Ellis Johnson (defensive lineman)

Ellis Bernard Johnson (born October 30, 1973) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Johnson played college football for the University of Florida, and was recognized as the National Defensive Player of the Year. He was picked in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos of the NFL.

Early life
Johnson was born in Wildwood, Florida in 1973. He attended Wildwood High School, where he played high school football for the Wildwood Wildcats.

College career
Johnson received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1991 to 1994. As a senior team captain on the Gators' 1994 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship team, Johnson was a first-team All-SEC selection, an honorable mention All-American, and CNN's National Defensive Player of the Year; he was also selected by his Gators teammates as the team's most valuable player. He finished his four years as a Gator with 16.3 quarterback sacks and 26.8 tackles for a loss.

He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2007.

Professional career
The Indianapolis Colts selected Johnson in the first round (fifteenth pick overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft, and he played for the Colts from 1995 to 2001. During those seven seasons, he started eighty-four of 104 games, recording 269 tackles, thirty-three quarterback sacks and two interceptions.

Johnson signed with the Atlanta Falcons before the 2002 season, and he played for the Falcons from 2002 to 2003. In the two years, he started five of thirty-two games, recording sixty-seven tackles, and fifteen sacks. Johnson signed with the Denver Broncos before the 2004 season. In his only season with the Broncos, he played in thirteen games, recording sixteen tackles, three sacks and an interception.

In his ten-year NFL career, Johnson appeared in 149 regular season games, started in eighty-nine of them, and was responsible for 356 tackles.