Virginia Tech’s DeJuan Ellis transfers to Maryland football

Former Virginia Tech wide receiver DeJuan Ellis announced his intention to transfer to Maryland Wednesday after one season in Blacksburg.

Ellis entered the portal in mid-August after the start of preseason camp for the Hokies, where the wide receiver room was quite full and made playing time scarce for the redshirt freshman. Ellis will likely have to sit out the 2019 season due to NCAA transfer regulations, and because he took a redshirt season in 2018, will lose one year of eligibility.

A member of the class of 2018, Ellis was recruited out of McDonough High School where he played quarterback. But with his size and speed a transition to another skill position was certainly a possibility. Throughout his career at Bishop O’Connell and McDonogh, Ellis completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 6,521 yards and totaled 64 touchdowns.

Maryland was one of the first FBS schools to offer Ellis, back in June of 2015, but the Terrapins were recruiting him with a switch to defensive back in mind. Ellis picked up an offer from Virginia Tech in March of 2016 and committed in August. Other than a two-day decommitment in early 2017, Ellis remained on board with the Hokies due to the potential to play quarterback and was an early signee that year.

Ellis was clocked running a 4.47 40-yard dash at the Opening Regional in Washington, D.C. in 2017, and that speed translates onto the field. Throughout high school, he touched the ball all over the field on offense. He could be a similar weapon on offense and/or special teams to what Will Likely III was in his time at Maryland. This transfer simply gives head coach Mike Locksley more flexibility in the future, as well as adding yet another local weapon to the roster via the transfer portal.

Ellis becomes the third former Virginia Tech football player to transfer to Maryland this offseason, joining quarterback Josh Jackson and defensive back/wide receiver Sean Savoy.

With Ellis joining the program and Bruce Millier being put on scholarship, the Terrapins have one open scholarship remaining after the medical retirements of defensive lineman Cam Spence, wide receiver Chris Jones and linebacker Nnamdi Egbuaba. Due to the nature of the transfer portal, more attrition could come after fall practices concludes, giving Locksley leverage in acquiring more talent with room readily available.