Elic Ayomanor’s ultra-competitive approach to life has made him a star both on and off the field

• A first-round prospect on PFF’s big board: Elic Ayomanor checks in at No. 27 on PFF’s 2025 NFL Draft big board.

• Ayomanor's unique background: Ayomanor immigrated to the U.S. from Canada as a high schooler before enrolling at Stanford.

• Dominate fantasy football season with promo code PFF25: Unlock all PFF's fantasy content and tools, including full access to the fantasy football mock draft simulator, for 25% off using promo code PFF25.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Zero.

That’s the number of catches Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor had in the first half against Colorado last season — far from the normal output for a team’s top weapon. Suffice it to say, he wasn’t very pleased heading into the locker room at halftime.

“I get pretty angry in the game just in general,” Ayomanor said in an exclusive interview with PFF. “That’s just how I like to play. I remember my coach saying something to me, and it just hit me, and my emotions ran high. I carried that into the second half.”

What followed in that second half and overtime would shock the nation, set program records and establish Ayomanor as a bonafide star in college football.

Long before that, though, he had to decide if football was the sport he wanted to pursue because, like most Canadians growing up, he started on the ice.

“I grew up playing hockey,” he said. “That’s what everybody does in Canada. I started playing football just before middle school. When you go into middle school in Canada, that’s when you have to decide if you’re going to take the hockey thing pretty seriously. At that point, I really started to fall in love with football.”

In order to seriously pursue a football career, the Alberta native knew he had to immigrate to the U.S. So, as a sophomore in high school, he moved to New Jersey before finishing his last two years in Massachusetts.

Switching countries and living in boarding schools sounds like a nightmare for any teenager, but Ayomanor knew it would help him achieve his dreams on the gridiron.

“When you have ambition and a goal in mind, it makes it a lot easier,” he said. “You know that what you’re doing is necessary and will give you opportunities to achieve your goals faster. Having that in the back of my mind made it much, much easier for me because I knew everything I was doing was for a reason.”

His plan worked. He was ultimately billed as a three-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class and received offers from big-time programs like Notre Dame and Tennessee. However, he quickly figured out where his next home would be.

“Academics and athletics were always big in my life,” he said. “In my household, if you do something, it’s taboo not to try to be the best at what you’re doing. I’ve always been super competitive in both realms. If you’re that type of person, Stanford’s the school that comes to mind immediately. I liked other schools, but I figured out that Stanford is the place where people like me go.”

Unfortunately for Ayomanor, he wouldn’t be able to compete much in his first year at Stanford, at least not on the field. That’s because he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in fall camp of his freshman year.

“From a competitive standpoint, it’s tough,” Ayomanor said. “I played through all of fall camp and got injured the last week before the first game. I thought I was doing pretty well, too. You feel like you can compete, like you’re ready. And then, all of a sudden, you just have to watch.

A lot of the games, I just was at my dorm watching on TV when we were traveling. You just feel so distant from where you want to be. So it’s tough, but those little bouts of adversity are pretty crucial in your character development.”

It turned out to be a game-changer for his development as a player, as he returned with a vengeance as a redshirt freshman, racking up 1,022 receiving yards to rank fifth among the Power Five receivers who will be returning in 2024.

He made the most of his 6-foot-2 frame, securing 14 contested catches, tying for fourth among all Power Five receivers. His 75.9 PFF receiving grade bettered the marks of notable 2024 NFL Draft prospects like Brian Thomas Jr. and Johnny Wilson.

ELIC AYOMANOR: RECEIVING METRICS AND RANK AMONG POWER FIVE WIDE RECEIVERS

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But back to that fateful game against Colorado…

The Cardinal trailed the Buffaloes 29-0 at halftime, desperately needing to spark their offense. To turn things around, they decided it was time to unleash their Canadian phenom.

After being held without a catch in the first half, Ayomanor exploded for 13 catches, 294 yards and three touchdowns in the second half and overtime. Stanford ended up winning the game 46-43 in double overtime during the wee hours of the morning, setting the school record for the largest comeback ever, while Ayomanor set the school record for most receiving yards in a game.

“I was just very, very focused,” he said. “You can’t think about much more than what your job is at that specific moment. It was definitely an interesting feeling, and you remember a lot of it because you’re so focused.”

Just thinking about the time Elic Ayomanor went for 13 catches, 294 yards and three touchdowns on Colorado, all of which came in the second half.

(Also guarded by Travis Hunter for seven of those receptions and two of those TDs)

Top-🔟 WR for me
pic.twitter.com/qZ7tbFOc8U

— Max Chadwick (@MaxChadwickCFB) February 17, 2024

Making the performance even more ridiculous was that Ayomanor was guarded by WR/CB Travis Hunter, the best player in college football, on seven of those catches and two of his touchdown grabs. However, he tries not to notice whoever is lined up across from him.

“Every time we’re competing, it’s a faceless opponent,” Ayomanor said. “Because if it becomes a personal battle, you can get inconsistent with your emotions.”

One of those touchdowns came in overtime when he ran a fade route and pinned the ball to Hunter’s helmet, dropping jaws in the process.

“You’re really just playing,” he said. “My release wasn’t great, and [Hunter] stayed with me pretty well. The ball was a little underthrown, and that’s the opportunity for you to either get pass interference or be on SportsCenter. And the latter happened.”

After the season, Ayomanor was awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy, which is given to the best Canadian player in college football. It’s a reminder that no matter how far football takes him in America, he must never forget where he came from.

“When I was younger, I just purely wanted to be the best,” Ayomanor said. “I was super competitive. As I got older, I realized that whenever I said that to the people who supported me, they never blinked. They just kept supporting me full go and with all of their being. Wanting to be the best is still behind me, but I realize now that the people supporting me are also behind me. It’s a combination of me wanting to be great but also the people around me wanting me to be great. A combination of internal and external community.”

Because of that support, Ayomanor will do whatever it takes to not disappoint them.

“Something always ingrained in me as a kid is to want to be the best at everything you do but also realize that it takes commitment and dedication. You have to commit your whole being to doing things. Even if you put 95% into what you’re doing, you’re going to look back when you’re older and be like, ‘If I put 5% more in, where would I have been?’

If you put 100% into something, you’re never going to have regrets. Putting 100% effort and executing with that effort is something I’m trying to do this season.”