Ellis Hue Hobbs III (born May 16, 1983) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback for six seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football forIowa State Cyclones. He was selected by theNew England Patriots in the third round of the2005 NFL draft and played for them from 2005 to 2008.^[1] He was traded to thePhiladelphia Eagles in April 2009 and played for them from 2009 to 2010, before a neck injury prematurely ended his career.

Hobbs previously shared the NFL record for the longestkickoff return (108 yards) withRandall Cobb andJacoby Jones, a feat he accomplished on September 9, 2007, in a game against theNew York Jets. This record was eclipsed by a 109-yard kickoff return touchdown byCordarrelle Patterson of theMinnesota Vikings against Green Bay on October 27, 2013.

Hobbs attendedDeSoto High School inDeSoto, Texas, where he was a standout infootball andtrack. In track, he participated on the4×100 and4×400 relay teams and thelong jump. In football, he starred atrunning back; he ran for 1,701 yards on 233 carries with 29touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

Hobbs was just seven credits short of graduating when he entered the NFL, and in 2009 (four years after leaving college) he completed his degree and graduated fromIowa State University with abachelor's degree in art and design.^[2] A three-yearstarter at right cornerback, he compiled 209tackles, twosacks, threefumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and 29pass deflections during his tenure. He also found success as akick returner, gaining 490 yards on 24 career kick returns. He earnedAll-Big 12 Conference first-team honors as a senior. Hobbs also received the Academic Athlete of the Year Award and was a finalist for Christian Athlete of the Year at Iowa State.

Despite limited playing time early in the season, Hobbs made a number of contributions to the Patriots in his rookie season. A string of injuries in the Patriots secondary resulted in Hobbs starting at cornerback the final eight games of the season. Hobbs caught threeinterceptions and earned 371 yards on 15 kickoff returns (including a crucial 35-yard return in the Patriots' game-winning drive against thePittsburgh Steelers).

Although Hobbs initially won the starting cornerback job in2006 oppositeAsante Samuel, Hobbs struggled somewhat during his second year in the NFL, in part because of a broken wrist suffered early in the season. Hobbs, who wore a black cast for much of the season, missed a couple of games and lost his job as starter during the second half of the season.^[5] Nevertheless, he had two interceptions for the season (one ingarbage time against theVikings, which he returned 70 yards). In addition, filling in for an injuredLaurence Maroney at kick returner, he returned a kick against theMiami Dolphins for 51 yards, and returned a kick against theHouston Texans for 93 yards and a touchdown, the first of his career, and the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Patriot sinceBethel Johnson in 2004. For the season, he recorded 47 total tackles, 2 interceptions, and 4 passes defensed. He also recorded 14 total tackles in the Patriots' three playoff games.

Hobbs performed well in the 2006 playoffs, breaking up several potential touchdown passes, including two in the Divisional round against theSan Diego Chargers, and one in the AFC Championship Game against theIndianapolis Colts. That play against the Colts was flagged aspass interference, a call that proved controversial. Greg Aiello, NFL vice president of communications, stated it was correctly flagged as pass interference.^[6] However, there were also reports that the NFL admitted the call was incorrect, and apologized to Hobbs.^[7][8] Hobbs also returned a kickoff 80 yards in the AFC Championship Game.

On September 9, 2007, Hobbs broke the record for the longest kickoff return in NFL history when he ran aMike Nugent kickoff back 108 yards for a touchdown against theNew York Jets atGiants Stadium.^[9] At the time, it also tied the record for the longest play in NFL history.

In Week 3, against theBills, Hobbs recorded his first NFLsack when he brought downJ. P. Losman on ablitz; he also forced a fumble, which was recovered by Patriots defensive endJarvis Green. In Week 10, in the rematch at Buffalo, Hobbs recovered a fumble by Bills running backDwayne Wright (forced by PatriotssafetyJames Sanders), and returned it for his second return touchdown of the season.

In Week 17 against theNew York Giants, Hobbs intercepted a pass byGiants quarterbackEli Manning in the fourth quarter, which ultimately led to the Patriots' go-ahead touchdown in the game that completed New England's perfect 16–0 season.^[10] He also intercepted a pass byChargers quarterbackPhilip Rivers in the AFC Championship Game.

InSuper Bowl XLII, Hobbs intercepted Manning again. This time on a pass that deflected off the hands ofNew York Giants rookie wide receiver,Steve Smith. However, later in the game, with only 35 seconds left, wide receiverPlaxico Burress beat Hobbs to the left corner of the end zone for what ended up being a game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass.

Hobbs played in the Super Bowl with a tornlabrum in hisshoulder in addition to the chronicgroin pain previously reported. Hobbs hadDr. James Andrews repair the shoulder, which was originally injured in Week 9, on February 12.^[11]

In2008, Hobbs intercepted three passes and set the Patriots single game record for yards on kick returns, with 237 yards in a loss to Miami in Week 3. He also returned his third career touchdown against theOakland Raiders in Week 15 which once again earned him Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He ended the season leading the AFC, and second in the NFL, in kick return average.

On the second day of the2009 NFL draft, the Patriots traded Hobbs to thePhiladelphia Eagles for two fifth-round selections, which the Patriots traded for fourth- and sixth-round selections; the Patriots ultimately drafted guardRich Ohrnberger and long snapperJake Ingram with the picks they received for Hobbs.^[12] Hobbs won the starting kick returner job over rookiewide receiverJeremy Maclin for the2009 season. On November 11, Hobbs was placed oninjured reserve with a neck injury.

Hobbs was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 30, 2010.^[13] On April 2, the Eagles traded starting cornerbackSheldon Brown to theCleveland Browns, with Hobbs now favored to start alongside former Patriots teammateAsante Samuel.^[14]

In the early third quarter of the Eagles' November 21, 2010 game against the Giants, Hobbs took a blow to the head from the Giants'Dave Tollefson while returning a kick, and had to be carted off the field.^[15] He suffered adisc injury and was placed on injured reserve.^[16] He announced his retirement on July 28, 2011.

Regular season

Playoffs

Regular season

Playoffs

Source: NFL.com

• Ellis Hobbs onTwitter
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