Former Georgia Tech linebacker Ayinde Eley was chosen the most outstanding rookie for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League.
Eley, who played for Tech from 2021-22 after three seasons at Maryland, has 66 tackles, a forced fumble and fumble recovery this season.
Eley is one of six Lions, who play in Vancouver, British Columbia, chosen by the franchise as honorees who advance to the next stage of voting on the road to the CFL Awards. The winners were selected by each team’s coach and by local voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada. Other honors included most outstanding player, most outstanding defensive player, most outstanding Canadian, most outstanding offensive lineman and most outstanding special-teams player.
Team award winners now move on to a second round of voting to determine division finalists, which will be announced Oct. 31. The East and West Division nominees will go head-to-head in Vancouver during the CFL Awards on Nov. 14 as part of the Grey Cup Festival.
Eley was a second-team all-ACC selection in 2022 after making 118 tackles (9.5 for loss) and 3.5 sacks. He also forced four fumbles and recovered two loose balls. In 2021, Eley made 90 stops.
A 2017 graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Maryland, Eley played three seasons at Maryland, where he appeared in 26 games, before he transferred to Tech. His father, Donald Hill-Eley, currently is Tech football’s chief of staff.
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