Ellis Merriweather (born April 7, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Early life and high school

Merriweather attended

Alpharetta High School Alpharetta High School is a public high school located in Alpharetta, Georgia, Alpharetta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States within the Fulton County School System. ''Atlanta Magazine'' named Alpharetta High School one of the metro A ...

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...

, where he rushed for 556 yards and six touchdowns and brought in ten receptions for 77 yards. He committed to play

Garden City Community College Garden City Community College (Garden City CC or GCCC) is a public community college in Garden City, Kansas. It was established in 1919 to provide a means for post-secondary education for area residents. The school initially shared facilities i ...

College career

Garden City

In two seasons at Garden City, Merriweather rushed for 910 yards and ten touchdowns in 18 games.

UMass

After two season with Garden City, Merriweather transferred to

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, a medical school in Worcester and a law school in Dartmouth ...

. In 2020 he had 115 rushing yards and one reception for four yards. In week 6, Merriweather rushed 39 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns as he helped UMass get their first win on the season beating

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

27-13. In UMass's season finale, he ran the ball 23 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. Merriweather finished his breakout 2021 season with 218 carries for 1,138 yards and five touchdowns, along with hauling in 22 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown. In week 11 of the 2022 season, he rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

. Merriweather finished the 2022 season with 150 carries for 575 yards and three touchdowns, while notching eight receptions for 48 yards. Merriweather finished his UMass career with 410 carries for 1,828 yards and eight touchdowns, while talling 31 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

After not being selected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, Merriweather signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

, but released the next day.

Green Bay Packers

On November 6, 2023, Merriweather was signed to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2024. He was released on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. On December 24, 2024, the Packers placed Merriweather on practice squad; injured.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bioGarden City bioUMass Minutemen bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merriweather, Ellis Living people American football running backs UMass Minutemen football players 1999 births New Orleans Saints players Green Bay Packers players Players of American football from Atlanta