Farmersville senior linebacker Cade Ellis racked up 135 tackles as a junior last season. Photo by Dfresh Productions

By David Wolman

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Farmersville senior linebacker Cade Ellis has always played with the mindset of carrying a chip on his shoulder. 

During his freshman season playing football at Melissa, he played defensive line for the Cardinals, despite being standing just 5-foot-4.

Ellis has since undergone a huge growth spurt and now stands 6-foot tall.

Growth spurt and all, Ellis has been on the shorter defensive linemen and linebackers on most of the teams that he’s played on, and he uses that as motivation, even to this day.

“It makes me work harder than most people,” he said.

Good footwork is one attribute that Ellis has used to make up for his lack of height. One person that has worked with Ellis on his footwork is retired NFL linebacker Victor Butler. Butler, who was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and went on to play seven NFL seasons, has been training Ellis and fellow Farmersville senior linebacker Rylan Mitchell since Ellis and Mitchell were in the seventh grade. 

“Coach Butler talks about footwork and doing the same things over and over again,” Ellis said. “It’s been great working with him. He knows what he’s doing.”

For more on this story see the August 21, 2025 print, or digital edition of The Farmersville Times. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.