David Ellis’ college career was filled with promise after a fast start.
But it was also filled with injuries over the last two seasons.
Eventually the injuries won out.
The senior running back’s college career has come to an end as Ellis is taking a medical hardship disqualification according to multiple reports. The medical disqualification means Ellis will keep his scholarship at IU, but he does not count against the NCAA’s limit of 85 scholarships.
Ellis appeared in the first three games of the 2021 season before he had a season-ending ankle injury. He rushed three times for 12 yards and returned one kickoff for 16. His final game with IU ended up being at Western Kentucky when he suffered his latest ankle injury.
Ellis moved from wide receiver to running back during 2020 spring practice.
As a sophomore in 2020 Ellis played in the final five games after missing the first three with an ankle injury. He rushed 16 times for 61 yards and caught 11 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown. Ellis collected a season-high 22 yards on five carries in the win at No. 16 Wisconsin and added two grabs for 15 yards in the upset win over the Badgers. He hauled in a career-high 86 yards, including a career-long 51-yarder, on four receptions with the first receiving TD of his career at No. 3 Ohio State.
As a freshman in 2019 he returned 28 kicks for 579 yards (20.7 average). The yardage ranked third nationally among true freshmen, fifth in the Big Ten, 12th in IU single-season history and 27th nationally. He appeared in all 13 games and caught 16 passes for 173 yards, and rushed nine times for 53 yards.
Ellis arrived at Indiana from Chippewa Valley High School in Michigan as part of the class of 2019. He was selected to the 2018 ALL-USA Michigan team after he led Chippewa Valley to its first state title since 2001 and a perfect 14-0 season. Ellis was ranked the No. 21 prospect in Michigan by 247Sports and the No. 69 athlete nationally by ESPN.
The Hoosiers now have just five running backs on scholarship — transfers Shaun Shivers from Auburn and Josh Henderson from North Carolina, redshirt freshmen David Holloman and Trent Howland, and true freshman Jaylin Lucas.
Indiana opens fall camp next week. Their season begins on Sept. 2 against Illinois.
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