Russell Ellington III enters his second season on the Savannah State University football staff. After working with the wide receivers last season, Ellington will mentor the running backs this season.
Prior to SSU, Ellington III was the head football coach for two seasons at Gadsden County High School in Havana, Florida.
His 2024 team at Gadsden County played in the Class 2A state championship game and finished the season with a 12-2 record, leading to Ellington III being named the Florida Dairy Farmers Football Coach of the Year in Class 2A.
The Ellington name is nothing new to the Savannah State campus.
His grandfather spent nine years as the Tigers men's basketball coach, his father played on four of those teams (1980-84) and his grandmother used to be the campus bookstore manager.
Russell Ellington won 148 games in nine seasons for SSU and his teams captured SIAC titles in 1979, '80 and '81. Russell Ellington Jr was a member of the 1980-81 team that won the SIAC Division III Championship and the NCAA South Regional Championship before finishing the season as the NCAA Division III South Quarterfinal runner-up. Emma Ellington was the campus bookstore manager from 1970 until her retirement in 2003.
Ellington III grew up in Chicago and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois following a solid prep career at Homewood-Flossmoor where he led his team to the state semi-finals as a senior. He played quarterback, wide receiver and strong safety in high school but was a linebacker for the Illini before finished up his playing career at Morehouse College in 2012. He has a degree in business administration and is working on getting another degree.
Ellington III started his coaching career in Savannah in 2013, working at Calvary Day for two years as the Cavaliers quarterback and assistant defensive back coach. He also served as the offensive coordinator at Windsor Forest from 2017-19. He went to Florida to work at Munroe High School as the offensive coordinator for three years and was the Munroe head coach for the 2022 season which resulted in him being named the 1S Coach of the Year after taking his team to the state semifinals.
Ellington's grandfather was also a star on the gridiron. Following his playing days at Morris Brown College, Ellington played for two seasons with the New York Giants before injuries cut short his career. That led to him returning to Savannah where he coached Beach High School to five state championships in 15 seasons (1962-76). He also served as the head basketball coach for the Harlem Globetrotters, Morris Brown and Savannah Tech.
