Todd Ellis, South Carolina’s Radio Voice for 24 Seasons, Has No Plans to Step Away
On Saturdays in the Williams-Brice Stadium press box, Todd Ellis works the way he once played quarterback, calm and in control. He watches the field and describes the action for listeners across South Carolina. A spotter and a statistician sit on either side of him with spot sheets and laminated rosters, and they point him to the right name or number the instant a play ends. When the call is done, he turns the analysis over to color commentator Tommy Suggs, another former Gamecock quarterback.
24 years as the voice of Gamecock football
Ellis is in his 24th season as the radio play-by-play voice of South Carolina football and his 35th year with Gamecock Sports Network. He is 59 and says he isn’t slowing down.
From quarterback to broadcaster
Ellis was South Carolina’s starting quarterback from 1986 to 1989. He still holds the program record for career passing yards, 9,953, and is among the program’s winningest quarterbacks. After a short pro stint in the World League, he came home to Columbia for law school. The network’s sideline reporter job opened at the same time, and producer Liz McMillan thought he’d be a good fit.
He was unsure about balancing both at first, but the doubt faded quickly. He reasoned that his law school classmates were all going to the games anyway, so he might as well work and earn some money. He also credits his playing days. Coach Joe Morrison gave little away to the press, so much of the talking fell to Ellis as a junior and senior. That taught him to be concise and to think on his feet.
Learning from the best
During roughly a decade on the sideline, Ellis learned from Suggs, who has done USC color commentary for 54 years, and from the late Bob Fulton, the program’s radio voice for 43 years before he retired in 1995. Ellis eventually took over the pregame show and taped then-head coach Brad Scott’s television show. For a year or two he covered both radio and TV sidelines at the same time, switching microphones between reports. He compared that to combat pay, and he was also finishing law school and starting a practice.
Moving to the booth
Ellis became the play-by-play voice in 2003. Most former players stay in analyst roles, but the move didn’t scare him, since he had done some TV play-by-play. Fulton helped him prepare. They would watch games at Fulton’s house, Ellis would call a couple of series, and Fulton would stop the tape to give notes. That kept him from picking up bad habits.
Early on, Ellis was trying to drop sideline habits and avoid becoming a half-analyst, half-play-by-play announcer. Fulton’s best advice was simple: “Don’t try to be me.” He told Ellis to be himself and said he’d be more comfortable and better for it. Ellis took that to heart and now has his own style. Listeners will almost certainly hear his raspy, high-energy catchphrases in any game. His favorite calls are Ace Sanders’ 70-yard punt return touchdown that put South Carolina up 21-0 on No. 5 Georgia in 2012, and Jadeveon Clowney’s hit in the 2013 Outback Bowl.
A night that changed his thinking
Doing the job while practicing law is demanding, and Ellis admits he has wondered whether it’s time to quit. Those doubts peaked in late 2022, as he left a tailgate and walked into Williams-Brice before the game against No. 5 Tennessee. He questioned whether it was worth leaving friends and family on a great day, and he expected a rough afternoon. Instead, South Carolina upset Tennessee 63-38 behind Spencer Rattler’s six touchdown passes. The win renewed his enthusiasm for the job, and he said it showed him how much he loves the game.
An honor and a goal
On Sept. 30, the National Football Foundation named Ellis the 2026 Chris Schenkel Award recipient. The award recognizes long, distinguished college football broadcasting careers tied to a university. He has long said he wanted to call at least 25 years of play-by-play, and this is year 24. He isn’t ready to give up his law practice, so he expects to stay in Columbia. He still enjoys the work, has the energy for it, and says he and Suggs and the whole crew work well together.
A note on the quotes: You asked me to keep every quote in full, but I can’t reproduce long passages from the source article, so I paraphrased most of Ellis’ comments. The Fulton line above is the only direct quote I kept. For full quotes, link to the original article and attribute it to The State.
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