ORCHARD PARK — Chris Ellis is fully aware that, including himself, the Buffalo Bills have drafted just two defensive ends from Virginia Tech. The other happens to be one of the greatest to ever play the position in Bruce Smith.

“I’ve got some big shoes to follow,” Ellis said.

Ellis had a chance to speak with Smith when the Buffalo legend visited the campus.

“He gave me a few pointers on the sideline,” Ellis said. “He talked to the team before the game. We’re from the same area in Virginia, so we have that in common. I’m going to try and make my own mark and follow in his direction.”

Ellis has plenty of sacks to catch up on — 200 to be exact — and gets his first chance to record some of those Sunday when the Bills host the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener.

“There’s a lot of excitement for me being my first game,” he said. “From what I hear, it’s sold out, so I’m expecting it to be loud.”

Drafted in the third round, 72nd overall, Ellis joins a defensive end rotation that should be a strength of the team. Starters Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay and key reserve Ryan Denney are all established veterans who have had success at the professional level. As such, Ellis has learned plenty even when he’s not in the film room or on the field.

“They bring their notebooks to every meeting and take good notes. They’re on time for everything,” Ellis said. “Those are just some of the little things I’ve learned each week.”

Bills defensive line coach Bill Kollar, not one to hide his feelings, has been pleased with the progress Ellis has made.

“It’s the same question every year, ‘is he getting better?’ (With Chris), he’s made a lot of improvement so far,” Kollar said. “We still need him to get in a little bit better of a swing in our practice tempo. Like most rookies, he needs to get quite a bit stronger and quicker, but he’s working.”

Ellis realizes his chances of seeing the field on defense this season may be slight with the current depth chart, but hasn’t let that impact his approach.

“With a lot of veterans in front of me, I’m just trying to help the team any way I can,” he said. “Whether that’s giving them a look like I’m doing in practice (on the scout team) of Seattle’s defense or helping on special teams, whatever it is I just want to try and help the team.”