He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1980 NFL draft.
[4] He later played at Missouri, where he started at fullback but was injured midway through his senior year.
[7] After rising to starting fullback in the middle of September 1980, Ellis scored his first career NFL touchdown against the Rams.
[9] On September 30, 1984, Ellis caught a lateral from James Lofton as time expired against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scoring a touchdown and sending the game into overtime.
[12] Before the 1987 season, Ellis was volunteering at a football camp for underserved youth and tore his Achilles tendon while working out, never to step on an NFL field again.