Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers pits Ellington vs. Ellington
Sep 19, 2014, 7:10 PM | Updated: 7:10 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. — For Andre Ellington, family has and will always come first.
That is unless the San Francisco 49ers are in town.
For about three hours Sunday, family will take a backseat when Ellington’s Arizona Cardinals host the Niners at what will be a sold-out University of Phoenix Stadium.
Ellington’s cousin, Bruce Ellington, plays for that other team in red in the NFC West.
“He said he’s ready. I told him I’m ready,” Andre said. “It’s going to be a good matchup.”
And not an unfamiliar one.
For as long as Ellington can remember, he and his cousin have always been competitors.
“We were rivals, I would say in our childhood, too,” he said. “We always competed, whether it was a pickup game or something. He’s always on the opposite team. I’m always going against him. I thought it was pretty interesting for him to get drafted to San Fran to keep that rivalry going.”
Back in college, the Ellingtons clashed twice with Bruce’s South Carolina Gamecocks beating Andre’s Clemson Tigers in both meetings.
“Yeah, he’s up 2-0,” Andre said. “I told him it’s over now.”
While the elder Ellington has already made a name for himself — as the Cardinals second-year running back, he leads the team with 144 yards rushing — Bruce, a wide receiver selected in the fourth-round of this year’s draft, is just getting started.
“I told him to just relax,” Andre said about the advice he gave his cousin, “soak everything in from the veterans (and) take it a day at a time. It’s a long process, but it’s a lot to learn as you go along. Just be you; just do what you love to do, just play football.”
So, have the two tried to gain any information out of the other as it pertains to Sunday’s game?
“He actually told me a little inside scoop,” Andre said. “He told me that they’re using him for the scout team to give the defense a look as me. I thought that was pretty funny.
“But I told him they’ll never get the best look until Sunday.”
Much of the Ellington family will be in attendance, including Andre’s mom and uncle, and everyone is expected to get together later Friday for dinner.
“After that it’s over,” Ellington said with a smile. “We’re enemies.”
