Greg Ellis on playing at UNC, NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and his Mental Health mission

In The Front Row with Mike Vaccaro

Before his illustrious NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and helping to conquer Mental Health issues, Greg Ellis was a standout basketball and football player in eastern North Carolina. At East Wake High School, he was named 1993 Male High School Athlete of the Year by the Raleigh News and Observer. Though he was recruited to play basketball by some smaller schools, he chose to play football at North Carolina (while also playing for a time on the UNC JV basketball team). Playing for Mack Brown from 1994-97, Ellis got stronger and better each year. By the end of his career, he was a three-time All-American, the Tar Heels’ all-time sacks leader and had his #87 jersey honored at Keenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him 8th overall in the 1998 NFL draft and he played 11 seasons with the star on his helmet. From 1998-2008, Ellis played with plenty of future Pro Football Hall of Famers, including offensive lineman Larry Allen who Ellis went against in practice. He shares lessons learned from Allen, along with his welcome to the NFL moment. Ellis also tells us about coming back from his Achilles injury in 2006 and what it took to have his best season of his career in 2007 when he was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year and a member of the NFC Pro Bowl team. Ellis also tells us about side projects he started when he was still playing, how he entered into college coaching and a new movie project he’s producing that is focused on mental health. We also hear about a special moment he shared with Troy Aikman after scoring two touchdowns in 1999 and the coaching influences of Mack Brown, Bill Parcells and Mike Zimmer.