While tailgaters barbecue and party Saturdays before football games, several players and coaches gather for a morning chapel service.”Before the game, butterflies are flying,” said senior offensive lineman Herman Johnson. “When you hear the word from somebody, it kind of calms you down, and it kind of gets you away from football a little bit.”  Pastor Ken Ellis leads the services. Ellis had a successful football career playing cornerback for Southern University and spending 10 seasons in the NFL. He got involved with Christian athlete organizations during the offseasons and ultimately became an ordained minister after he retired.”That helps him relate to us,” said junior running back Keiland WIlliams. “Just knowing what we go through and the struggles that we have, he’ll always have something that relates to it.”Ellis has also served as chaplain of Southern University’s football team since 1980.”In the NFL, we had a chaplaincy program,” Ellis said. “I saw the impact it had on my life and the impact it had on the lives of so many other players. That is something I wanted to institute at the school that I attended.”He became LSU’s chaplain in 1996 after speaking with then-LSU assistant coach Jerry Baldwin in 1995.Ellis said the chapel services are voluntary. Players and coaches usually attend, and one of the coaches opens the service with a prayer. Ellis then shares something “the Lord has given him to share with them.””He has a real handle in my opinion on the style of issues that confront our guys every week when they’re in college,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “I think he does a marvelous job depicting Christ’s words and relating those stories to our young people’s lives.”Junior defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francios said chapel service is essential before a game.”You gotta hear the word before the game,” Francios said. “By listening to the word you will feel truly blessed. You’ll feel like you’re at 100 percent health, so when it is time to go out there you can have fun.”With such a large team, players come from many religious backgrounds, but Ellis said the differences haven’t presented any problems. “God is God,” Ellis said. “I know we have different methods and different ways we serve God. I just point them to the Lord and tell them about Jesus Christ.” He said a chaplain is nescessary because the players are human, and they have similar problems a chaplain can help them cope with.   “It really clears up all our players’ minds and even the coaches’ minds,” Francois said.  Ellis said athletes have tremendous impacts on people’s lives, and they can use this impact to benefit others. “That is the thing that I try to impart to these athletes here at LSU and also at Southern University and wherever I go,” Ellis said.”You’ve been gifted by God to do something a lot of people enjoy watching you do, and use that gift to the best of your abilities.”Sophomore cornerback Jai Eugene said he is glad LSU has a chaplain. “I wish he could come every day and do it,” Eugene said. “I think it is a great job of what he’s doing and that we have one.” Aside from being with the team the whole weekend of a game, Ellis also hosts Bible study on campus for the players and said he tries to make himself available whenever the players need him. He said several players text him if they need to talk. “Knowing that you can lean on him or call him if you’re down — that definitely means a lot,” Williams said.ElIis is also an associate pastor for the Bethany World Christian Ministries and teaches a Bible study class at the Bethany Christian school. “I love it,” Ellis said. “I enjoy what I do. It is about serving people. It is helping people in anyway I can and advancing the kingdom of God.”—-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]