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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

. Ankou grew up in Canada and played high school football for the St. Peter Catholic High School 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, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 19,371 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Originally a small crossroads in a rural area, approxim ...

Early life

Ankou attended St. Peter Catholic High School 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 the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. 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 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: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. He made 6 tackles against

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. 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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

after the 2017 NFL draft 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. 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. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in exchange for a 7th round draft pick (#245- Andrew Stueber) in the

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

. He was acquired to provide depth after the release of

Dontari Poe Dontari Poe (born August 18, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Memphis Tigers and was selected by the Kans ...

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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. 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–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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. He signed a reserve/future contract with the team on January 23, 2024. Ankou was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts on August 27, 2024, then later added back to the practice squad. Ankou was released by Buffalo on December 19, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Personal life

Ankou is an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

of the Dokis First Nation through his mother Nicole Bellefeuille, while his father Adolphe is originally from the

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

n nation of

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. He has been in a relationship with American racing cyclist

Shayna Powless Shayna Powless (born January 8, 1994) is an American professional racing cyclist. She is of Oneida heritage through her father and is a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She grew up in Sacramento, California and played a variety of sport ...

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

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankou, Eli 1994 births Living people Ojibwe sportsmen Canadian football people from Ottawa Black Canadian players of American football Canadian players of American football Black Canadian sportsmen 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