Marshall University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Linebackers
- Email:
- ellsworthj@marshall.edu
- Phone:
- ----
Jake Ellsworth was named as Marshall’s linebackers coach by head coach Tony Gibson in January 2025.
Ellsworth comes to Marshall after having been on the defensive staff at N.C. State for the past five seasons.
During that time, Ellsworth helped mentor some of the Wolfpack’s top linebackers, including 2023 Bednarik and Butkus Award winner Payton Wilson and 2021 All-ACC First Team selection Drake Thomas.
Prior to his time on the N.C. State staff, Ellsworth spent seven seasons on staff at the Univ. of Illinois from 2013-19, starting as an undergraduate defensive assistant and then progressing to a defensive graduate assistant with the defensive backs (2017) and linebackers (2018) before becoming a defensive analyst in 2019, working primarily with the linebackers.
In the 2019 season, Illinois led the FBS in defensive touchdowns and ranked 2nd in fumble recovered while also ranking fourth in fumbles forced and turnovers forced.
During his time at Illinois, he also mentored standout linebackers Dele Harding and Jake Hansen.
Harding won All-Big Ten honors, leading the league and ranking second nationally in tackles per game (11.8). He tallied 153 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and forced three fumbles in 2019.
Hansen was a Butkus Award semifinalist and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors despite missing the final four games of the season. He led the nation with seven forced fumbles and ranked fifth in fumbles recovered (3).
The native of Poplar Grove, Illinois, earned his degree in Recreation, Sport and Tourism from Illinois in 2017 and later earned his Master’s Degree in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership from Illinois in 2019. He also earned his Graduate Certificate from N.C. State in Youth Development and Leadership in 2021.
