IU football RB Justice Ellison reached out to an old friend — Xavier Johnson — during his recruitment, which ultimately led him to Bloomington: ‘They are a community that is desperate for wins.’

When it comes to college recruiting in any sport, a lot of where a player ends up has to do with the relationships that are built as time goes on. As a player, you never know where you are going to end up and a lot of the times, you may go to a place where you may know someone from your past that heavily influences your decision. For IU football senior running back Justice Ellison, someone from his past was a big factor into why he chose to come to Indiana.

Ellison, a Ashburn, VA native, came to Indiana via the transfer portal after playing four seasons at Wake Forrest where he carried the ball 427 times for 1,901 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Demon Deacons. The 5-foot-10 and 204-pound back totaled 548 rushing yards on 120 carries and one touchdown in 11 games this past season and had five games with at least 60 yards. Ellison was an All-ACC Third-Team back in 2022 with 699 yards on 170 carries and six touchdowns.

When IU football extended their interest to Ellison once he officially entered the portal, there was not much that the running back knew about the Hoosiers, other than Indiana basketball — like most people out of the state do. To add to that, Ellison was actually high school teammates with former Indiana basketball guard and fellow Virginia native, Xavier Johnson.

“I knew about their basketball. I played with Xavier Johnson in high school,” said IU football running back Justice Ellison at Big Ten Football Media Days. “We both played basketball together. I knew a little bit about their basketball but I didn’t know too much about their football. When I transferred here I was on Safari looking up what Indiana was about … So to say I am going to be a part of that is great.”

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Johnson, who played 65 games in Bloomington and averaged 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, has spent a lot of time in the community over the past three years. While the relationship with him and Hoosier Nation was a little rocky at times, Johnson got a great sense of what Indiana was like first-hand. Through the high moments like the Big Ten tournament performance in 2022 to the injuries and off the court issues he had, Johnson grew to knew was the Indiana Hoosiers was all about.

There was no better person for Justice Ellison to reach out to when it came knowing about the Hoosiers and the community.

“When I got an offer from Indiana, that was the first person I contacted,” Ellison added. “I asked him I said ‘Man, what is Indiana about?'” He said ‘Man, they are a community that is desperate for wins, they wanna win now. They want those words to be followed by actions.’ That is what I am truly about. I think that I am somebody who doesn’t just follow the pack when things are great. I wanted to go somewhere that hasn’t had a lot of success. He articulated it to me and I was like, let me get an official visit in and I was like I am committing on the spot.”

Pretty cool story: Indiana football running back Justice Ellison was high school basketball teammates with former Indiana guard Xavier Johnson.

Said X was the first person he contacted when Indiana was recruiting him. #iufb #iubb pic.twitter.com/6X8P1ol7Dv

— Kyler Staley (@kylerstaley) July 25, 2024

Xavier Johnson’s advise led to IU football landing one of the top running backs in the transfer portal

Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

With the obvious similarities of both being from the state of Virginia and playing high school basketball together, both Johnson and Ellison had/are going to have two coaches that are no non-sense and ones that do not tolerate anything else but winning. Xavier Johnson had Mike Woodson and Justice Ellison has Curt Cignetti now. Two coaches that the Indiana community is desperately hoping can lead them to many wins over the next few years.

Ellison sees it in Cignetti’s vision with IU football, and wants to be a part of something special.

“He’s a winner, for sure,” Ellison said. “You can see it in his eyes, he is a winner. Dawgs recognize other dawgs.”

IU football running back Justice Ellison now understands what Hoosier Nation is all about and what the expectations are. Now, it is time for the fifth-year senior to put in the work and help get IU football back on track.

“I think it is important for me to be a part of something that is bigger than me. I wanna be able to say that this program is truly better than I found it and to be on this stage, be in the atmosphere, it’s been a heart-filling moment for me. I really am embracing every single moment of it.”

Ellison has one season of eligibility left. Xavier Johnson, on the other hand, is working on getting his professional basketball career kicked off.

Below is the full interview from Justice Ellison from Big Ten Media Days.

SEE ALSO: In Touch with Indiana Sports Ep.2 — Thoughts on Big Ten Football media days, Curt Cignetti’s confidence, Indiana Football expectations, and more

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