From Under the Water Tower To Under the Big Lights: The Story of Alex “Skitter” Ellis

If you walked into the town of Delmar Delaware on any fall Friday night, you might think it was a ghost town. Standing on the street you might hear a muffled roar coming from the high school stadium. When you found that stadium you would have looked up in the crowd and seen every single person dressed in blue and orange. The Delmar Wildcats are a beacon for the love the people have for their town and the pride they feel for where they live. The town of Delmar seems to have been plucked from the heart of Texas. In Delmar Delaware football is life.

Looking back a few years in this tiny town of Delmar, one may have seen the stereotypical small town all-American quarterback Alex “Skitter” Ellis. Everything in his life seems to be going great. He has the perfect girlfriend, great friends, and popularity that can only come from being quarterback of the high school football team. The Delmar football team works hard and they win. They have the support of the town rallying behind them. Skitter Ellis seems to have the world at his finger tips. Little does he know the next five years will consist of a constant battle to achieve his goals. He has the ambition of a young boy with a big dream, a dream to play big time football. “I knew that it would take a lot of work to get on the field,” he said, “especially coming from a walk on position.” He has the desire to prove he has what it takes, not just in Delmar, but out in the big world, past the water tower.

After graduating high school Ellis makes a decision for himself. He decides to attempt walking on the University of Tennessee football team, no easy feat for a kid out of Delmar Delaware. He will battle multiple injuries throughout his career. He will not even play a game until his fourth year in the Vols’ program. His Junior year he would have to endure the pain of an injury and battle through mentally and physically to finish his season. His senior year is when he would find all of his hard work finally paying off. By the time it was all over Ellis would become an inspiration and finally achieve his dreams.

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