Purdue interested in intriguing Ohio running back
There may not be a more intriguing prospect in Ohio right now than class of 2017 Pickerington Central product Morgan Ellison.
The 6-foot-1, 208-pound running back/athlete hails from one of the best talent producing programs in Ohio, yet is just starting to get his name out there on the recruiting trail. The reason for that is that Ellison has broken bones in his legs in each of the last two years, causing him to miss his sophomore and junior seasons.
A strong winter camp circuit, however, has several Big Ten and MAC programs taking a very close look and Purdue is one of those programs.
"I've talked to Purdue a couple of times," Ellison said. "They told me that they want me to get up there for the spring game and visit and everything. The coach I talked to was Coach (Marcus) Freeman."
Ellison, who says he is a Big Ten guy at heart, is interested in learning more about the Purdue program and is hoping to be able to make it up for an unofficial visit this spring.
"I'd like to get up there," he said. "I have to get in contact with them and make sure they still want me to come up there and if they want me to do that, I'm pretty sure I'll go up there. I've watched some of their videos and some of their running backs stuff but I don't know too much about them yet. I have to get up there and see it for myself."
A powerful athlete that could project to running back or linebacker at the next level, Ellison has brought an intense focus to the camp circuit this off-season. Every camp is being looked at as a chance to make up for lost time.
"I've really just been working on my legs, getting stronger in my legs," he said. "I think I'm at about 90-percent, but when I get all the way there it will hopefully be something special."
Without any varsity film, the spring evaluation period, followed by the college camp season in June is going to be Ellison's chance to make a statement in front of college coaches.
Ellison understands that a school would be rolling the dice on him with an early offer without seeing any tape, but the schools that move on him early would be given special consideration.
"Definitely," he said, when asked if an early offer would help a school's chances of landing him. "Miami (Ohio) and Iowa State are two schools that have shown a lot of interest early on. If a school offered me early, that's going to mean a lot to me. Even if it came down to a small school against a big school, that first school to offer me is always going to be in the mix with me."
Ellison was recently one of the top performers at the Best of the Midwest combine in Indianapolis.
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