Elijah Lamont McGuire Jr. (born June 1, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

Early years

McGuire attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for

Vandebilt Catholic High School Vandebilt Catholic High School is a private diocesan co-educational institution for grades 8-12 located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana and in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. It is located in the unincorporated area of Bayou Cane, ...

. He was selected to the all-state first-team as an athlete by The Louisiana Sports Writers Association as a senior. He led the state of Louisiana with 2,603 rushing yards, 11.8 rushing average and 31 touchdowns while Vandebilt Catholic High School finished with an 11-2 record. He also was selected to the first-team all-region honorable mention.

College career

McGuire attended and played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns from 2013–2016. McGuire also played basketball for

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

for one year, the 2015-16 season.

2013 season

As a freshman, McGuire played in 13 games. He made his collegiate debut in a loss at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, where he had 12 rushing yards and a 31-yard reception in the 34–14 loss. On September 14, against Nicholls State, he had 137 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 70–7 victory. On November 16, against

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

, he had a great performance with 107 rushing yards to go along with three receptions for 125 yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 35–21 victory. Overall, he finished the 2013 season with 863 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 22 receptions, 384 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

2014 season

As a sophomore, McGuire played in 13 games. He started the season off strong with 129 rushing yards and a touchdown against Southern in the 45–6 victory. On September 20, he had 10 receptions for 106 receiving yards to along with 31 yards against Boise State in the 34–9 victory. On October 21, against

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

, he had 265 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the 55–40 victory. On November 1, against

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

, he had 116 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 90 receiving yards in the 19–9 victory. The next week, against

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

, he had 136 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with a four-yard touchdown reception in the 44–16 victory. In the regular season finale against

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, he had 169 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 42–23 victory. Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 1,264 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, 45 receptions, 468 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.

2015 season

As a junior, McGuire played in 12 games. In the second game of the season against

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

, he had 14 carries for 165 yards and five rushing touchdowns in the 44–17 victory. On October 10, against

Texas State Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

, he had 170 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 49–27 victory. In the next game, at

, he had a great receiving day with 10 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown in the loss in the 37–27 loss. On November 21, against

, he had 159 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 37–34 loss. Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with 1,047 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 34 receptions, 304 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

2016 season

As a senior, McGuire played in 13 games. In the second game, against

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

, he had 139 rushing yards in the 30–22 victory. In the next game against

, he had 223 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 28–23 victory. On October 22, against

, he had 112 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 27–3 victory. On November 19, against the Georgia Bulldogs, he had 129 rushing yards in the 35–21 loss at

Sanford Stadium Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 92,746-seat stadium is the tenth-largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is kn ...

. In his final collegiate game, he had 99 rushing yards in the 28–21 loss to

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

in the 2016 New Orleans Bowl. Overall, he finished the 2016 season with 1,127 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 29 receptions, 238 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.

Collegiate statistics

Football Basketball , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .286 , , .143 , , .200 , , .812 , , 0.2 , , .125 , , 0 , , .625

Professional career

New York Jets

McGuire was drafted in the sixth round with the 188th overall pick by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He was the 20th running back selected in that year's draft. In Week 2, in the 45–20 loss to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, McGuire had six rushes for 29 yards for his debut in the Jets backfield. On October 1, 2017, during Week 4 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, McGuire rushed for 93 yards, including one for a 69-yard touchdown, as the Jets won 23–20 in overtime. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 315 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 17 receptions, 177 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. On September 3, 2018, McGuire was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. He was activated off injured reserve on November 2, 2018. In the 2018 season, he finished with 276 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In addition, he had 19 receptions for 193 receiving yard and one receiving touchdown. McGuire was released on August 30, 2019, as part of the final roster cuts.

Cleveland Browns

On September 2, 2019, McGuire was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on September 16, 2019. He was waived by the Browns on September 19, 2019, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 21, 2019. The Browns released McGuire from their practice squad on October 22, 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs

On November 25, 2019, McGuire was signed to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

practice squad. McGuire won

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

with the Chiefs after they defeated the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

31-20. He re-signed with the Chiefs on February 5, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Dallas Cowboys

After being released from the Chiefs, the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

signed McGuire to their practice squad on September 9, 2020. He was released on October 27.

Miami Dolphins

On December 9, 2020, McGuire was signed to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 12 for the team's week 14 game against the

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was released on December 14, 2020.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On December 22, 2020, McGuire signed with the practice squad of the

. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on February 16, 2021. McGuire re-signed with the Chiefs on March 31, 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on August 17, 2021. He was released on August 26 after reaching an injury settlement with the Chiefs. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 12. He was released on January 19, 2022.

Personal life

McGuire earned his college degree in General Studies in December 2016.

References

External links

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football bio

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuire, Elijah 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Louisiana Sportspeople from Houma, Louisiana American football running backs Vandebilt Catholic High School alumni Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Miami Dolphins players