Ellington leads Freeport's charge in playoffs

FREEPORT — Freeport quarterback Cole Weeks still remembers how he felt when Nick Ellington first showed up to a Freeport football practice going into sophomore year.

“We don’t have kids the size of him, so we were like, ‘Who is this kid we’re looking at?’” Weeks said. “We’re glad to have him. He’s a great athlete.”

Ellington transferred to Freeport from Niceville midway through his freshman year, and his size was an immediate plus. Now a 6-foot-3 junior, Ellington has grown into Freeport’s resident deep threat at wide out and one of its two shutdown corners along with Paul Holmes.

Seemingly everything Ellington has caught has either been a deep ball or a score. He has 18 catches for 358 yards – an average of 19.9 yards per catch – with seven touchdowns for the Bulldogs (10-1), who host Liberty County (10-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the Class 1A regional finals.

As it has been all year, Ellington’s play will be of critical importance.

“He’s a big play guy,” Weeks said. “Usually your big play guys are loud but he’s not, he’s a quiet guy. He’s going to go out and make plays for you.”

Indeed, Ellington prefers to lead through on-field actions instead of words.

“I’m a quiet person but whenever I talk they listen,” Ellington said. “I can tell that by helping the younger kids they can follow in our shoes when we’re gone.”

As Freeport has leaned increasingly on its red-hot ground game in recent weeks, Ellington’s main role has shifted from a pass-catching speed demon to more of a lock-down cornerback on the defensive end. Just due to his size he’s forced more passes to Holmes’ side, creating more opportunities for interceptions and essentially taking away opposing teams’ big-play threats.

Either way, Freeport coach Jim Anderson said he can always rely on Ellington to come up with a big play when needed. He may not be the most vocal player on the field, but he said Ellington lets his play on the field speak for him.

His message has gotten across loud and clear this season.

“He’s a really good guy, quiet, pays attention,” Anderson said. “We’re just really glad to have him on the team. He’s been a fine addition. He’s a big part of this football team.”