Coach Elleby was born in Seattle, Washington. There he played football as a youth until he moved to Texas when he was a sophomore in high school at P. L. Dunbar High School in Fort Worth, TX. He continued to play football until graduating in 2005.

After graduating, Stephen went to Harding University. Stephen graduated with a bachelor’s in Kinesiology and minor in Health. He played two years of college football as an offensive lineman before he chose to quit playing football to focus on school.