One day after stepping down as Battle High School head football coach, Atiyyah Ellison has been introduced as the new director of player development at Missouri.

This marks a return to Columbia for Ellison, who played defensive line for the Tigers from 2002-2004. Ellison left the school after being named First-Team All-Big 12 following his senior season.

Following the end of his college playing career, Ellison went on to play several seasons in the NFL. The St. Louis native was named Battle head coach in April of 2019 after serving six seasons as the program’s defensive line coach.

Battle reached the district championship game in each of his two seasons as head coach.

On Friday, Mizzou welcomed Ellison back to Columbia: