No. 27 | |
Date of birth | June 4, 1983 |
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Place of birth | Ventura, California, USA |
Career information | |
CFL status | International |
Position(s) | RB |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
College | UCLA UTEP |
Career history | |
As player | |
2007 | Edmonton Eskimos |
2008 | Toronto Argonauts |
2009 | BC Lions |
2009 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
Tyler Jay Ebell (born June 4, 1983, in Ventura, California) is a former Canadian football running back.
Ebell was a star player at Ventura High School, where he earned three varsity letters as a running back for coach Phil McCune.
Ebell was one of the success stories of the 2002 UCLA football season, and established himself as an exciting performer. He came off the bench in the fifth game of the season, against Oregon State, after carrying just 13 times in prior games, to enjoy one of the greatest days in UCLA history. He went on to approach the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season and earn second-team All-Pac-10 acclaim. Ebell enjoyed an outstanding spring practice, showing that he was becoming a complete player. His speed separated him from most backs and enabled him to be a threat to score anytime he touched the football. He also worked hard to become a good pass protector.
Ebell earned second-team freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News in 2002 and was selected second-team all-conference by vote of the league coaches. He led the Bruins in rushing with 994 yards and was the leading scorer with 10 touchdowns (60 points). He was ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in rushing (76.5), fifth in punt returns (11.4), ninth in all-purpose yards (106.3) and 13th in total offense, despite not earning much playing time until the season's fifth game. In eight Pac-10 games, he carried 197 times for 876 yards and eight touchdowns (108.3 yards per game average). Ebell ended the season just six yards shy of becoming only the third freshman in Pac-10 history to rush for 1,000 yards. His 994 yards ranked 17th on the school single-season list, while his 1,382 all-purpose yards ranks No. 10 on the UCLA list. Ebell ranked seventh nationally among freshman rushers. He became the first freshman (true or redshirt) in school history to rush for at least 100 yards in six games (the old record was two, held by several players), all consecutive. He also set a new school freshman rushing record, breaking Eric Ball's old mark of 703 yards, set in 1985. Ebell was the first freshman since DeShaun Foster in 1998 to lead the team in rushing. His streak of six straight 100 yards games was the second-longest one-season streak in school history (Gaston Green did it seven times in 1986).
On October, 5 at Oregon State, Ebell came off the bench in the second quarter following an injury to Manuel White to enjoy one of the greatest days in UCLA history. He rushed for 203 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries. His 203 yards ranked 14th on UCLA's single-season game list (second on UCLA's single-game freshman list). He ran for 45 yards on 12 attempts in the second quarter, 34 yards on eight carries in the third quarter and 124 yards on nine carries in the fourth quarter. His 73-yard fourth quarter rush to the one-yard line was the second longest ever by a Bruin freshman (83 yards by Derek Ayers vs. BYU in 1993). Ebell made the first start of his career against Oregon and ran for 119 yards (89 on 15 attempts in the second half) on 26 attempts. He also returned five punts for 64 yards. At Cal, he started and broke the 100-yard barrier for the third straight week, finishing with 102 yards on 28 attempts. He scored UCLA's only touchdown on an 11-yard run. Against Stanford, he rushed for 160 yards (fourth straight game over 100 yards) and the go-ahead touchdown on 39 carries, three shy of the school record for carries. In the second half, he carried 25 times for 118 yards. He carried the ball on 25 of UCLA's 33 offensive snaps (excluding two kneel downs at the end of the contest) in the second half of the game. In the fourth quarter, he carried on the final 12 snaps. At Washington, Ebell reached the 100-yard plateau for the fifth straight game, finishing with 102 yards and three one-yard touchdowns on 31 attempts. He had three double-figure runs, including rushes of 23 and 22 yards.