By CHIP ARMONAITIS, TAPinto Hasbrouck Heights/Wood-Ridge/Teterboro
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hasbrouck-heights-slash-wood-ridge-slash-teterboro/
SAN DIEGO, CA. – Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks, who spent the past year as an assistant coach for the Hasbrouck Heights High School football team, signed with the San Diego Strike Force of the 2022 Indoor Football League on December 6. Ibitokun-Hanks was the running backs coach for the Aviators last season.
A resident of Newark, Ibitokun-Hanks played his high school football at Shabazz High School in Newark and at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, and attended the SUNY- Albany and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where he had an accomplished career.
“I am excited for this opportunity,” Ibitokun-Hanks stated. “I had been out of football for a few years and missed it, so I decided to try and see if I could get back in the game. I made some calls to people, did my research on the league and the teams, and reached out.
“I pride myself on always improving at being a student of the game, and being a hard-nosed, resilient, one-cut slashing back who feeds off the energy of the community, fans, and players around him. It is a no-brainer that the Strike Force will be the perfect home for me,” said Ibitokun-Hanks.
Ibitokun-Hanks, who at 5-8, 205, is a quick powerful back, was successful right off the start in college, being named Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Rookie of the Week after his first college game, rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries against Buffalo. He would set a school record for most rushing yards in a game with 202 later in the season against Richmond.
His sophomore year exceeded his freshman year, being named to the Football Championship Series All-American Third Team, as well as All CAA, after rushing for 1,401 yards and averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He rushed for 298 yards, a single game record against New Hampshire, scoring three times.
After a successful year in 2018, Ibitokun-Hanks transferred to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga for his final year of eligibility. He would finish with 630 yards in eight games played, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Ibitokun-Hanks joined the Hasbrouck Heights staff this year, where he was able to take his knowledge from being a student of the game and work with high school players for the first time. When asked what he learned from coaching, he stated “patience.”
“They say you really don’t know something until you have to teach it to someone else,” Ibitokun-Hanks stated. “In teaching people, you learn they always don’t pick things up the first time you teach it to them. You have to be patient.”
He hopes to bring that lesson with him as he goes to arena football, which is a different game than traditional football.
“I have to remember that his a learning experience for me as well,“ he stated. “It is different, there aren’t 11 guys per side on the field, the field is smaller. But I am confident in myself. I have been put into sink or swim situations my entire life.”
San Diego Strike Force general manager Todd Durkin was excited to sign Ibitokun-Hanks.
“When I watched Elijah, I couldn’t believe he wasn’t already a pro,“ Durkin started at the time of the signing. “I’ve worked with a lot of elite running backs in the NFL, and he’s going to be special. He is extremely elusive, quick in tight spaces and creates holes, even when it requires some improvisation. He has great vision with the knack to rip off big-chunk runs. Elijah is a big-time back and is a huge signing for us.”
Ibitokun-Hanks heads to California the first week of March for training camp, with the season opener on March 21 at the Bay Area Panthers. Their first home game will be March 28 against the Arizona Rattlers.
The games are streamed online on the league’s YouTube page.
