Eli Ankou (born June 8, 1994) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Ankou grew up in Canada and played high school football for the

St. Peter Catholic High School St. Peter Catholic High School is a Catholic high school located in Orléans, a suburb of Ottawa, Canada. The current principal is Linda Meulenbroek. The school includes grades 7–12 and also a preschool/daycare service. During the 2019–202 ...

Knights in Orleans, Ontario, but played his senior season at Red Lion Christian Academy in

Bear, Delaware Bear is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 19,371 at the 2010 census. Originally a small crossroads in a rural area, approximately south of Wilmington, the area supported small fa ...

Early years

Ankou attended

and Red Lion Christian Academy, where he played as a strong side

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he didn't appear in any games. As a sophomore, he missed most of the season with an injury. He appeared in 3 games as a backup, making one tackle. As a junior, he appeared in all 13 games as backup, posting 5 tackles (1 for loss). As a senior, he became a starter after

Eddie Vanderdoes Eddie Norman Vanderdoes IV (born October 13, 1994) is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at UCLA, where he was named first-team Freshman All-America. College career Vanderdoes originally signed a ...

was lost for the season with a right knee injury. He appeared in 13 games with 11 starts, registering 47 tackles (ninth on the team), 5 tackles for loss (tied for fourth on the team). He had 7 tackles against the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. He made 6 tackles against

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He finished his career with 38 games (19 starts), 91 tackles (8 for loss), 1.5 sacks, three passes defensed and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Ankou was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

after 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 ...

on May 12. He was waived by the Texans on September 2, 2017.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 3, 2017, Ankou was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. In 2017, he appeared in nine games as a backup, posting 15 tackles (one for loss), 1.5 sacks and two quarterback pressures. In 2018, he appeared in two games as a backup and had four tackles. On September 1, 2019, Ankou was waived by the Jaguars and re-signed to the practice squad on September 3.

Cleveland Browns

Ankou was signed by 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 ( ...

off the Jaguars' practice squad on October 22, 2019. Ankou appeared in 9 games with 2 starts, tallying 7 tackles (one for loss). He was waived by the Browns on September 6, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 7, 2020, Ankou was claimed off waivers by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was declared inactive during the first 5 weeks of the season. He was waived on October 17.

Houston Texans (second stint)

On October 19, 2020, Ankou was claimed off waivers by the Texans and placed on the exempt/commissioner permission list. On October 26, he was activated from the exempt/commissioner permission list.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 2, 2020, Ankou was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for a 7th round draft pick (#245-

Andrew Stueber Andrew Stueber (born July 1, 1999) is an American football guard for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. As a graduate student in 2021, he received second-team All-American reco ...

) in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He was acquired to provide depth after the release of

Dontari Poe Dontari Poe (born August 18, 1990) is a former American football nose tackle. He played college football at Memphis and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs 11th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. Though primarily a defensive lineman, at 6 ft ...

and to help improve a

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

that was struggling to stop the run. He appeared in 7 games as a backup, tallying 5 tackles and one quarterback pressure. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 17, 2021, Ankou signed with 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 ...

. He was waived on June 17, 2021.

Buffalo Bills

On June 22, 2021, Ankou signed with the

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

. He was waived on August 15.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On August 18, 2021, Ankou signed with the Falcons. He was waived on August 31, 2021.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 5, 2021, Ankou was signed to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

practice squad. He was released on October 12.

Tennessee Titans

On October 26, 2021, Ankou was signed to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

practice squad. On November 1, 2021, Ankou was released from the practice squad.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On November 16, 2021, Ankou was signed to the Bills' practice squad. He played in six games, recording 10 tackles and one sack. He signed with the Bills on February 7, 2022. He was released on August 30, 2022. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 3, 2022. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 23, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Ankou was waived by the Bills and re-signed to the practice squad.

Atlanta Falcons (third stint)

On October 4, 2023, Ankou was signed by the Falcons off the Bills practice squad. He was released by the Falcons on October 24, 2023.

Buffalo Bills (third stint)

On October 25, 2023, Ankou was signed to the Bills practice squad.

Personal life

Ankou is an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

of the

Dokis First Nation Dokis 9 ( oj, Kikendawt, ''meaning: "our land of the pots"'') is a First Nations reserve and community in the Canadian province of Ontario, assigned to the Dokis First Nation. The reserve is located approximately 16 kilometers southwest of centra ...

through his mother Nicole Bellefeuille, while his father Adolphe is originally from the

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...

nation of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. He has been in a relationship with American racing cyclist

Shayna Powless Shayna Powless (born January 8, 1994) is an American professional bicycle racing, racing cyclist. She is of Oneida Indian Nation, Oneida descent through her father. She grew up in Sacramento, California and played a variety of sports whilst growi ...

since 2013, after the couple met at UCLA: as of 2021 the couple were engaged.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bioAtlanta Falcons bioBuffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankou, Eli 1994 births Living people Ojibwe people Canadian football people from Ottawa Black Canadian players of American football Canadian people of Togolese descent Players of American football from Ontario American football defensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cleveland Browns players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tennessee Titans players