Aycock senior Jimmy Ellis headed to N.C. A&T State

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 20, 2015 11:41 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Growing up in a one-person household with his father's whereabouts unknown, Jimmy Ellis could have easily been lured to the wrong side of the tracks.

His mother, Kim Franklin, and his grandfather, Benjamin Franklin, kept the youngster steered in the right direction. They constantly stressed the importance of morals, values and getting an education. Neither had little to worry about, however.

Ellis had dreams of his own -- to play football and earn a college degree. The recent Charles B. Aycock graduate took that first step toward reality by signing as a guaranteed walk-on to play football at N.C. A&T State University this fall.

He worked to contain his emotions.

"It's great," he said. "I'm anxious, eager to get out there, meet new people and experience new things. It's a dream because no one ever thought from my background about this (happening). I want to make my mom proud and my family proud."

And his grandfather, who passed away two years ago.

The two would sit and talk -- or laugh -- about anything and everything for countless hours. But most of the conversations involved the same message -- remember right from wrong and keep a calm demeanor no matter the situation.

"He was my role model, my inspiration, my father," Ellis said.

A raw talent who didn't put on a football uniform until his sophomore season, Ellis discovered a whole new world on the gridiron. But with it came many lessons, most notably that he couldn't succeed just because of his athletic ability.

Ellis had to become a student of the game.

Though his grandfather displayed tough love throughout his younger years, Ellis constantly found himself in the CBA coaches' doghouse. It wasn't because of lack of effort, but a form of "tough love" they used to help build Ellis push to become better as an individual and a teammate.

"I think, at first, Jimmy thought he could use his athleticism at first to be good a football player," CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. "He didn't have to know the game at all. He thought 'I'm an athlete, I'm fast, I can play this game.'

"Not until really last spring going into last summer is when he started to understand the game and develop into a football player -- and not just an athlete."

Ellis hauled in 16 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns before breaking his ankle against J.H. Rose. Doctors originally diagnosed the injury as a ligament sprain, but when he tried to return for senior night against Eastern Wayne, Ellis participated on just one play.

He didn't play another down.

Assistant coach Jon Horton took Ellis to an orthopedist, who determined he had a broken ankle. Ellis recovered from the injury and eventually participated in a couple of college combines with the hopes of gaining attention from college recruiters.

A few showed some interest, but N.C. AT really liked the 119-pounder who displayed good speed and had good hands he developed during basketball season.

"They're getting a kid, unlike many kids they get, they can mold him into what they want him to be because he has no true definition of what he really is," Brooks said. "Is he a wide receiver, is he a DB, can you put weight on him and with his speed, can he be a speed-rush end or play linebacker.

"They're getting a diamond in the rough."

The Aggress finished 9-3 last season and ended up in a five-way tie with Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina State, N.C. Central and Morgan State for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship. Morgan State advanced to the FCS playoffs.

N.C. A&T has won seven MEAC titles since the mid-1970s and earned four trips to the FCS playoffs, most recently in 2003.

"I think I can help them by being another great student in class and contribute to their program as a student-athlete," Ellis said. "I think they're going to get me to the point I can trust them, and get me to the point where I will be a great man.

"They liked that I was big and fast, but they also said I had great character."

Which all started with mom and granddad.