Tokumbo "Tumbo" Abanikanda (pronounced: A-banna-conda) (born December 25, 1986) is a former professional American and Canadian football

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

as a street free agent in 2009. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Early years

Abanikanda attended Osborne High School in

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

, Georgia. Coming out of high school, he was two star recruit. According to ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', Abanikanda ran a 4.62

forty yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

, benched 330 pounds, with 20 repetitions. Abanikanda was headed to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

until a final push from

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 ...

changed his mind.

College career

In 2008, as a senior at the

University of Southern Mississippi 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 ...

, Abanikanda recorded 94 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, two sacks, a pass broken up and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, Abanikanda was invited to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

rookie camp, but was not signed. Following his backup plan, Abanikanda signed with the

on May 26, 2009. After the release of Derrick Doggett on June 10, Abanikanda's main competition for the starting

weakside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

spot is fellow import rookie Mark Restelli also in his first year with Edmonton. Abanikanda debuted for Edmonton on June 17 in a preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and recorded three tackles while Restelli had one tackle and an interception. Eskimos

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Richie Hall Richie Hall (born October 4, 1960) is the defensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was formerly the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos from 2009 to 2010. Early years Hall was born October 4, 1960, ...

has called Abanikanda and Restelli's battle the closest one in camp so far. Hall also stated that he hoped, "one player outperforms the other player" in Edmonton's next preseason game against the BC Lions on June 21." During training camp, his head coach called him "T. A." because he couldn't pronounce his name. Eventually, he was released on June 25, 2009, as a final cut with Restelli winning the job, however he could end up on the Eskimos' practice roster. He was re-signed to the practice roster on June 29, 2009, only to be released again on July 12.

Scouting career

Abanikanda has spent time as a scout for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abanikanda, Tumbo 1986 births Living people American football linebackers Players of Canadian football from Atlanta Canadian football linebackers Edmonton Elks players Players of American football from Atlanta Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Atlanta Falcons scouts