Joey Elliott
Joseph Preston “Joey” Elliott (born August 2, 1986) is an American former professional football quarterback and NFL scouting executive from Evansville, Indiana. A graduate of William Henry Harrison High School, Elliott played college football at Purdue University before spending five seasons as a professional quarterback in the Canadian Football League.
Elliott played professionally for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, BC Lions and Ottawa RedBlacks after initially signing with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League.
Following his playing career, Elliott moved into professional football scouting and eventually joined the Indianapolis Colts organization.
Early Life
Elliott grew up in a football family in the Evansville area.
His father, John Elliott, became a longtime high school and college football coach whose career included positions throughout southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky.
John Elliott coached at programs including Evansville Reitz, Castle, the University of Evansville, Henderson County, Tell City, Ballard Memorial and Evansville North.
He was eventually inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Football consequently surrounded Joey Elliott from childhood.
Elliott later recalled attending football events with his father and growing up around coaches, practices and games. While other children might have identified with a favorite professional team, Elliott’s earliest football loyalty was often simply to whichever team his father was coaching.
That upbringing eventually developed into a lifelong career in the sport.
Harrison High School
Elliott attended William Henry Harrison High School on Evansville’s east side.
He became a multi-sport athlete at Harrison, participating in football, basketball and baseball.
Football ultimately became his primary sport.
As Harrison’s quarterback, Elliott developed into one of the area’s top high school players. His athletic ability allowed him to contribute both as a passer and runner.
His high school career also produced an unusual family rivalry.
During part of Elliott’s Harrison career, his father was coaching at Castle High School. That meant John Elliott occasionally found himself helping prepare a defense to stop his own son.
Joey Elliott later recalled Harrison defeating Castle during both his junior and senior seasons.
Elliott also excelled in baseball and attracted attention from professional scouts. He later recalled being told that he potentially could have been selected in the later rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Instead, he chose football.
Elliott graduated from Harrison in 2005.
Purdue University
Elliott continued his football career at Purdue University, joining a program that had developed a national reputation for producing quarterbacks.
Purdue’s modern quarterback tradition included players such as Drew Brees, Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter.
Elliott arrived in West Lafayette in 2005 and redshirted during his first season.
For much of his early college career, he played behind Curtis Painter, who became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Purdue history before reaching the NFL.
That required patience from Elliott.
Rather than transferring in search of immediate playing time, he remained at Purdue and continued developing within the program.
He gradually earned opportunities as Painter’s backup.
Elliott appeared in four games during the 2007 season, completing 13 of 24 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown.
One of his most memorable early appearances came at Michigan, where he threw a touchdown pass against the Wolverines.
In 2008, Elliott received Purdue’s Most Improved Award for offense following spring practice.
His season was eventually cut short by a shoulder injury suffered against Northwestern.
With Painter’s Purdue career ending, Elliott finally received his opportunity to become the starting quarterback in 2009.
2009 Purdue Season
Elliott entered his fifth and final season at Purdue as the Boilermakers’ starting quarterback and a team co-captain.
It became the defining season of his college career.
Elliott completed 267 of 433 passes for 3,026 yards and 22 touchdowns.
He also contributed as a runner, adding more than 250 rushing yards.
Purdue finished the season with a 5-7 record, but the record did not fully reflect the competitiveness of the team. The Boilermakers lost several close games while also producing major victories over nationally prominent opponents.
None was bigger than Purdue’s victory over Ohio State.
Upset of Ohio State
On October 17, 2009, Purdue hosted the seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Purdue entered the game with a 1-5 record and was a major underdog.
Elliott helped engineer one of the biggest upsets of the 2009 college football season.
He completed 31 of 50 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns as Purdue defeated Ohio State 26-18.
The victory triggered a celebration in West Lafayette, with Purdue fans rushing the field.
For Elliott, who had spent years waiting behind another quarterback for his opportunity to start, the Ohio State victory became one of the defining moments of his football career.
Purdue also defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor later that season.
Elliott finished his senior year having demonstrated that he could successfully lead a Big Ten offense after spending most of his previous college career as a backup.
Academic Success
Elliott’s accomplishments at Purdue extended beyond football.
He was named Academic All-Big Ten three consecutive years, receiving the recognition from 2007 through 2009.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and supervision with a minor in communications and also completed a certificate in entrepreneurship and innovation.
His combination of football experience, academics and leadership would eventually prove valuable when his career transitioned from playing football to evaluating players professionally.
Philadelphia Eagles
Elliott was not selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.
He nevertheless received an opportunity shortly afterward when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent.
Elliott participated in the Eagles’ offseason program but was released in June 2010.
His release did not end his professional football career.
Instead, Elliott headed north to Canada.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Elliott signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League in July 2010.
The CFL presented a different style of football, with a larger field, three downs instead of four and rules that often emphasize passing and quarterback mobility.
Elliott’s athleticism and playing style made him an intriguing fit for the Canadian game.
He made his first professional starts during his rookie season.
His progress was interrupted in 2011 when he suffered a torn ACL, forcing him to miss most of the season.
Elliott returned in 2012 and received the most extensive playing time of his professional career.
He appeared in 17 games and started seven for Winnipeg.
During the season, Elliott completed 170 of 280 passes for 2,101 yards and five touchdowns.
His performance demonstrated his ability to return from a significant knee injury and compete as a professional starting quarterback.
BC Lions
Elliott joined the BC Lions in 2013.
He appeared in 15 games for British Columbia, primarily serving in a reserve quarterback role.
His time with the Lions continued a professional career that had taken the former Harrison quarterback thousands of miles from Evansville and into stadiums throughout Canada.
Ottawa RedBlacks
Elliott joined the Ottawa RedBlacks in 2014.
He appeared in eight games during the season.
It proved to be his final year as an active professional quarterback.
Across five CFL seasons, Elliott appeared in 56 games, including nine starts.
He completed 217 of 374 passes for 2,634 yards and seven touchdowns during his CFL career.
Rather than leaving football following his playing career, however, Elliott almost immediately began the next phase of his professional life.
Transition to Scouting
Elliott remained with the Ottawa organization following his retirement as a player.
In 2015, he served as an eastern scout for the Ottawa RedBlacks.
The position gave Elliott an opportunity to use the football knowledge he had accumulated since childhood in Evansville in an entirely different way.
Instead of preparing to play quarterback, he was now evaluating other players.
That experience helped open the door to the National Football League.
Indianapolis Colts
In 2016, Elliott joined the Indianapolis Colts as a pro scout.
The move brought his football career back to Indiana.
As a professional scout, Elliott became involved in evaluating NFL players and helping the Colts make personnel decisions.
The career was a natural continuation of a life spent studying football.
Elliott had grown up as the son of a coach, played quarterback at Harrison, learned the college game at Purdue, experienced professional football in both the NFL and CFL and then moved into player evaluation.
He later advanced within the Colts organization, becoming assistant director of pro scouting.
His responsibilities place him within the personnel side of an NFL franchise, helping evaluate professional players and potential additions to the Colts roster.
Elliott Quarterback Academy
Elliott has also worked with young quarterbacks and developing football players.
In 2010, he established the Elliott Quarterback Academy, an organization designed to help young athletes develop the mental and physical fundamentals required to play quarterback.
The academy reflected Elliott’s background as both a player and member of a coaching family.
His father spent decades coaching football, while Elliott accumulated experience playing quarterback at the high school, Big Ten and professional levels.
Harrison Athletic Hall of Fame
Elliott’s accomplishments were eventually recognized by his former high school.
In 2024, Joey Elliott was selected for induction into the Harrison High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The recognition placed him among Harrison’s distinguished former athletes.
Harrison has produced an unusually strong collection of football talent over its history, including NFL players and major college standouts.
Elliott’s career stands apart because it extended beyond playing.
He progressed from Harrison quarterback to Big Ten starter, professional quarterback and eventually NFL scouting executive.
Football Family
The Elliott family’s connection to Evansville football extends well beyond Joey.
His father John accumulated more than four decades of coaching experience at the high school and college levels.
John Elliott’s coaching stops included North Posey, Hamilton Southeastern, the University of Evansville, Reitz, Castle, Tell City, Henderson County, Ballard Memorial and North High School.
He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Joey Elliott ultimately followed a different route within the sport.
Rather than becoming a longtime high school coach, he progressed from playing into professional personnel and scouting.
Together, the careers of John and Joey Elliott represent decades of involvement in Evansville and Indiana football.
Legacy
Joey Elliott is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks produced by Evansville.
His football career took him from Harrison High School to Purdue University, where he patiently waited four seasons before finally becoming the Boilermakers’ starting quarterback.
When his opportunity arrived, Elliott threw for more than 3,000 yards and helped Purdue defeat nationally ranked Ohio State in one of the program’s memorable upsets.
He then turned an undrafted NFL opportunity into a five-year professional career in Canada.
Perhaps most significantly, Elliott successfully built a second football career after his playing days ended.
His transition from CFL quarterback to professional scout and eventually an executive-level scouting position with the Indianapolis Colts represents a rare path from Evansville high school football into the personnel operations of an NFL franchise.
From growing up around his father’s football teams in Evansville to evaluating professional players for an NFL organization, football has remained a central part of Elliott’s life.