Luther John Elliss is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He played for the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 for 8 seasons before he was released in 2003. He played for the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 for one season, before retiring in 2004. In his time in the NFL, he was a two time Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

er after the 1999

1999 NFL season

The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...

 and 2000

2000 NFL season

The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...

 seasons. His nickname during his time in Detroit was "Pass Rushing Luther".

College career

Elliss was selected first team All Western Athletic Conference

Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 defensive lineman from 1992-1994 at the University of Utah Utes

Utah Utes

The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the...

. In 1994, he was selected Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and was also named All American

1994 College Football All-America Team

The 1994 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, United Press International, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Scripps-Howard, The Sporting News and Football News.The...

.