St. John’s Standout Immortalized In College Football Hall of Fame

(KNSI) – The all-time record holder in Johnnies football for most receiving and returning categories is now immortalized in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Blake Elliott’s road to stardom began in Melrose. He didn’t have to leave Stearns County to take the next step, but it wasn’t easy. Elliott suffered a freak back injury that kept him off the field for the entire 1999 season. When he was inducted into the St. John’s J-Club Wall of Honor, Elliott talked about how he bounced back.

His first touch of the ball was on the road against Eau Claire. He refused to call for a fair catch on the punt and got laid out by a Blugold player. Elliott said, “I just remember lying there looking up at the lights and thinking I was going to be just fine. That I had gotten hit as hard as I possibly could and it was OK.

“I realized I could do this.”

Elliott became a three-time All-American. He secured 369 catches, tearing up defenses for 4,826 yards and 63 touchdowns. Elliott added 744 yards on the ground with another eight scores. The Johnnies captured the national championship his senior season, besting the Mount Union Purple Raiders in the title game.

After graduation, Elliott founded BRIDGES MN, which sets up foster care systems for adults with special needs in communities far and wide.

Elliott’s induction occurred at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

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