Maryland football cornerback Tino Ellis waited about five yards back from the line of scrimmage, playing zone coverage and keeping a watchful eye on Texas running back Kyle Porter as he wheeled out of the backfield.

The second that Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger turned his body to the right to find his dump-off option, Ellis broke downfield and tackled Porter for a loss. It was one of two tackles for loss Ellis recorded in the Terps’ season-opening win over then-No. 23 Texas.

DeMatha Catholic coach Elijah Brooks was in the crowd at FedEx Field, watching his former star come up big once again. Pro Football Focus ranked Ellis as the best cornerback in the nation in Week 1 as he racked up five tackles, one pass breakup and a forced fumble. Ehlinger rarely threw to Ellis’ side of the field, and when he did, the results were meager.

The performance signaled to Brooks that Ellis was completely comfortable in his new position after coming to College Park as a four-star wide receiver.

“When he first got there, there might have been some paralysis by analysis,” Brooks said. “But I really felt in the opener this year, he was playing free, playing confident, playing physical. And it was good to see him make that maturation.”

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During Ellis’ time at DeMatha, Brooks said he was a “utility guy.” Ellis played safety and special teams, but his speed and big-play ability as a wideout brought the most attention, and he signed as the second-highest ranked recruit in coach DJ Durkin’s first class at Maryland.

Ellis hasn’t caught a pass for the Terps. Maryland generally has a run-first offense, and the team already had a bevy of talent at wide receiver. A switch to cornerback, a position he had never played before, offered immediate time on the field.

While Ellis wasn’t overly eager to change sides of the ball, he slowly came around as he learned the playbook, and ended up featuring in 12 games during his rookie campaign.

“Making plays, making a spark for the defense, that’s what I like about it,” Ellis said. “Pass break up, big tackle, big hit — that’s what I like about playing corner.”

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Ellis recorded nine tackles and three pass break ups as a freshman, started six games last year and is Maryland’s top cornerback this season. Against Texas, Ellis was on the field for 39 plays. The receivers he guarded were targeted seven times, and the five catches went for just 13 yards.

The Reisterstown native added five tackles and five pass breakups against Minnesota, and now leads the team in passes defended.

Ellis thriving in his new role reminds Brooks of the no-frills player he saw at DeMatha. As a wide receiver in another run-heavy scheme, he only caught eight passes for 174 yards his senior year. But Brooks said Ellis always had a team-first mantra.

“Tino has never really been a high-maintenance guy,” Brooks said. “He was just never the type to complain, you know? He just came to work every day. He worked his tail off. And he would do whatever it took for the team to be successful.”

For DeMatha’s homecoming football game Sept. 28, Ellis and a few other Stags-turned-Terps returned to see Brooks and their old team play. Before that contest, Brooks pulled aside Ellis and told him just how proud he was to see him succeed, no matter what position he’s finding it in.

After cornerback Will Likely’s Maryland career ended with a torn ACL in October 2016, he turned his attention to the next generation of Maryland corners. Likely helped Ellis, an inexperienced defensive back, transition to his new position.

Likely showed Ellis how to break down defensive film and how to read a receiver’s movement to predict his routes. Ellis said his toughest adjustment was learning a new playbook, and the leadership of a three-time All-Big Ten selection led him through an otherwise uncomfortable beginning to college football.

Now, having become a mainstay in Maryland’s defense as a junior, Ellis’ change of position seems to have paid off.

“He’s looking good, he’s playing well,” Brooks said. “Making the move to corner and doing well is something that we’re not surprised at.”