Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks, RB, Albany #24
5085, 205, 4.63
Notes: From Newark, NJ. Nickname is “EB.” Is of Nigerian descent on the side of his mother, Rotoimi Ibitokun, but grew up and lived with his dad, Travis Hanks, and his grandmother. At his father’s urging, he went to prep school in 2014. Played in 11 games with 4 starts, leading the team in rushing with 104 carries for 609 yards (5.9 avg.) and 2 touchdowns in 2015. Rushed 247-1,401-16 (5.7 avg.) and caught 7-42 in 2016, including a single-game team record 298 yard effort against UNH. Suffered a torn left ACL in the 2016 season finale. Tried to come back in 2017, but re-injured the knee again in the preseason and played in just one game, rushing 17-63-1 and catching 3-23 in week three, then shut it down for the season. Entered 2018 recovered and a little bigger, stronger and faster than before. Has a young son.
Positives: Compact and well-built for size. Good quickness. Excellent cutter. Makes people miss. Natural instincts and run vision. Has a knack for finding daylight. Show an innate ability to anticipate openings and find yardage. Frequently gets more from less. Excellent balance. Breaks tackles, stays on his feet and fights for yards. Good hands. Catches the ball well. Effective in the passing game. Can pick up the blitz and doesn’t shy away from contact as a blocker. Has grown and gained mental toughness through coming back from knee injury.
Negatives: Short and does not have great overall size, power or sustained speed.
Summary: Lacks prototype size and stopwatch speed, but is an instinctive, productive all-around back.
