Auburn Commitment Kail Ellis Is Ahead Of Schedule

The Auburn Tigers are rolling on the recruiting trail. Part of the ascension would be offensive line recruiting; even 2026 offensive line recruiting. It’s a breath of fresh air after the Tigers’ offensive line recruiting struggles for the past several years.

The latest commitment for Hugh Freeze and the Tigers would be Kail Ellis. Here’s the lowdown on his advanced development through his sophomore season.

Kail Ellis

Size: 6-foot-3, 295 pounds

Position: Center/Guard

High School: White (Ga.) Cass

Recruitment: Committed to Auburn, there’s Georgia, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, North Carolina State, Liberty, Miami, and USF that are some of the other schools that Ellis holds an offer from. Possessing that list as a high school sophomore is impressive. That’s especially true for a player that usually plays center where offers often take longer to gain.

Frame: A barrelled chest and solid lower half define Ellis. As he grows into his body further, he will be over 300 pounds by the time he’s at Auburn.

Athleticism: Lateral movements stand out. Turns quickly, as well as using his hands with fast movements to fend off defensive linemen. When Ellis goes into the open field, he’s capable of competing with much smaller defenders to beat them to a spot and make a block for his running back.

Maybe the most impressive aspect of Ellis’s game would be his first step. As a run blocker, he sets the tone by quickly shooting his hands into the opponent’s chest, often shocking them. Then, Ellis has control and manipulates the defender.

Power: Overwhelms most high school linemen even when he does not keep chopping his feet (more on that below). Ellis’s upper-body strength is often too much and he bowls over a defender.

His lower body is strong, but more time in the weight room will help to fill out and improve an already sturdy lower half.

Football Awareness: Plays like a veteran. Ellis seemingly finds his way to being in a position to create good angle blocks and seals off the backside rather easily.

When a running play is operated right behind him, there’s a sense of urgency to not just make a block but to remove the defender from the area. Ellis does possess that extra gear when necessary.

Technique: The following evaluation is from Ellis’s sophomore film and nothing more. Keep that in mind.

Shows good patience when climbing to the second level to hit a linebacker. Ellis will rarely lunge and get out over his feet. More specifically, Ellis makes calculated strikes that are in range. That goes along with his penchant for striking first with his hands and it serves him well.

There are plays where Ellis could stay lower and create even better leverage. With time and repetition, that will come.

He sometimes relies on his natural upper-body strength to overpower defenders as well. He needs to run his feet regardless of how much bigger he is than the person in front of him. There is an area where he’s definitely ahead of the curve as well.

As a pass protector, Ellis displays the quickness to kick step and be effective. He’s likely to play center and/or guard for Auburn, but it’s still good to know what he's capable of accomplishing during one-on-one pass-protection situations.

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