2014: Retired from football midway through his senior season due to a recurring injury ... 2014 team co-captain ... Started 26 games in his NU career ... 2014 Capital One Academic All-District honoree, repeating after also earning the distinction as a junior ... Made three tackles and added a half-sack against Wisconsin ... Five stops vs. Western Illinois ... Led NU with nine tackles and added a half-sack against NIU ... Made career-high 12 tackles against Cal ... Recorded a third-quarter interception that set up an NU touchdown drive against the Golden Bears, which was his first career start at inside linebacker ... Named NU's Defensive Big Playmaker as well as the Special Teams Player of the Game vs. Northern Illinois ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2013: Redshirt junior ... Started all 12 games at strong-side linebacker ... Ranked third on the team with 78 tackles and three interceptions ... Posted 10 tackles, including one for loss at Illinois ... Registered six takles and half a sack against Michigan ... Picked off third pass of the season at Nebraska ... Tallied a career-high seven solo tackles against Minnesota ... Matched a career high with four assisted tackles at Wisconsin ... Posted a career-high 10 stops and added a pass breakup against Ohio State ... Recorded nine tackles against Maine ... Posted back-to-back six-tackle performances against Syracuse and Western Michigan ... Intercepted two passes in the second half against Cal and returned both for touchdowns, a first in Northwestern history ... Accumulated 96 total yards on the two scoring plays ... Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Player of the Week for efforts ... Tied for second on the team with two interceptions ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2012: Redshirt sophomore ... Contributed primarily on special teams and as a reserve at linebacker ... One tackle vs. Boston College and South Dakota ... Recorded his first sack of the season against Indiana for a 3-yard loss ... One stop at both Penn State and Minnesota ... Assisted on one tackle vs. Iowa ... Season-high three tackles at Michigan ... Missed Michigan State and Illinois games due to injury ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2011: Was battling for the starting outside linebacker position before suffering a hand injury during preseason camp ... Made his first collegiate appearance and start at Illinois ... Totaled three solo tackles, including his first career sack, against the Illini ... Credited with four tackles, including a TFL, vs. Michigan ... Notched five tackles vs. Penn State ... Racked up a career-most six tackles at Indiana ... Registered three tackles, including a TFL, at Nebraska ... Totaled three tackles vs. Rice ... Notched two tackles vs. Minnesota ... Credited with a hurry vs. MSU ... Had two tackles vs. Texas A&M ... Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
2010: Redshirted his first year with the Wildcats.
High School: SuperPrep All-Southwest Region, PrepStar All-Southeast Region and Rivals.com All-Region linebacker ... Ranked 48th among all players in Louisiana by Rivals.com, and 39th among all players in the state by SuperPrep ... Ranked third-best linebacker in state of Louisiana by Rivals.com... 2009 first-team all-state and all-metro linebacker ... Two-time first-team all-district linebacker (2008-09) ... Honorable mention all-district selection as a sophomore ... Tabbed the district's Defensive MVP in 2009 ... A finalist for the Warrick Dunn Player of the Year Award in Baton Rouge his senior season ... Team captain ... Totaled 63 tackles and three interceptions in 2009 after notching 52 tackles and six interceptions as a junior ... On offense, played running back and rushed for 994 yards as a senior, 804 as a junior ... Two-time WBRZ Player of the Week (once in 2008, once in 2009) ... Selected to play in 2009 U.S. Army Red Stick Bowl ... Also led district in punting in 2008 ... Also ran track and played golf for the Tigers ... School's Honor Roll ... Coached by Joey Thibodeaux.
Personal: Born Collin Gregory Ellis ... Son of Becky and the late Greg Ellis ... Majoring in learning and organizational change.