense is no longer talked about as a big question mark.
The only thing missing from the defensive line is time played on Saturdays, and the defensive backs are getting praise from the coaches.
The linebackers are going to be better than thought and part of that is because of guys like Ellis and their attitudes.
"I'm a fan of the game," he said, "and I love playing linebacker. I get to hit, blitz and defend. What could be better?"
Ellis is not someone who necessarily sees sunshine on a cloudy day, but he said with conviction, "We have a chance, as a team, to be special. We're not there yet, we have to improve every day, but we have a chance.
"It is always good to have personal goals, but this is always a team sport and team goals have to have a priority, and they do with this team."
Now entering his junior season, Ellis is no longer an undersized linebacker who everyone knew would excel in the classroom. He's got the size, heart, speed and passion.
It would probably be unfair to call him an overachiever. He's just uncommon.
Sports on 08/18/2015