Sumner Ellis - Football Coach - Mercer University Athletics

Sumner Ellis

Title:
Defensive Line
Alma Mater:
Louisiana Tech, 2011
Office Phone:
(478) 301-2713

A 15-year coaching veteran with a trio of stops on the collegiate level, including one in Macon, Sumner Ellis begins his fourth season at Mercer in 2026-27, as well as his sixth year alongside head coach Joel Taylor, as the defensive line coach for the Bears. Ellis, who was originally a part of the MU coaching staff from 2020-23, spent the previous two seasons in the same role at West Georgia.

West Georgia yielded just 131.2 rushing yards per game across the 2024 and 2025 campaigns with Ellis on the sidelines, while also amassing 6.9 tackles for loss (2.7 sacks/game) across that 22-game span as well. The Wolves boasted what would have been (UWG was amid transition to NCAA Division I; not eligible for statistics ranking) the nation’s 21st-ranked total defense (332.2 yards/game allowed) in 2025, while also limiting foes to just 21.2 points per game.

Ellis is no stranger to playing a key role in the crafting of run-stingy defenses, however. In his first stint as the outside linebackers coach in Macon from 2020-23, the Bears posted their fair share of defensive prowess as well while registering 28 victories across that span, including a 9-4 mark in 2023 that culminated with the program’s first berth into the NCAA FCS Playoffs. MU yielded just 142.1 rushing yards and 24.7 points per game across that 45-game stretch, while also boasting one of FCS’s top total defenses in both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.

A native of nearby Tifton, Ga., Ellis transitioned into the coaching world on the prep level inside the Peach State beginning with a four-year stint (2011-14) on the defensive staff at Central High School in Carrollton, Ga. He helped lead the Lions to 30 wins, including 21 triumphs in two seasons as the defensive coordinator, including a pair of deep runs in the state playoffs.

He has also logged coaching stints in the state of Georgia at both Camden County High School (2015) and Villa Rica High School (2017) which were sandwiched around a 2016 stint as a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern. He made his return to the collegiate sidelines at Presbyterian in 2018 and 2019 as the mentor for the Blue Hose linebackers.

A two-time all-region safety at Tift County High School, Ellis signed with Presbyterian prior to the 2007 season, but concluded his collegiate playing career at Louisiana Tech. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology at Louisiana Tech in 2011.

Sumner and his wife, Jordan, have one son, Wyatt.

THE ELLIS FILE
Coaching Experience
2011-14	Central (Ga.) HS (Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator)
2015	Camden County (Ga.) HS (Assistant Coach/Defensive Backs, Special Teams)
2016	Georgia Southern (Graduate Assistant)
2017	Villa Rica (Ga.) HS (Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator)
2018-19	Presbyterian (Assistant Coach/Linebackers)
2020-23	Mercer (Assistant Coach/Outside Linebackers)
2024-25	West Georgia (Assistant Coach/Defensive Line)
2026-Present	Mercer (Assistant Coach/Defensive Line)

Playing Experience
Member of secondary at Presbyterian in 2007; Played final three seasons (2008-10) at Louisiana Tech.

Education
Bachelor's degree in sociology (Louisiana Tech, 2011).

*Family*
Wife, Jordan, and one son, Wyatt