A Hawaiian comes north
Name: Kalan Ellis
Position: Offensive Line
Year: Freshman
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 365 lbs
Hometown: Waimanalo, Hawaii
High School: St. Louis School
2020 stats: From the looks of it, Ellis was unable to play his senior season with St. Louis School in Hawaii due to the pandemic.
2021 projections: First of all, 6-foot-6 and 365 pounds is already big for a lineman. Ellis is in the rare position where he may have to lose weight to fit into the Orange offensive line scheme, with most of Syracuse’s starters hovering around the 300-325 pound range. Nevertheless, his natural size might prove to be useful later down the line in his SU career. He’ll probably redshirt, like most of the freshmen offensive linemen, for the 2021 season.
How’d he get here?: Hawaii, San Diego State, Virginia and UCLA were all interested in Ellis.
What’d recruiting sites say?: Three stars all around.
Money quote: Constant communication between Ellis, former offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, and Dino Babers was key to securing his commitment:
“It was actually pretty important,” Ellis said. “They’ve been contacting me everyday just to check in or show me what they’ve been doing. I would send pictures back of what I’ve been doing. It was honestly just the building of that relationship that made me like them more.”
Twitter feed: @ellis_95
Tweets of wonder: Here’s Ellis talking to the local media after signing for the Orange:
“It meant all my hard work and education paid off to get me to this spot” @StLouisHawaii‘s Kalan Ellis signs #NLI to play college football at @CuseFootball. He’s only been to the snow once, but loved it #Cover2
https://t.co/eSp5l1E72K pic.twitter.com/fSIG7cCzaz
— Alan Hoshida (@AHoshidaSports) December 16, 2020
What movie would Dino recommend for him?: Tom Ellis might seem like a kind Welshman, but he shows his devilish side in Netflix’s “Lucifer,” where Ellis plays the devil himself. Yes, I know I’m technically cheating by naming a series instead of a movie, but Babers has proven that he’s a Netflix watcher in the past.
Interesting nugget o’interest: Ellis and fellow freshman Austyn Kauhi will be the first two native Hawaiians to play under scholarship for Syracuse.
Let’s get a look at ya: I still love these videos of the coaches talking over the film:
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