Ellis Ponder was in his second season as a student assistant in the equipment room when Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa to take over the Crimson Tide in 2007.
He would stay in that role through 2011 before taking a role outside of football for a few seasons, returning to join the football staff in 2015 and quickly established himself as Saban's right-hand man over the next several years, earning the director of operations role for the program in 2017.
A firsthand witness to one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, Ponder rose to an associate athletic director role and football chief operating officer.
He continued in in that COO role this past season under Kalen DeBoer before moving to a new role working with the entire athletic department this off season.
Over the years he not only stood alongside Saban in the tunnel as the team was preparing to storm the field on game days, but he also helped execute and plan various logistics, budgets, and the day-to-day operations for the Tide program as the two developed a powerful dynamic.
Now, Ponder is set to leave the Alabama staff, according to a report from AL.com last night.
The report shares that Ponder is leaving his current role as associate athletics director for strategic communications to join the team of super agent Jimmy Seton at CAA.
There, he joins perhaps the most influential name in football, as Sexton represents the likes of Saban, Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Norvell, Lane Kiffin, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, Dan Lanning, and a host of other big names, including nearly 100 of the first-round NFL Draft picks dating back to 2011.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.