Height is the only thing limitless Ellis is lacking

Ellis could have come out a year ago and probably been a first-round pick. But he instead opted to return to the Trojans, which might make him the poster-child for staying in school. He made a lot of money doing so.

The difference between being a late first-round pick and a top five pick is enormous in terms of bonus money. It's a risk, but this is one time it paid off in a big way.

"I never thought it would get to this point," Ellis said. "I hoped I could be this or be that but realistically you never know what's going to happen in this game. You might get hurt or something else might happen so I'm just happy that God has allowed me to stay healthy for this long and gave me the abilities that I have to go out there and play at such a high level with guys that play at a high level. I'm just thankful for those abilities and I worked really hard at it."

While Dorsey is the higher-rated player, it's now much closer than it was six weeks ago. Ellis, some scouts say, could be much like Warren Sapp as a disrupter in the passing game and like Casey Hampton as a run player.

If he's close to that, look out -- he might push past Dorsey as the top-rated tackle.

"You've got Glenn Dorsey who is a great tackle from LSU so I'm looking forward to meeting him," Ellis said. "We're going to be battling for a lot of stuff in the next few months. He throws a punch and I throw a punch. It's going to come down to pretty slim pickings up there. I think there are three of us in the top 15 or something like that. Teams need tackles and they aren't something you can make from a different position. We're kind of born. Not everybody has the body type. It will be interesting."

They certainly don't have the body type that he has. But don't think fitting this square into the defensive tackle hole will be a problem.

Sedrick Ellis may be short, but he's big on talent. How do we know? Just ask him. That confidence might be the reason his height isn't an issue.