ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 23, 2024

Elic Ayomanor

Stanford Cardinal

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Elic.

Q. In double OT against Colorado, you beat Troy Walters' record from 1999 for receiving yards. What new benchmark do you set for yourself this season to measure your success?

ELIC AYOMANOR: Yeah, I'm not really the type of person to set benchmarks in terms of yards or catches or touchdowns.

I think one thing that I want to do or be able to come away with this season is going into the film room every Sunday and thinking, like, I put my all out there every play.

Yeah, I think if I can go in every Sunday, even though you can't be perfect on every play, one thing you can do is put your effort there every play. I think that's one thing I want to do.

Q. Being new to the ACC, you have a story that is really interesting that I feel like a bunch of people may not know. Canadian born, you came and had a journey, a goal for yourself. What's that journey been like? Can you go into further detail about your journey?

ELIC AYOMANOR: I'm originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. You see United States of America football, you see the highlights on Instagram and YouTube. I remember my kid self vividly thinking I want to compete with these guys, I think I can do this for myself.

Obviously at that point it was more of a dream. I didn't think I would ever actually get that opportunity. But by way of good virtue and luck, I ended up getting the opportunity. I moved to Massachusetts for high school.

I think just from there I learned what discipline and commitment meant to achieving your goals. I just kept those types of ideals in my mind the whole time. From there, I guess the rest has been history.

I think moving forward I'll keep those same ideals in my mind.

Q. Speaking of history, last year you posted seventh-most receiving yards in the NCAA from October 11th through the end of season. What was it about the second half of the season that caught your eye compared to the first half of the season?

ELIC AYOMANOR: Yeah, I think I've been relatively inexperienced in the first half of the season. Even the second half. This is my first year playing college football. I tore my ACL my freshman year.

I think a lot of it is not only building confidence within yourself, but also confidence within a team and within a coaching staff.

Something like that can't be built in an instant, it's built through repetition, and doing things over and over again the right way.

I think my own confidence in my ability to do stuff, my coach's confidence in my ability to do stuff, allowed more of the onus to be put on myself to make plays in games. When those opportunities came, I did my best to capture them.

Q. In reading in your bio, it says enjoy reading, driving and adventuring. What is adventuring?

ELIC AYOMANOR: I don't know (smiling). I like to get out sometimes. I know a couple weeks ago I went to Lake Tahoe and kind of enjoyed myself. I don't think you should take life too seriously all the time. There's a time and a place. So adventuring to me is kind of getting away from that everyday seriousness that you bring to life, and really just enjoying being here and being grateful, mindful, present in the moment.