Vandals' Elliss shooting high

MOSCOW - Kaden Elliss spent much of his father's NFL career holed up in luxury suites, transfixed not by the thumping of helmets or the roar of the crowd, but by the action figures he brought with him to pass the time.

Inattentive as he may have been, the Idaho linebacker evidently picked up something from Luther Elliss' 10 years in the pro ranks.

In 2015, Kaden Elliss led the Vandals with 91 total tackles. He was a 12-game starter as a true freshman, occasionally stealing work from the more seasoned linebackers who played alongside him.

Elliss enters his sophomore season as Idaho's most decorated defenseman. One publication, Pro Football Focus, tabbed him a Freshman All-American after the 2015 season. The Sun Belt Conference named him to the All-Newcomer Team and Phil Steele Magazine considers him a preseason Sun Belt fourth-team defender.

As a team, the Vandals will strive for their first bowl bid since 2009, but Elliss isn't shying away from his individual goals, which he says are limitless.

"I mean, every goal in the book," he said on Friday after UI wrapped up its second practice of the fall. "That's just how you have to set yourself up. What's that quote that's on every teacher's board, 'Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you'll land among the stars.'"

Elliss spent his summer back home in Salt Lake City, where his father, once a two-time Pro Bowler for the Detroit Lions, worked out with and coached him on almost a daily basis.

Luther Elliss is 12 years removed from his own career, but hasn't left the game for good. He currently works as a team chaplain for the Denver Broncos, who employed him as a defensive tackle for one season in 2004.

The club takes up most of his time during the fall, but Luther Elliss still manages to lend a hand to his son from afar.

"He always found the time to watch the game film - whether I sent it to him or they watched it on replay on ESPN," Kaden Elliss said. "And he was able to break down the film, go over things I needed to work on, help me and also motivate me before games. Talk to me before and after games, keep my head in it, help me get through the tough times that come with each season."

There weren't many of those.

This time last year, Elliss locked up a starting job as an outside linebacker for the Vandals and played alongside a trio of seniors who left UI with a combined 86 games under their belt.

"We say true freshman," linebackers coach Eric Brown said, "but being a greyshirt and coming into spring ball and getting those reps in the spring and not taking fall camp and really focusing every day in fall camp to get better. I think we're barely tapping the potential that he has."

Suddenly, the 18-year-old Elliss becomes the elder member of a linebacker corps that graduated Marc Millan, Broc Westlake and Chris Edwards.

He's not the vocal leader that Millan was, but Elliss is confident he can convey leadership in his own way.

"I always believe that actions speak louder than words," he said.

Linebacker Ed Hall adds: "He definitely leads by hustling around and doing his assignment well."

Elliss has plenty to aspire to. In addition to his father's NFL credentials, Luther Elliss was a consensus All-American at Utah and was named the WAC's Defensive Player of the Year in 1994.

"It always helps when you have a mentor who's been there, done that and my dad has and he's still in it right now," Elliss said. "So he's done it all, he was able to give me advice through everything."

There's only one place where dad may be inclined to keep his tips under wraps: the weight room. The two often engage in friendly competition and the 43-year-old Luther still has the edge over his younger, spryer son.

"Lifting-wise, he normally shows me up by doubling up the weight," Elliss said. "But that's how it goes."