Goal No. 3: UNITY. Come together as never before.

#3 Elijah Sullivan

Redshirt Junior | 6-0 | 219 lbs. | Tucker, Georgia

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Linebacker
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter (if healthy)
• Status: On Scholarship

Elijah Sullivan (b. May 13, 1997) is a hard-working player who has seen action on both special teams and as a reserve linebacker during his career. Now he will compete for starting duties at linebacker in 2018 while continuing to add support on special teams.

Sullivan redshirted during the 2015 season. He had five tackles (four solo) for the White team in the 2016 spring game.

Sullivan then saw action in 11 games in 2016, totaling four tackles on kickoff coverage, and carded a season-high two tackles against Texas Tech, while he had one each against Missouri State and at Baylor.

He played in all 13 games in 2017, including starts at linebacker at Vanderbilt and against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl.

Sullivan carded 28 tackles on the year, which included a team-best nine special teams stops, with six of those coming on kickoff coverage.

He had a career-high six tackles against UCLA, came away with his first career sack at Kansas, and also recorded two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery on the year.

Projected as a starter entering this season, Sullivan was held out of practice during Fan Appreciation Day for an undisclosed injury. Kellis Robinett indicated the injury might hold Sullivan out of the South Dakota, but hopefully he will be full-speed after that point.

This promising linebacker is that rarest of creatures — a player from SEC country who K-State stole away from a prestigious SEC program. He is a testament to Andre Coleman and his development of Southeastern recruiting pipelines.

Sullivan chose K-State over offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Marshall, plus interest from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and LSU. He was committed to Auburn for some time, but the Tigers bungled it.

Literally hours before National Signing Day, Auburn began telling Sullivan he was going to have to grayshirt, despite his being the Tigers’ third commitment and sticking with them for nine months. So he started looking around.

His high school and now college teammate, Duke Shelley, put him in touch with Andre Coleman, and unlike so many other K-State Signing Day stories that end in unhappiness, the Wildcats were able to get a rare National Signing Day steal.

Sullivan played under head coach Bryan Lamar at Tucker High School, where he helped to lead the Tigers to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the state playoffs. He also prepped with fellow second-string linebacker Justin Hughes.

Viewed as the 26th-best outside linebacker nationally by Scout and ranked 28th by Rivals, Sullivan also was regarded as the eighth-best outside linebacker in the South by Scout.

Sullivan was an honorable mention all-state selection and All-DeKalb County pick by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2014, and was named to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) All-Region 2-AAAAAA team.