In Fresno State history, Ellard is tied for third in touchdown catches (25), fifth in receiving yards (2,947) and 11th in receptions (138).
[3] Ellard still holds the NCAA record for yards per catch in a season, 24.4, set while playing for Fresno State in 1982.
Ellard would have a carousel of quarterbacks to catch from in his time that ranged from Jeff Kemp to Jim Everett.
The 1983 season for the Rams ended up being buoyed by the draft picks made for Ellard alongside Eric Dickerson to result in nine wins.
While Dickerson set rookie records in yards and other various categories, Ellard would play his part in helping to clinch a playoff spot in the final game of the regular season.
Ellard returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown (his first in his career) that was in the middle of a sudden 16-point upswing after trailing 7–0 early in the first quarter.
In the following year, Ellard would be used slightly more on the offensive side of the ball, starting each game of the season.
[8] Ellard would score eight total touchdowns in the season, with a significant part of that being a four-game stretch from September 30 to October 22.
Ellard played a small key role in the Divisional Round game versus the Dallas Cowboys.
In the 1986 season, Ellard missed the first eight games before returning to catch 34 passes in eight starts for 447 yards and four touchdowns.
Although Ellard led the team in receptions/yards/touchdowns once again, he was joined this time with Flipper Anderson to create a duo of 1,000 yard receivers, which they would do again the following year.
At the time of his move, Ellard held Rams' team records for career receptions (593), receiving yards (9,761), 100-yard games (26), punt return average (11.3), and total offense (11,663).
[23] In total, he made seven appearances with seven catches with no touchdowns (the second time held with no scores in his career as a receiver, the first being his rookie year).
[24] Despite Ellard's numbers, it took decades for him to even reach being a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He believes this to be a consequence of the eventual move of the Rams to St. Louis, as well as his having caught passes from less stellar quarterbacks than similar receivers of his era.
Each player above him is in the Hall of Fame, while only one other in the top ten (Irving Fryar, who eventually passed him) is not already inducted.
[30] In the 1991 cult classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game Tecmo Super Bowl, Ellard is the only player besides Jerry Rice to have a Receptions Score of 81, the highest rating for all receivers in the game set during the 1990–91 NFL season.
[36] The most notable players he coached were Torry Holt, Issac Bruce, Parker Johnson, Mason Norris, Alex King, Austin Hotchkiss, Brandon Trevino, and Drew Brees.