By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
Andre Ellington did not understand why his name was not called. One by one, he watched as 16 other running backs had their name called before his in the 2013 NFL Draft.
“It was a little bit stressful,” the former Clemson running back said.
Stressful is a good word for it. Ellington entered the NFL Draft season as the third best running back by some accounts, but slowly his stock began to fall after he suffered a hamstring injury at the Senior Bowl and then pulled it again a few weeks later at the NFL Combine.
The injury wasn’t better a few weeks later when Clemson hosted its annual Pro Day, forcing Ellington to sit out with all 32 NFL Scouts on hand. A few weeks later, Ellington hosted his own Pro Day at Clemson with some mix reviews, all perhaps playing a role in why he was selected with the 187th pick in the sixth round of the NFL Draft Saturday.
“I was fortunate to have my family and friends to keep me calm and former teammates that I played with in the past,” Ellington said. “They all came and supported me. They kept me calm. They kept me smiling and laughing and kept me in good spirits.”
With the draft now over for Ellington, he can enjoy that fact that he was drafted and the Cardinals are giving him the opportunity to prove himself and the other skeptics wrong.
“I’m lost for words. I’m so excited. It’s relief,” he said. “I was sitting around wondering why my name had not been called yet. I knew I eventually I would fall to the right team and I was fortunate it was with the Arizona Cardinals.
“It’s a winning program and they have a lot of playmakers, and I feel like I am a guy that can come in there and contribute and join all the other playmakers, and contribute on special teams as well.”
Ellington had 212 carries for 1,081 rushing yards and eight touchdowns for Clemson in 2012 when he was a first-team All-ACC selection. It was his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
He finished his career with 3,436 rushing yards, fourth best in Clemson history and just 111 behind former Clemson running back C.J. Spiller, who was named to the NFL Pro Bowl last year.
“I feel I’m the kind of guy that can come in there and play wherever they need me,” Ellington said. “I have that big-play ability. It is something I’ve thrived with my whole career in college. I feel like I can come in there and give the offense a spark and do the same on special teams, too.
“I can come in there and return kicks and punts as well.”
That might be where they use the former Tiger. The Cardinals picked former Stanford running back Stephan Taylor with the 140th pick in the fifth round, plus former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall was signed in free agency and former Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams is back.
Those are just a few reasons why Ellington was surprised when he got his phone call from the Cardinals.
“It did surprise me a little because I have not heard anything much from the Cardinals through this whole process,” Ellington said. “I met with them at the Senior Bowl and at the combine, but other than that, they stayed pretty quiet on their interest in me.”