Naperville Central junior Logan Ellison is not a knockoff.
Two years after his older brother, Aidan, completed a superb kicking career for the Redhawks, Logan Ellison is a great deal more than the heir apparent.
“I wanted to be my own version of myself and a little bit different from my brother,” he said.
A versatile player, Logan Ellison starts at free safety and handles kickoffs, punts and field goals. He is perfect on four extra-point attempts through two games, and he drilled a 24-yard field goal in the Redhawks’ season-opening victory against Hinsdale Central.
He eventually could join Aidan Ellison, a redshirt freshman at Arkansas State, in the long line of former Naperville Central kickers to play at the college level.
Chris Nendick, a 2004 Naperville Central graduate who is the all-time kicking leader at Northern Illinois, is a training specialist who has worked with the Ellison brothers; 2016 Naperville Central graduate Connor Assalley, a former Iowa State standout; and Naperville North senior David Olano, an Illinois recruit.
Nendick began giving private instruction to Logan Ellison when he was in eighth grade.
“Logan is very athletic, and he is very eager to learn,” Nendick said. “The whole family works hard. The sky’s the limit with him.”
Logan Ellison is the middle of three brothers. The youngest brother, Gavin, is a freshman kicker.
Aidan Ellison blazed the path.
“Having my brother almost as a role model and him being able to succeed and become a Division I kicker, that really motivated me,” Logan Ellison said. “I always looked up to my brother. When I started improving and became a good kicker, I wanted to establish my own name.”
Soccer was Logan Ellison’s entry point, facilitating his transition to kicking, just like it was for his older brother.
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“I started playing soccer when I was probably 5 years old,” Logan Ellison said. “Once my brother started kicking in high school, I began in eighth grade, and I have been doing it ever since.”
Logan Ellison plays left back with the prominent club soccer program Eclipse.
“Kicking is just a very natural habit,” he said. “I was improving as a kicker very quickly, and I was able to grow very fast because I already had the mechanics from playing soccer.”
Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich said Logan Ellison’s importance to the team is virtually impossible to overstate.
“Every coach talks about the hidden yardage of special teams, and that is a big piece of his game,” Ulreich said.
Logan Ellison’s pinpoint placement on punts has been vital. He dropped one on Plainfield North’s 5-yard line, leading to a safety, in the Redhawks’ 19-9 loss Friday night.
At 6 feet, Logan Ellison also has the size to play in the secondary, and he has had situational time at wide receiver. Being active in the game means not standing on the sideline and constantly thinking about the next kick.
“When you have to go out and kick a field goal, I have to go talk with my coach,” he said. “I have to make sure I can get a big warmup. Being on the field all the time, it means I am already locked in and not just standing and waiting for my turn.”
As the next great kicker for Naperville Central, however, he goes out there with confidence.
“It’s very validating being able to kick for a school that has a long history of really good players like Chris, Connor and my brother,” he said. “It gives me a lot of confidence.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.