Deerfield (Mass.) Academy class of 2022 wide receiver and Canadian native Elic Ayomanor had been a hidden gem in the Northeast but that is quickly changing.
This summer, Ayomanor is getting very little down time, as he’s traveling all over the country for visits and camps with his high school head coach Brian Barbato. For Notre Dame’s Irish Invasion June 6, he showed off his skills to the coaching staff.
“It was awesome,” Ayomanor said of his experience at Notre Dame. “A couple of hours before registration, they gave us tour around campus and presentations on Notre Dame football. I very much enjoyed that.
“We started out with testing (broad jump and 40-yard dash) which went pretty well. After that, we did positional drills, and then we got into routes on air and one-on-ones. The coaches were impressed with how I was moving for my size and my ability to get in and out of my routes.”
There was one thing left that the Notre Dame staff wanted to see before offering Ayomanor. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees pulled Ayomanor aside to work with him one-on-one. Rees wanted to see more of Ayomanor’s natural catching ability.
They simulated Ayomanor running an in-breaking route, and Rees was aiming in specific spots to see how Ayomanor would adjust to inaccurate throws. This was just one of the drills Rees put Ayomanor through.
“He’d throw it below my knees, behind me – testing how I’d test awkward balls to see if I was natural at doing that,” Aymanor added.
Mission accomplished. Ayomanor received the coveted offer from Notre Dame.
“It’s a testament to my hard work,” Ayomanor said. “It’s a school I was hoping to get when I came to America. I started out by looking at high-academic and great football schools. It doesn’t mean that I can stop working. There’s still a lot left in front of me and a lot more I have to do.”
Ayomanor couldn’t spent a lot of time at Notre Dame, but in the few hours he was on campus, he liked what he saw.
“The campus and facilities are beautiful,” he said. “The university is historic. I really enjoyed the coaching staff and working out with Coach [Del] Alexander and Coach Rees. I enjoyed how they presented themselves and how they sold the football team. I hope to get out there again.”
Right after the Notre Dame camp, Ayomanor took an official visit to Vanderbilt.
“It obviously checks that box – it’s a very, very good academic school,” he said. “I was very impressed by their coaching staff. They’ve made a new team culture after a bad year. Coach [Clark] Lea came from Notre Dame and introduced his philosophies on team culture, and you can see noticeable differences. I like their coaching staff, their background and what they’re planning to do with their offense. I was very impressed by them.”
He visited Tennessee after Vanderbilt and is currently out in California checking out the Cal Bears and Stanford. He will camp with the Cardinal in hopes to receive an offer from them as well.
He could take official visits to wrap up June with return trips to schools such as Notre Dame and Stanford under consideration.
“It’s up in the air,” he said.
Ayomanor is not working under any commitment deadline.
“When it feels right and I know which school I want to go to, that’s when I’ll commit,” he said. “Going out to all of these schools will give me a good idea of what they have to offer.”
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