Henry Ellard


Henry Austin Ellard is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, and the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Ellard also qualified for the Olympic trials in 1992 in the triple jump, although he injured his hamstring during the Trials and did not make the team.

High school and college

Ellard attended Hoover High School in Fresno, California. He won the CIF California State Championships in the triple jump in 1979 For college, Ellard stayed in town and attended Fresno State University from 1979 to 1982 where he set an NCAA record with 1,510 receiving yards in his final season. In Fresno State history, Ellard is tied for third in touchdown catches, fifth in receiving yards and 11th in receptions.
Ellard still holds the NCAA record for yards per catch in a season, 24.4, set while playing for Fresno State in 1982. His Quarterback was current Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford.

Professional career

Ellard was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. In his eleven seasons with Los Angeles he went to three Pro Bowls, first selected as a punt returner in 1984, then as a wide receiver in 1988 and 1989. At the time of his retirement, Ellard held Rams' team records for career receptions, receiving yards, 100-yard games, punt return average, and total offense.
Upon joining the Redskins, Ellard set off on a blistering pace for the 1994 season, ending it with 1,397 yards, 102 behind league-leader Jerry Rice. He had three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, giving him seven for his career. His final 1,000 yard season came in 1996 and required a 155-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys second-ranked defense to push him to 1,014 yards for the season.
As his production declined, Ellard became expendable, and found himself as a member of the Patriots in 1998. He retired after the 1998 season with 814 receptions for 13,777 yards, which placed him third on the all-time list, and 65 touchdowns. He also gained 1,527 yards returning punts, 364 yard returning kickoffs, 50 rushing yards, and 4 punts returned for a touchdown. Overall, he gained 15,718 total yards.

Personal life

Henry Ellard is married to Lillian Ellard and they have 3 children together: Christiana Ellard, Alexandria Ellard, and Adriana Ellard. Henry also has 2 children from a previous marriage: Henry Ellard JR. and Whitney Ellard.

NFL statistics

Year
Team
Rec
Yards
AVG
LG
TD
1983Los Angeles Rams1626816.8440
1984Los Angeles Rams3462218.363t6
1985Los Angeles Rams5481115.064t5
1986Los Angeles Rams3444713.134t4
1987Los Angeles Rams5179915.781t3
1988Los Angeles Rams861,41416.46810
1989Los Angeles Rams701,38219.7538
1990Los Angeles Rams761,29417.050t4
1991Los Angeles Rams641,05216.4383
1992Los Angeles Rams4772715.533t3
1993Los Angeles Rams6194515.5542
1994Washington Redskins741,39718.973t6
1995Washington Redskins561,00517.9595
1996Washington Redskins521,01419.4512
1997Washington Redskins3248515.2274
1998Washington Redskins22914.5190
1998New England Patriots58617.2190
TOTAL81413,77716.981t65

Coaching career

After his retirement, Ellard became an assistant coach at Southern California Christian High School, then became an assistant track-and-field coach at Villa Park High School. In 2000, he was a coach at Fresno State before taking the receivers coaching job for the St. Louis Rams in 2001. On January 25, 2009 Ellard came to the New York Jets as the wide receivers coach. He was named the wide receivers coach for the New Orleans Saints on March 14, 2012, and spent three seasons with the club before leaving after the 2014 season. He now is the head football coach at San Antonio Christian High School. The most notable players he coached were Torry Holt, Issac Bruce, Parker Johnson, Alex King, Austin Hotchkiss, Brandon Trevino, andDrew Brees.