Andre Ellington: Video Highlights from Former Clemson RB

Ever since Marcus Lattimore's season came to a screeching halt after an injury against Tennessee, the running back draft class has been in flux.

A few names are mentioned near the top, but who gets taken where will likely come down to what teams are looking for in an individual player. If a team is looking for speed, Andre Ellington would be a good place to start.

Ellington had an impressive season, amassing 3,436 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career. He is fast, changes direction quickly and has more power than you'd think.

Here are the most impressive runs of his college career. 

1. 2 Spinning Recoveries Against Auburn

Ellington had a big game against Auburn in 2012.

One of these two runs is a monster 68-yarder, but that isn't the most impressive thing about the pair.

In both runs, Ellington is hit and stumbles, but instead of falling to the ground, he stays up by using his free arms, then continues to run.

The second run is the more impressive, because he not only recovers from his fall, he also jukes the entire Auburn defense to pick up several more yards.

2. 87-Yard Kick Return Against Maryland

The prior clip shows that Ellington is tough to tackle. This one shows how quickly he can change directions and accelerate.

In 2010, Ellington was seeing more playing time after the departure of CJ Spiller, but was still a backup to Jamie Harper, so he saw a lot of play on special teams.

He catches the ball and at first stays behind his blocker, but then breaks away, making two Maryland players miss in a split second. The second man he beats was the last guy who could have realistically tackled him, so after that, it's off to the races.

3. A Monster Game Against Georgia Tech

This too, is from 2010, when Ellington was only a sophomore.

Against Georgia Tech, Ellington managed to get 20 carries and made the most of them, running for a total of 166 yards including two touchdowns.

Perhaps the best run of the video is Ellington's second of the game (starting at about 15 seconds), where he bursts up the middle, breaks a tackle, realizes he has open space, and beats the corner on the edge to get Clemson its first touchdown of the game.

The first part of that run shows that Ellington isn't just a speed back—He runs with power.

4. An Even Bigger Game Against Maryland

Against Georgia Tech, Ellington put up a measly 166 yards. Against Maryland the next year, he topped that, rushing for 212 yards and another two touchdowns.

To make things even better for him, he had a 44-yard touchdown run that sealed the deal against Maryland.

Notice how he never breaks away with the acceleration that's so apparent in other clips. Instead, he runs up the middle, finds the open space and hits it.

He doesn't appear to be moving as fast as he can, but no defender even touches him.

5. A Touchdown Despite a Big Hit

So far, we've seen Ellington's ability to change direction and accelerate quickly, along with his ability to find space and make defenders miss. Here's a clip showing that he can take a big hit and keep going.

He gets hit hard by the Wake Forest defender, but gets into the end zone and bounces right back up anyway.

By the way, he played this game after recovering from an injury he sustained against North Carolina only weeks earlier.

6. Shrugging off Swearinger

DJ Swearinger is one of the top safety prospects in the 2013 class because he can deliver big hits. He did just that to Ellington in 2012.

Ellington had already beaten one defender, but Swearinger catches up to him and attacks his head. It stops Ellington in his tracks, but he bounces up after the hit like it was nothing.

Fifteen yards gets tacked on to the end after Swearinger taunts Ellington while he's still on the ground.

7. A Season of Highlights

Of course, what I've shown you is only a small sample of the impressive runs Ellington had in his four-year career.

To end, here's a clip with many highlights from his senior season, including the two spinning recovery runs, a huge run against Florida State (which seemed to have been a broken down passing play) and touchdown after touchdown.