Playing two sports on the major college level isn’t easy. Don’t tell Bruce Ellington that. After entering South Carolina on a basketball scholarship, he walked onto the court and immediately became a starter. One year later he decided to add football to his duties. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, following his team’s initial practice on Friday night, is cautiously optimistic it can potentially make to the Southeastern Conference Championship game this season. If that is to happen, there’s a good bet Ellington will be a key component. “Bruce has done a great job,” said USC and former Byrnes wide receiver Nick Jones, who will probably earn a start job in the slot, following Friday’s practice. “He’s out there working now. He is always doing something to make himself better.” While it took a season for Ellington to catch on to football in college, he enters his junior campaign not only as the Gamecocks top returning receiver but a team leader as well. All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney told a story about Ellington’s actions at one of the team’s voluntary summer workouts that proves the junior is prepared to take more of an ownership role in the team. “It’s crazy with Bruce,” said Clowney. “The other day he ran 50 gassers. Who runs 50 gassers? Bruce ran his gassers and then there were a few people who were late and had to run so Bruce ran with those guys too. I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that. Do you know how much that is? Fifty gassers, that’s crazy.” The hard work appears to have paid off as Ellington was recently timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.34 seconds. “It was just going in, watching film and doing the extra stuff after practice like running routes,” Ellington said of his improvement. “I think I developed as an all-around receiver in terms of running routes, catching the ball and getting open. I’m still working every day to get better.”
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 05:00:23 +0000
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