Ayinde "Ace" Eley (born October 22, 1998) is an American 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Ottawa RedBlacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. He has also been a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and

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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the CFL.

Early life

Eley attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in

Olney, Maryland Olney is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C. Olney was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when g ...

. He was rated the No. 2 outside linebacker in Maryland, and a four-star recruit by Scout.com in the class of 2017.

College career

Eley first played

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

from 2018 to 2020. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2017. He played in 12 games, starting one, in 2018, recording 13 tackles, one interception, and one pass breakup. Eley appeared in 11 games, starting nine, during the 2019 season, totaling 79 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries, earning honorable mention All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

honors. He played in three games, starting one, during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, and made 19 tackles. Eley transferred to play for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

from 2021 to 2022. He played in 11 games, all starts, in 2021, recording 90 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and one pass breakup. He started all 12 games during the 2022 season, totaling 118 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, garnering second team all- ACC recognition.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

After going undrafted in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, Eley signed with the

on May 16, 2023. He was waived on August 29. He was later signed to the team's practice squad on November 7, 2023.

Houston Texans

Eley was signed by the

on January 22, 2024. He was waived on March 21, 2024.

BC Lions

Eley signed with the

of the

(CFL) on April 3, 2024. He was moved to the practice roster on June 20, and promoted to the active on June 26. During the 2024 season he played 17 games and one playoff game, becoming a starting linebacker, making 60 tackles, one special teams tackle, and one forced fumble. He was selected as the Lions nominee for Outstanding Rookie. On February 22, 2025, it was reported that the Lions had released Eley, having signed linebackers

Micah Awe Micah Awe (born January 4, 1994) is a Nigerian professional football linebacker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas Tech. Awe has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York J ...

, Adam Auclair and Adam Konar in free agency.

Ottawa RedBlacks

On February 24, 2025, Eley signed with the

Personal life

Eley's father, Donald Hill-Eley, is a football coach.

References

External links

BC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eley, Ayinde Living people 1998 births American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Maryland Terrapins football players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Carolina Panthers players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen BC Lions players Players of Canadian football from Maryland Players of American football from Silver Spring, Maryland Ottawa Redblacks players