He attended John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres, Florida, where he became an All-State defensive tackle and was teammates with Markus White.

In his junior year, he had 72 tackles, 16 for loss, and 14 quarterback sacks, while earning Class 6A third-team all-state honors, according to the Florida Sports Writers Association.

[1] Ellis also starred in track & field at John Leonard; at the 2006 Park Vista Invitational, he won the shot put event with a personal-best throw of 14.66 meters (48'1").

After redshirting his initial year at South Carolina, Ellis played in 11 of 12 games for the Gamecocks in 2007, and earned a start in the season finale against Clemson.

Ellis figured to play a more prominent role in the rotation in 2008, as he entered the spring listed as the number two tackle behind senior Marque Hall.

He subsequently earned second-team All-MEAC honors as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

A two-time All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference performer, Ellis was considered one of the best defensive tackle prospects to enter the 2011 NFL Draft.

[18] On October 21, 2015, Ellis was signed by the Minnesota Vikings to replace Shamar Stephen, who was placed on the IR list after a season-ending toe injury.

[21] A plea agreement was reached on May 17, 2012, and on May 21, 2012, he pleaded guilty to assault and battery, a misdemeanor, and was required to serve 45 days in jail and remain on unsupervised probation for two years.