According to a JSO article, Elliot didn't take things seriously until his senior year in college. Seems like an underachiever to me.
I honestly believe that if Sam had stayed in the closet, he would be on an NFL roster right now. He was SEC DOY and showed plenty of potentials in the pre-season.
A guy like Elliot had 3 sacks in a game against a backup tackle and he made the team. Well, Sam had multiple sacks in the preseason, too.