Searched everywhere and did not see this on the site. Just ran across this great article with a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Zeke's transition from Columbus to the NFL and some of the stuff surrounding him recently.
It talks about his unlikely 4th selection in the draft and the pressures that came along with it:
On April 28, the Cowboys stunned the NFL when they made Elliott the No. 4 draft pick. Even Elliott's mom, Dawn, was shocked. She'd been surprised to be invited to the draft in Chicago and the implication that her son could be taken in the first round. Teams do not invest in running backs with a No. 4 selection anymore.
And then goes into a bit of the off-the-field issues that have dogged him as of late...
On the field, Elliott has an awareness and a skill set that make him one of the most promising running backs since Adrian Peterson. Off it, he has shown signs of being less of a sure thing.
Even revealing texts from the domestic violence investigation that indicate potential drug use during his time in Columbus:
In one text exchange between Elliott and Thompson, she expressed concern that he wouldn't pass a drug test.
"I'm gonna pass," Elliott texted. "About to live in this sauna the next 24 hours."
Interesting, indeed. I very much doubt that Zeke was into much more than inhaling occasionally. On top of that, lessons learned from the entire episode:
In his first public comments after the announcement, Elliott said the episode taught him that he's a "target."
"That's what I've realized from all of this," he said. "And I have to conduct myself that way, so I cannot have any distractions so I can just focus on ball."
Personally, I really liked the parts where they describe is upbringing. Zeke is a guy who has been completely sheltered from birth to this moment. His private school's class was made up of just 100 students.
The private college prep school, located in the affluent St. Louis suburb of Ladue, encouraged inclusion. All students are required to participate in at least two sports their freshman and sophomore years. Athletic fields are classrooms without walls, says Peter Tasker, Burroughs' athletic director. Some of life's greatest lessons can be learned there, including one a few years ago, when members of an opposing team ran off with some of his students' belongings during a basketball game. At Burroughs, kids don't lock their lockers, nor do they hesitate to leave their cellphones plugged into hallway chargers unattended.
"We have an atmosphere of trust, sometimes to a fault," Tasker says. "It builds a false sense of security."
Including describing how his dad moved to Columbus to make sure he was taken care of, and how similarly he is searching for a place in Dallas now.
One very interesting tidbit that I did not know is that Rod Smith got picked up by Dallas and is Zeke's teammate, currently. He roomed with Smith at Ohio State as well:
At Ohio State, Elliott roomed with running back Rod Smith for his freshman season. Smith, now a teammate with the Cowboys, was struck by how homesick Elliott was.
He opens up a bit about the way he looks at life and his sheltered upbringing:
"I think God put me on this planet to make sure everyone has a good time," Elliott said after one of the last practices of training camp. "I'm very outgoing, very relatable. I did come from a smaller, more sheltered background, so I really wasn't exposed to all of the evil of the world yet. I think [the Ohio State coaches] were a little worried. Once you're successful, everyone is going to try and be your friend. I don't think they were worried about what I would do, but I think they were worried about the people I would let around me."
And even after his rocky start, including putting the ball on the ground two times, Jerry Jones expresses his ultimate confidence in Zeke:
After the game, Jerry Jones, ever the optimist, says he can see Elliott's potential and knows he will be a major asset. "Yes," Jones says. "Unequivocally."
And who wouldn't? You'd be crazy to bet against Zeke. My favorite Buckeye of all time.
