NASHVILLE – In some ways, Elic Ayomanor came out of nowhere to reach the NFL.
The Titans rookie receiver was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. But he lived in Kincaid, a town of less than 200 people.
Growing up, his odds of getting noticed as a football player were low, even though that's the route he wanted to go after playing hockey until he was 13.
"Honestly, it's very hard to get recruited from Canada," Ayomanor said. "There just isn't a lot of respect for the competition or the coaching. It's a different game, too."
To chase his NFL dream, Ayomanor moved away from home to attend boarding school in New Jersey and then Massachusetts.
It resulted in him getting noticed – and recruited by schools like Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, among others. Ayomanor eventually chose Stanford, and his performance there caught the attention of NFL scouts.
The Titans picked Ayomanor in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and now his professional career is under way.
"As soon as I started playing football, I understood it was one of my loves and passions," Ayomanor said. "I love playing all sports, but football really stood out for me, that's why I tried to pursue it long term."
A 6-foot-2, 206-pounder, Ayomanor arrived in Tennessee with plenty of potential.
Ayomanor played two seasons at Stanford and amassed 125 receptions for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns. He caught 63 passes for 831 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, when he was a second team All-ACC performer.
Ayomanor posted a school-record 294 yards in a game against Colorado, when he caught 13 passes and scored three touchdowns while being defended by Colorado's Travis Hunter, the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In Tennessee, Ayomanor is already getting adjusted to Titans quarterback Cam Ward, who was selected first overall.
"It's been great," he said after rookie minicamp. "He gets the ball out really fast, which is great. It is something I have to get used to for sure. You have to be ready. You know that he is going to be on time every time. … If you're late, you're late, because he is not going to be late."
With his size, the Titans think Ayomanor will be capable of going up and winning one-on-one battles, or "combat catches."
Ayomanor knows he's built for it, and he's more than willing.
"I have some physical traits, a bigger body, so that helps you there," he said. "At the end of the day it is a mentality, and you have to have that dog in you, that fight in you, to try and win those battles. That is what I try to bring to the table.
"I grew up playing hockey, so there is definitely a gritty sense to that."
