FSU counting on ex-walk-on Elliott
Elliott makes most of chance to aid defense
DB Javien Elliott, who had his first INT last week, could be called to action again Saturday when FSU plays at Georgia Tech. Starting nickel back Trey Marshall is out with a biceps injury and Tyler Hunter is recovering from a concussion.
TALLAHASSEE — The football hung in the air for just about four seconds.
But time stood still for FSU defensive back Javien Elliott as he located the ball that was launched about nearly 60 yards downfield by Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.
The pass was intended for James Quick, who was scorching the Seminoles — and primarily nickel back Tyler Hunter — to the point where FSU replaced Hunter with Elliott.
Quick stumbled, Elliott — a former walk-on — did not.
The diminutive native of Panama City was all by himself, with a chance to make a play. From the stands, a handful of Elliott’s family members watched it all happen in slow motion, with father Jay Elliott sure of what was about to occur.
“I knew he was going to catch it,” Jay Elliott said.
Javien Elliott completed the play by recording his first career interception in the first meaningful series he ever played with FSU’s starting defense.
“It’s just in the air so long. And everything was quiet,” Elliott recalled. “Once I caught the ball, that’s when I heard everything go off.”
Teammates immediately swarmed Elliott during the third quarter of FSU’s 41-21 win over Louisville. Elliott — who enrolled at FSU in the spring of 2014 as a walk-on before receiving a scholarship prior to the 2015 season — then ran to the sideline to celebrate before getting mobbed a second time by ecstatic teammates.
No. 9 FSU (6-0, 4-0 ACC) could turn to Elliott again when it plays at Georgia Tech (2-5, 0-4 ACC) 7 p.m. Saturday since starting nickel back Trey Marshall is out for the regular season with a biceps injury and Hunter did not practice Monday or Tuesday because of a concussion, according to coach Jimbo Fisher.
Elliott first caught Fisher’s eye as a scout team player last season from the very first time he began matching up — and keeping up with scholarship receivers.
“He started covering our guys and I’m thinking, ‘Are our guys not running? What’s going on?’ And he competing very hard,” Fisher said. “We tell the [scout team] guys, ‘Give us a game look, work them hard. Don’t just give into them. Make those guys better.’ And he did it. He was running right with them, contesting balls and throws.”
Fisher eventually awarded Elliott a scholarship prior to this season, and felt comfortable using him on special teams throughout the year.
Elliott forced a fumble late in a blowout victory over Texas State and recovered a fumble on special teams against Boston College, but Saturday was his first extended action on defense.
The journey from scout team to scholarship player lasted a little more than a year, but Jay Elliott began putting in the legwork to get his son to FSU back in 2013.
Javien Elliott was a standout athlete at Panama City’s Rutherford High. At 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Elliott did it all for the Rams – he was a defensive back, running back, receiver and a kickoff returner. But Rutherford was tucked away into Florida’s panhandle and Elliott’s team won three games his senior year, so the undersized back did not garner much interest outside of some letters from low-level FBS football programs like South Alabama.
Elliott began attending school at Gulf Coast State College, but Jay Elliott was not content with his son giving up on football. He asked Elliott to send him his highlight tape from Rutherford and then sent the film to FSU after reviewing it enough times to be convinced that his son could cut it at the FBS level.
The blurry, eight-minute long tape revealed a quick, shifty playmaker doing a little bit of everything in an old triple-option offense or playing all across the defensive backfield. Elliot would run through or around defenders. On one play, Elliott shot back up to his feet immediately after getting rocked by a safety while catching a pass over the middle of the field.
Gritty, instinctive and versatile, FSU saw everything it needed to and called Jay Elliott within a couple days to ask him if Elliott was interested in walking on.
“My jaw dropped,” Jay Elliott said. “I was like the Florida state of what? The state of Florida? I couldn’t believe it.”
Elliott moved in with his father in Tallahassee and enrolled at Tallahassee Community College to earn his associate degree before transferring to FSU.
“I always tell him, especially after this big play … no matter what happens, no matter whether he starts or just plays special teams and comes in one play at a time, I told him to be thankful for the opportunity,” Jay Elliott said. “Seize the moment and stay focused.
“We’re just happy that he’s in the middle of it and has an opportunity.”