Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-8vs NC State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 59-3vs Norfolk State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#8
Christian Ellis
Senior safety on Virginia's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 206 lb · Jacksonville, FL · Ed White
CFB Index 97 · #1 of 537 safetiesMedium confidenceTransferred Virginia Tech → Virginia for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 1433 nationally · Signed with New Mexico
Statement game8 tackles · 8 sacksat Arizona (FBS) · L 39-61
Top 0.1% sacks game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 safety on Virginia's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to New Mexico in 2022.
- Transferred from Virginia Tech to Virginia in 2026.
Christian Ellis
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Christian Ellis has played for four head coaches across five seasons and three programs. His first career honor landed in 2024: All-Mountain West. The receipt: 4 tackles against Norfolk State — Week 2, 2026.
7 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2022
- Signed with New Mexico3-star out of Ed White
202411 games
The role got bigger.
- Entered the portal
- All-Mountain Westhonorable_mention
20253 games
The snaps went the other way.
- Entered the portal
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coach2022–2026
Virginia
Played his entire career under Tony Elliott.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Virginia
2025Virginia Tech
2026Virginia
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2022New Mexico2-10HC: Danny Gonzales · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2023New Mexico4-8HC: Danny Gonzales · Run-leaning
2024New Mexico5-7HC: Bronco Mendenhall · Run-leaning
2025Virginia Tech3-9HC: Brent Pry · Run-leaning
2026Virginia2-0HC: Tony Elliott · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 3.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Elliott
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2024
All-Conference
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
our read the All-Conference honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #1 of 537 FBS safeties by CFB Index Score.2024 profile
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
97 · #1 of 537 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #1 at the position.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Virginia | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Virginia Tech | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | New Mexico | 93 | 39 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | New Mexico | 58 | 32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | New Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 168 | 79 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 11 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 59–3
4 TOT · 1 SOLO
Dominant 56-point win at home against Norfolk State.
With B. Pribula — 162 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 51.1 · -8 rush yds (2 car) · D. Sparks — 54 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 61 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Box Safety
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
S
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Maxen Hook’s 2021 season.
90%match
All-MAC
Matches Maxen on
TFL rate
Weight
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Craig Slocum's junior season at Troy (2022).
Matches Craig on
Class year
Weight
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Christian Ellis
The secondary · Virginia
- #23Jaylen Jones66 tackles · 2025
- #18Jalen McNair50 tackles · 2025
- #6Brandyn Hillman49 tackles · 2025
- #30Ethan Minter47 tackles · 2025
- #8Christian Ellis7 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Virginia team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology