Mark Ellis has been busy since the start of the year. The 5-11, 180-pound junior cornerback prospect from Williamstown High School in New Jersey has been visiting a lot of schools. Temple, Boston College, UMass, West Virginia, Richmond, Rutgers, and James Madison have all been on his itinerary, along with Villanova.
He attended a junior-day practice at Villanova on April 13th, and will likely be on the program's radar through his senior season.
He tore his ACL at a Spring 2012 Rivals/VTO recruiting combine in Piscataway, New Jersey. He was putting up good numbers, but near the end of the day, his knee buckled during a drill and his ACL was torn. The video above shows the process he has gone through to recover from the May 2012 surgery he had on his knee and his progress back toward normal.
Ellis' surgery and recovery will potentially scare some bigger programs away, but if he has a good senior season in the fall, a team like Villanova's would likely be interested in the rising senior. Ellis also claims a strong interest in West Virginia, and if bigger programs remain undeterred, the Wildcats may have a fight on their hands.
That said, Villanova has a history of sticking with recruits such as Ellis who have had to fight back from injuries, and other setbacks and it has paid off in the past, with athletes like Brian Westbrook winding up on the Main Line because of it.