Andre DeAngelo Ellington (born February 3, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Clemson and was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

High school career

Ellington attended Berkeley High School, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Stags football team. As a senior, he rushed for 1,822 yards and 24 touchdowns, and also added four other touchdowns (two receiving, two kickoff return). He accumulated 2,519 all-purpose yards as a senior.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

named him the #44 overall prospect and #6 running back. Ellington also ran

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

for the Berkeley High School track team. He ran a personal-best time of 10.97 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

at the 2006 Taco Bell Classic Meet. He also recorded a time of 23.13 seconds in the 200 meters. He was also a member of the 4 × 100 m (42.94 s) relay squad. He picked Clemson over scholarship offers from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

.Player Bio: Andre Ellington

College career

Freshman season (2009)

After redshirting his true freshman season in 2008, Ellington had 546 total yards on 79 touches. He rushed for 72 yards on nine carries against

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

Sophomore season (2010)

As a sophomore, Ellington was named second-team All-ACC by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He rushed for 686 yards on 118 carries and 10

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. He caught 12 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Ellington had 140 yards in 22 carries and four catches for 48 yards against eventual national champion

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Junior season (2011)

As a junior, Ellington rushed for 1,178 yards on 223 attempts scoring 11 touchdowns. Additionally, he caught 22 passes for 109 yards. He earned second-team all-conference honors in recognition of his successful season. In the

2011 ACC Championship Game The 2011 ACC Championship Game was the seventh football championship game for the Atlantic Coast Conference. It featured the winners of the ACCs two divisions, the Atlantic Division and the Coastal Division. Clemson represented the Atlantic ...

, he ran for 125 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, as the Tigers beat the Virginia Tech Hokies, 38–10. Clemson lost the 2012 Orange Bowl to the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Moun ...

, by a 70–33 scoreline. Ellington rushed for 116 yards from 10 carries, including a 68-yard run for the game's opening touchdown.

Senior season (2012)

In his final season as a senior, Ellington rushed for 1,081 yards on 212 attempts (5.1 avg) while scoring eight touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. He earned first-team all-conference honors. He finished his college career at fourth on Clemson's list of all-time rushers with 3,436 yards, just below former teammate

C. J. Spiller Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at Clemson University. He previously served as a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020. Spiller play ...

, and finished third in rushing touchdowns with 33. Ellington graduated from Clemson in December 2012 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in parks, recreation, and tourism management.

Career statistics

Professional career

Ellington ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

, considerably slower than many anticipated, as he had multiple runs of over twenty yards during his final year at Clemson.

Arizona Cardinals

2013 season

After being projected as a second or third round pick, he slid to the third day of the draft. He was selected in the sixth round of the

with the 187th overall pick by the

. He scored his first career touchdown on a pass reception from

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

in Week 2 of the 2013 season against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. In Week 8 of the 2013 season, Ellington rushed for 154 yards against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, the highest rushing total of the week. He finished his rookie season with 652 rushing yards on 118 attempts (5.5 avg) and three touchdowns, and also caught 39 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown.

2014 season

Ellington was placed on season ending injured reserve after Week 14, having injured his hip. 2014 was a very underwhelming sophomore season for Ellington, recording 660 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns while averaging only 3.3 yards per carry.

2015 season

After the additions of running backs Chris Johnson and David Johnson, Ellington's role in the Arizona offense was severely reduced. He did make good use of his time on the field by recording 289 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries to average an astonishing 6.4 yards per carry. In Week 10 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, Ellington rushed for the 48-yard game-winning touchdown.

2016 season

In 2016, Ellington was the Cardinals third running back behind David Johnson and Chris Johnson to start the season. He was then moved up to the number two back after Chris Johnson suffered a season-ending groin injury in Week 4. Ellington ended the 2016 season playing in all 16 games rushing for 96 yards and recording 12 catches for 85 yards.

2017 season

On March 13, 2017, Ellington signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardinals. On March 29, 2017, Cardinals head coach

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

announced that Ellington would be changing his position to wide receiver for the 2017 season. On November 20, 2017, Ellington was waived by the Cardinals.

Houston Texans

On November 21, 2017, Ellington was claimed off waivers by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. Ellington ended the 2017 season with a cumulative 20 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown along with 39 receptions for 369 yards.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On February 19, 2019, Ellington signed with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. On August 31, 2019, Ellington was released by the Buccaneers.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

His cousin,

Bruce Ellington Bruce Ellington (born August 22, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at South Carolina and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High school career In high ...

, is a former NFL wide receiver. The two were teammates on the 2017 Texans.

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers bio

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellington, Andre 1989 births Living people African-American players of American football People from Moncks Corner, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football running backs Clemson Tigers football players Arizona Cardinals players Houston Texans players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people