Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Cornelius Marquis Elder was born on October 9th, 1994, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is a cornerback in the NFL.

At high school, Marquis was rated nation's No. 8 athlete by 247Sports.com and No. 7 running back by Rivals.com, he was also listed as nation's No. 17 and No. 33 running back by ESPN and Scout.com, respectively, and was 4-star athlete ranked as No. 2 running back in Tennessee by both ESPN and Rivals.com.

 Marquis was known for his speed and elusiveness, he was named Mr. Football Back of the Year in 2011 and 2012, clocking with 4.42 40 time, being a two-sport star also excelled on the basketball court. He led Ensworth to two straight Division II-AA basketball championships and was named state tournament's most valuable player. He rushed for 2,618 yards and 39 touchdowns as senior in 2012 and led Ensworth to third straight Division II-AA state title, finishing prep football career with 6,351 rushing yards, 84 touchdowns and three consecutive state titles, and being No. 2 prospect on The Tennessean Dandy Dozen.

As a true freshman in 2013, Marquis played in 10 games, seeing action on special teams and at defensive back, recorded seven tackles - six solo, had 164 yards on seven kick returns and one punt return for no yards, recorded two tackles in collegiate debut vs. FAU, added two tackles at Duke, recorded solo tackles against Savannah State, USF and Virginia had a career-long 39-yard kick return on career-first return in loss to Virginia Tech, fielded six kicks for 125 yards, including 25-yard return, at Duke and missed last two games due to injury, earning first letter.

On 2014, as a sophomore, he saw action in season opener at Louisville, did not record any stats, recorded career-first fumble recovery against FAMU, scored three tackles, including 1.0 TFL, against Arkansas State, had five tackles against Nebraska, added three tackles and two PBU's against Duke, made first start of career against Georgia Tech, totaling two solo tackles, set career high with seven tackles (six solo) against Cincinnati, added one tackle against Virginia Tech, tied season high with seven tackles against North Carolina, including first career sack, had one tackle against Virginia, was credited with one solo tackle against Pittsburgh and totaled three solo tackles, one TFL and one PBU in Duck Commander Independence Bowl against South Carolina.

For the 2015 sophomore season, he recorded career-first fumble recovery against FAMU, recorded three tackles, including 1.0 TFL, against Arkansas State, had five tackles against Nebraska, added three tackles and two PBU's against Duke, made first start of career against Georgia Tech, totaling two solo tackles, set career high with seven tackles (six solo) against Cincinnati, added one tackle against Virginia Tech, tied season high with seven tackles against North Carolina, including first career sack, had one tackle against Virginia, was credited with one solo tackle against Pittsburgh and totaled three solo tackles, one TFL and one PBU in Duck Commander Independence Bowl against South Carolina.

In the course of 2016, as a senior, he started all 13 games and delivered dominant season, serving as one of Miami's top defensive playmakers, earned First-Team All-ACC recognition from ACC coaches and second-team All-ACC recognition from Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA). He tied for third on team with 76 tackles (55 solo), led team in pass breakups for second straight year (12), added 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks, finished with one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, started season opener against Florida A&M (Sept. 3) and recorded first interception of season, picked off pass on Rattlers' opening drive, added two solo tackles vs. FAMU, started against FAU (Sept. 10) and recorded three solo tackles and first PBU of season, was second on team with seven tackles (six solo) in start at Appalachian State (Sept. 17), had 10-yard sack and one PBU in win over Mountaineers, and had three solo tackles and one PBU in road win at Georgia Tech (Oct. 1).

He had a dominant performance against Florida State (Oct. 8) included team high-tying six tackles (all solo) and one PBU, set career high with 14 tackles (11 solo) in start against North Carolina (Oct. 15), added 2.5 TFLs (17 yards), one sack (12 yards) and one PBU against Tar Heels, totaled six tackles and two PBUs in start against Virginia Tech (Oct. 20), started and had six tackles and one PBU at Notre Dame (Oct. 29), led team with nine tackles (six solo) and had one PBU in start against Pittsburgh (Nov. 5), delivered dominant start in win at Virginia (Nov. 12), finishing with five tackles (four solo), one sack (seven yards), forced fumble and fumble recovery, started and totaled two tackles and two PBUs in win at NC State (Nov. 19), totaled six tackles (one solo) and one PBU in regular season finale win over Duke (Nov. 26) and started and totaled team-best seven tackles (six solo) in Russell Athletic Bowl victory over West Virginia (Dec. 28).

Elder was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round, 152nd overall, in the 2017 NFL Draft. On September 3, 2017, he was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Elder was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. On September 2, 2019, Elder was signed to the New York Giants practice squad.