Chris Carter told Jabari Ellis to carry a picture with him everywhere.
The picture was years old, one of Ellis as a freshman at Lake Marion High School where he played and Carter coached. He was holding a football, and his freshman year approach cost him a big opportunity as a senior.
“I know you want to kill that guy right now,” Carter recalled telling Ellis.
Were it not for the foundation of grades laid early in his high school ears, Ellis likely wouldn’t have spent Tuesday morning committing to the University of South Carolina’s football team.