Atiyyah Ramadan Ellison h-TEE-ah(born September 29, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. He was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the third round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also hel ...

. He played college football at

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Ellison has also been a member of the Houston Texans,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He now works at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

in Columbia, Missouri as the Director of Player Development - Football.

Early years

As a senior at Parkway South High School in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, Ellison had three sacks and 47 tackles. He was ranked one of the top defensive lineman in the Midwest, won All-State honors, and was an All-Metro choice. Ellison also was a standout

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and received all-conference honors his senior year. He owns his high school

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

record and competed at the state track meet his junior and senior years. Parkway South High School retired Ellison's jersey in 2006.

College career

Coffeyville Community College

Ellison attended

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Jun ...

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's Southeast Kansas, southeastern region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, for two seasons, where he

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ed in 2000. As a freshman in 2001, Ellison started 9 of 10 games, recording 57 tackles and five sacks. Inducted into the Coffeyville Hall of Fame in 2016.

University of Missouri

After community college, Ellison attended the

, where as a sophomore in 2002 he played in 12 games (9 starts), finishing with 39 tackles and two forced fumbles at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

. In 2003, Ellison earned third-team All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

honors after recording 72 tackles, four sacks, and two forced fumbles. As a senior in 2004, Ellison played in 11 games, finishing with 60 tackles and 2.5 sacks, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Ellison was drafted by the

in the third round (89th overall) of the

. He was waived by Carolina during final cuts on September 3, 2005, and re-signed to their practice squad two days later. On September 14, 2005, he was promoted to the 53-man roster, but was waived again on September 24, 2005. He returned to the practice squad on September 27, 2005, and was elevated to the active roster again on October 31, 2005, where he spent the remainder of the season as an inactive. He was waived by the Panthers on September 2, 2006.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans claimed Ellison off waivers on September 3, 2006, but waived him on September 7, 2006, before the start of the regular season.

Baltimore Ravens

Ellison was signed to the practice squad of the

on September 12, 2006, and was elevated to the 53-man roster on December 4, 2006. He was inactive for three games before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a shoulder injury on December 30, 2006. He was waived by the Ravens on September 1, 2007, and re-signed to their practice squad the next day.

San Francisco 49ers

The

signed Ellison to their 53-man roster off the Ravens' practice squad on September 5, 2007. He was inactive for the entire 2007 season and was waived by the 49ers on August 30, 2008, and re-signed to the 49ers' practice squad the next day.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The

signed Ellison off the 49ers' practice squad on December 10, 2008, but he was inactive for the final three games of the regular season. Ellison made his NFL debut as a reserve in Week 1 of the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

season. He went on to play in 15 games for the Jaguars in 2009, starting nine at defensive tackle. He finished the season with 28 tackles and one and a half sack. He was waived by the Jaguars on September 4, 2010.

Kansas City Chiefs

The

signed Ellison on October 20, 2010. He was inactive for one game before being waived on October 27, 2010.

New England Patriots

Ellison was signed by the

on January 4, 2011, prior to their first

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

game. He was waived on January 8, 2011.

External links

New England Patriots bioJacksonville Jaguars bioKansas City Chiefs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Atiyyah 1981 births Living people Players of American football from St. Louis American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Missouri Tigers football players Carolina Panthers players Houston Texans players Baltimore Ravens players San Francisco 49ers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Kansas City Chiefs players New England Patriots players