How Collierville's Eli Sisson went from soccer to football kicker to 'pleasantly aggressive' tight end

His original athletic pursuit began with a long field, a goal at both ends and a ball that rolled nicely when kicked.

Collierville’s Eli Sisson, since the age of 3, was a soccer player. It was a family thing, of sorts, as his older brother Jake, who was good enough to play in college.

“He played soccer his whole life,” Eli Sisson said, “and I kind of followed in his footsteps. But he didn’t like it (in college), so when he quit, I quit — and I just had to try something different.”

Nearby, another Dragon coaching staff was waiting to pounce on Sisson, who is No. 11 on The Commercial Appeal’s 2023 Dandy Dozen, a collection of the best Memphis area college football recruits as selected by the newspaper for the Class of 2024.

Sisson, a three-star tight end, is the No. 46 recruit in Tennessee, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Ear to the ground

Collierville football coach Joe Rocconi was always on the lookout for ways to make his team better.

“I actually knew (Sisson) when he was in middle school,” Rocconi said. “One of our coaches (said) ‘Hey, big ole tall kid, he's a soccer player, but wants to play football. I think he can be talked into it kind of a thing.’ In eighth grade, he was probably 6-3, 170 – tall, skinny – we knew he was athletic.”

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Rocconi was glad he had followed through for Sisson's freshman season.

“We had him kicking like the first day he came out there – and he was killing the ball,” Rocconi said. “He was booming it – punting; booming it – field goals. Fast forward to one game, he hit like two 45-yard field goals off the ground, which I’ve never had that happen in a freshman game.

“After that, we’re like ‘All right, he’s going to be our next big kicker. We’ve always seemed to have some really good kickers … guys like Hudson Hollenbeck (Mississippi State).”

The transition conversation

Putting points on the scoreboard was an OK thing for Sisson, yet the now 6-4, 220-pound athlete was eager for more, according to his dad, Clay.

“The summer between his freshman and sophomore year, he talked to Coach Roc, ‘I want to play. I don’t mind being a punter or kicker – but I want to be on the field,’” Clay Sisson recalled.

Naturally, the Dragons lined Sisson up at tight end.

“The first day of full pads that spring, he was pleasantly aggressive,” Rocconi said. “He didn’t know how to block, but he was trying to tear people up. I kind of realized at that moment what a dummy I was that we didn’t try to make him play some more defense or offense, or whatever as a freshman, because he would have helped us even more that year.”

Now, blocking is one of Sisson’s top strengths.

“Even though I’m not an O-lineman, I like to think I am,” Eli Sisson said. “And blocking with them is just so much fun. They’re all talented, like Robbie (Bourdon) and all the other ones. One of my best friends is (center) Tanner Wages. Our whole O-Line is so close. It’s just so much fun being able to run over somebody you love playing with.”

Give me Liberty

Collierville began 2022 with seven straight wins. Sisson caught a pair of touchdowns in the opener against Wooddale. He had a season-high 53 yards and a touchdown in a 17-7 loss to Bartlett, the Region 8-6A champs. With offers from the likes of Memphis, Rutgers, UCF and West Virginia were starting to pile up, Sisson, on June 20 committed to Liberty.

“As I got further in the process of getting all the offers I did, I didn’t get to connect with any other coaching staff as well as I did with Liberty,” he said. “And then, when I went to my official (visit), I got to get a little bit closer with them and got to hang out with them a little more one-on-one. Once I got to do that, I was pretty set. That’s where I needed to be.”

By virtue of graduating from Collierville early, Sisson will be arriving in Lynchburg, Virginia, with plenty of time to familiarize himself with his new university.

“It’s just a great story of a kid, working his tail off, buying into football,” Rocconi said. “How much he has improved has really been awesome. Everybody says, ‘He was big and athletic,’ but yeah, he didn’t know anything about football. It’s not that easy, especially in that position. His attitude and work ethic; being unselfish and a great teammate – all those things contributed to where he is now.”

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TSSAA football: Eli Sisson goes from kicker to Liberty commit at TE