Julius Ellens Julius Ellens 5'10" | 165 lbs | ATH Glenbard East | 2024 State IL was one of the top remaining uncommitted players in the state of Illinois in January, but that all changed yesterday when he committed to South Dakota. The speedy wide receiver/running back is an outstanding athlete with big-play ability. He will be an offensive weapon that South Dakota can utilize in a lot of different ways within the offense. Look for Ellens to make an impact in his college career sooner rather than later.

Coming out of the always-loaded Glen Ellyn area and the Glenbard system of high school football programs, Glenbard West’s 5’10, 175 lb. offensive weapon Julius Ellens Julius Ellens 5'10" | 165 lbs | ATH Glenbard East | 2024 State IL is an accomplished and playmaking RB & WR holding a solid list of offers going into the fall of his senior year. The likes of Indiana State, Old Dominion, New Hampshire, Navy, Fordham, Kansas State, Army, Air Force, Illinois State, and Eastern Michigan have offered up, and with Kansas State being his lone P5 offer right now, I’d keep an eye on the Wildcats in this one. Obviously, it depends on if the offer is committable still or not, but looking at the Wildcats 2024 commits, they have one RB and an ATH (most likely will play LB) in the class, with no WRs verbaled right now, so Ellens still may be in the mix in KState’s 2024 recruiting class. However, there are no visits or recruiting tidbits to use as insight, so things are still up in the air for Ellens and his talent. A First Team All-State, 2x All-Conference, First Team All-Area, and Conference OPOY pick, Ellens displays speed, a shifty running style with natural shake that keeps defenders on their heels when trying to square him up, good vision that sees the cutback well, and impressive hands & route running out of the backfield, out of the slot, or on the perimeter. I also like his strong lower body and eye-catching contact balance for his size. He posted 224 carries for 1,589 yards and 30 TDs with ZERO fumbles in 2022, as well as 20 receptions for 480 yards, and has some solid reps on the defensive side of the ball to boot. PRzIL can definitely see and agree with KState on their offer to Ellens and would be pumped to see him play at the P5 level.

This kid’s highlights are firework after firework. His speed is a major mismatch for HS opponents. The highlights have to get teams at the next level excited just based on the versatility shown. Julius makes explosive plays from the WR position running routes, running jet sweeps, and from the RB position. OCs can get as creative as they want as they try to get Julius the ball out in space. Once he does, Ellens will not be caught from behind. He plays the game at a different speed than his opponents. It is no surprise seeing the FBS/FCS offers coming in for the Glenbard West athlete.

Ellens is the definition of an ATH. He does a lot of different things for the Glenbard West offense, and no matter what position he is at, there is a good chance a touchdown is coming. Ellens led the West Suburban Conference in touchdowns as a Junior, crossing the goal line 30 times. He is a homerun hitter, with great speed and elusiveness in the open field. His film is equally as impressive at running back and wide receiver. Ellens showcases soft hands, impressive route running, and a quick burst that makes him a threat to score a touchdown nearly every time he touches the ball.

Yet another Land of Lincoln 2024 earning their due on the recruiting trail, 5’10, 175 lb. WR/RB Julius Ellens comes out of the always-talented Glen Ellyn area of suburban Chicagoland and one of the loaded Glenbard schools, in this case, Glenbard West High. The decorated prep pass catcher, who has been named First Team All-State, 2x All-Conference, First Team All-Area, and Conference Offensive POY, has had a busy spring and has heard from Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Air Force, Army, Kansas State, and Fordham, all in the last two months. Eastern Illinois, his dad’s alma mater, also offered an FCS scholarship in April of 2022 to get a headstart on the competition. Ellens scored a whopping 30 TDS last fall, in part due to his blazing, homerun speed, vision, shake & shiftiness, and contact balance. Against high-quality Chicago competition, Ellens has rep upon rep of scoring TDs virtually untouched and possesses an extra gear that torches good pursuit angles when he has the ball in his hands. Also has great hands as a pass catcher. Ellens can beat tackle attempts in just about any way you can imagine, and can create splash plays between the tackles or out in space, and you better not give this kid daylight because he’s going to make you pay. Electric, productive, and fast, fast, fast. I loved watching this dude’s tape and absolutely agree with KState’s assessment that Ellens is a P5 weapon. Yet another P5er in the Land of Lincoln.

Mr. Ellens is a dominant receiver and had to switch to halfback due to an injury during the regular season. Since doing so, he has been a menace in the ground game taking all of his traits that make him a great wideout and using them to be a dominant ball carrier. During Round 2, this young man was able to come away with 312 rushing yards for 5 TD (yes that’s correct) in a 42-0 win to advance to the quarterfinals. His 5TD film is below, go take a look and see for yourself how dominant of a player he is. Twitter