Phil Ellis Season 1995

Honors & Awards

• Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995)
• University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 1995)
• Butkus Watch List (1995)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1995)
• Big Eight Defensive Player-of-the-Week (vs. Michigan State, 1995)
• Team Captain (1995)
• Phillips 66 Academic All-Big Eight Honor Roll (1993)

Career

Phil Ellis was a four-year letterman playing linebacker for NU. He totaled more than 100 tackles in his career and was a starter his junior and senior years, alternating with Doug Colman. He missed four games with a broken foot in 1995, but returned to help the Huskers to their second straight national championship.

1995 (Senior)

Ellis started strong totaling 20 tackles in the first four games and was named to the Butkus Watch List. But then he fractured his right foot at practice on Sept. 27, three days prior to the Washington State game. Ellis was actually the only Husker starter who missed more than one game with an injury this season. No surgery was required and Ellis missed the next three games. He saw limited action against Colorado a month later on Oct. 28, then three games later, resumed his starting role for the season finale against Oklahoma. The quarterback of the defense, Ellis was a valuable asset to the linebacker corps. Despite missing three games, Ellis still finished with 27 tackles (11 solo). He had four tackles for 11 yards lost, two pass breakups, two sacks for nine yards lost and one interception against Kansas, which he returned 11 yards. Ellis also had five quarterback hurries and was a big factor in the Huskers ranking second against the rush allowing just 130.2 yards per game. His best tackle day this season was also his career best when he had nine (seven unassisted at Michigan State, including two tackles for loss, one sack and a breakup. For his efforts, he was the Big Eight Defensive Player-of-the Week. His other sack was in the season opener against Oklahoma State.

1994 (Junior)

Ellis alternated playing time with Doug Colman at Mike linebacker, then earned the starting nod for the Colorado game and the last four games of the season. Ellis finished the year as Nebraska's fifth-leading tackler with 58 stops (24 solo). He was second on the team in tackles for loss with 7.5 for 21-yards lost and had half a sack for two-yards lost against Missouri. He had 32 of his tackles in the last five games including a career-high eight against Oklahoma (seven against Iowa State, six each against Missouri and Kansas and five against Colorado). He also started the Orange Bowl national championship game against Miami and was the Huskers' second-leading tackler with seven stops (three solo), including one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry.

1993 (Sophomore)

A reserve weak-side linebacker, Ellis played in all 11 games in 1993. He had 13 stops (six solo) and one pass breakup (against Colorado State). He had a season- and career-high three tackles against Texas Tech in Nebraska's second game of the season. He had one assisted tackle against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. A biological sciences major, Ellis was named to the 1993 Phillips 66 Academic All-Big Eight Honor Roll.

1992 (Freshman)

Ellis played in every regular-season game except Oklahoma, backing up Ed Stewart and Troy Branch at weak-side linebacker. He recorded seven tackles (one solo).

1991 (Redshirt)

A scholarship recruit, Ellis redshirted his first year at NU.

Grand Island High School

Ellis was an Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star all-class, all-state selection, and was the state defensive player-of-the-year. Ellis totaled 105 unassisted and 108 assisted tackles in his final two prep seasons, with 18 sacks and 10 fumble recoveries. He also intercepted four passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, and started at offensive guard for the state's second-ranked team. He played in the 1991 Nebraska Shrine Game. He also lettered in track. At Grand Island, Ellis played for former Husker player and volunteer coach Ken Fischer, who lettered at Nebraska in 1948 and 1949.

Personal

The son of Marge Davis, he was born Jan. 26, 1973, in Onawa, Iowa, and has one brother, Scott. He was a volunteer speaker in 1993 for the VIP Speakers Bureau and a volunteer speaker in 1992-93-94 for National American Education Week. Phil majored in biological sciences and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 1995.

Ellis' Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB	Int.
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.	Csd.
1991	Redshirted
1992	9/0	1	6	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
1993	11/0	6	7	13	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0
1994	12/4	24	34	58	8-21	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	2	0
1995	8/7	11	16	27	4-11	2-9	0-0	0	2	*1	5	0
Totals	40/11	42	63	105	12-32	3-11	0-0	0	3	*1	7	0

*Interception Return: 1-11 vs. Kansas

1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Tackles, 0 UT, 1 AT, 1 TT
1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Tackles, 3 UT, 4 AT, 7 TT; 1 PBU
1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Tackles, 3 UT, 3 AT, 6 TT