Early years

Elliss was born in Mancos, Colorado. He attended Mancos High School, and played for the Mancos Blue Jays high school football and basketball teams.

College career

Elliss received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Utah, and played for the Utah Utes football team as a defensive lineman from 1991 to 1994. He chose Utah since Coach Ron McBride told him that he could also play on the basketball team under Rick Majerus. After one season he decided to play football full-time. He was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) selection in 1992, 1993 and 1994. As a senior in 1994, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All American, and was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

The Detroit Lions selected Elliss in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft, and he played for the Lions from 1995 to 2003. His nickname during his time in Detroit was "Pass Rushing Luther," and earned it with 324 tackles and 27.0 quarterback sacks with the Lions. The Lions released him after appearing in only five games in 2003. He played his final season with the Denver Broncos in 2004, seeing action in eight games and registering two sacks.

In his ten-season NFL career, he played in 134 regular season games, started 119 of them, and compiled 331 tackles, 29.0 sacks, seven fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles and four deflected passes. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1999 and 2000.

NFL stats

Year	Team	Games	Combined Tackles	Tackles	Assisted Tackles	Sacks	Forced Fumbles	Fumble Recoveries
1995	DET	16	19	9	10	0.0	0	0
1996	DET	14	49	26	23	6.5	0	0
1997	DET	16	59	35	24	8.5	0	2
1998	DET	16	49	37	12	3.0	0	1
1999	DET	15	45	29	16	3.5	3	2
2000	DET	16	39	23	16	3.0	0	2
2001	DET	14	30	25	5	0.0	1	0
2002	DET	14	25	18	7	2.5	1	0
2004	DEN	8	7	6	1	2.0	0	0
Career		129	322	208	114	29.0	5	7

[ Source: Wikipedia ]