Benedictine linebacker Ellis Brooks is one of the top prospects in the State of Virginia and he already has been a key contributor to two State championships leading the Cadets in tackles both years. I asked him what it takes to win consecutive state championships.
"Through a lot of hard work, Ellis Said. "There's no other way to accomplish such a goal especially winning it back-to-back. Lot of hours in the weight room lot of hours on the practice field. People see what happens on the football field but that's no all of it. What happens behind the scenes all the work we put in to accomplish that goal."
Despite making All-State in his sophomore and junior years, Ellis said he was a much better football player during his second season as a linebacker.
"Last year (2014), was my first year playing linebacker in high school and I was just running around, just trying to make plays, following where the ball went. This year, I actually learned how to play linebacker. I learned how to read the guards and read the tackles and figure out where the ball was going."
Although he played multiple sports at Benedictine his sophomore year, Ellis spent this past off-season focusing on football.
"This year was the 1st year I didn't play baseball because I wanted to be in the weight room more. It was a great improvement because I was able to get stronger every day and working on my technique to get better."
As for his recruiting, Ellis has close to a dozen D1 offers including Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Maryland. Vanderbilt and South Carolina are SEC schools who have offered Ellis since the season ended but Ellis is hesitant to name a favorite.
"I cant put one school above the other because my recruitment isn't done," Ellis said. "I have a lot of schools showing interest that I like schools that I like but I want to give each of the schools who believe in me a true look."
In addition to selecting a college destination, Ellis has several team goals he hopes to accomplish before he graduates in 2017.
"Doing whatever I can to help our team 3-peat," Ellis said. "We are losing great players like Scott Bracey (Duke) and Donaven Tennyson (Vanderbilt) so it will be my responsibility to step up and provide a bigger role than I have in the past. Even though I was a captain I need to be a better leader. Especially since it's even more pressure now. If a 2-peat was hard, then a 3-peat will be even more difficult. So we are really going to have to work even harder."
As for personal goals, Ellis said he just wants to get better in the both on and off the field.
"My main goal is to be more explosive. Everyone has room to improve I got better in pass coverage and getting off blocks. If I had to name one personal goal it would be to play in the Under Armor All-American game."
"Through a lot of hard work, Ellis Said. "There's no other way to accomplish such a goal especially winning it back-to-back. Lot of hours in the weight room lot of hours on the practice field. People see what happens on the football field but that's no all of it. What happens behind the scenes all the work we put in to accomplish that goal."
Despite making All-State in his sophomore and junior years, Ellis said he was a much better football player during his second season as a linebacker.
"Last year (2014), was my first year playing linebacker in high school and I was just running around, just trying to make plays, following where the ball went. This year, I actually learned how to play linebacker. I learned how to read the guards and read the tackles and figure out where the ball was going."
Although he played multiple sports at Benedictine his sophomore year, Ellis spent this past off-season focusing on football.
"This year was the 1st year I didn't play baseball because I wanted to be in the weight room more. It was a great improvement because I was able to get stronger every day and working on my technique to get better."
As for his recruiting, Ellis has close to a dozen D1 offers including Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Maryland. Vanderbilt and South Carolina are SEC schools who have offered Ellis since the season ended but Ellis is hesitant to name a favorite.
"I cant put one school above the other because my recruitment isn't done," Ellis said. "I have a lot of schools showing interest that I like schools that I like but I want to give each of the schools who believe in me a true look."
In addition to selecting a college destination, Ellis has several team goals he hopes to accomplish before he graduates in 2017.
"Doing whatever I can to help our team 3-peat," Ellis said. "We are losing great players like Scott Bracey (Duke) and Donaven Tennyson (Vanderbilt) so it will be my responsibility to step up and provide a bigger role than I have in the past. Even though I was a captain I need to be a better leader. Especially since it's even more pressure now. If a 2-peat was hard, then a 3-peat will be even more difficult. So we are really going to have to work even harder."
As for personal goals, Ellis said he just wants to get better in the both on and off the field.
"My main goal is to be more explosive. Everyone has room to improve I got better in pass coverage and getting off blocks. If I had to name one personal goal it would be to play in the Under Armor All-American game."
