Former Michigan State Player Ejelonu Now With CIFL Sting

By Randy Snow

In his short professional football career, Eze Ejelonu has been many places. After playing college football at Michigan State from 2003-2004, he signed on with the Albany Conquest of arenafootball2 in 2006 and then played for the league's Fort Wayne Fusion team in 2007. But after only a few games with the Fusion he was traded to the Cincinnati Jungle Kats, where he finished out the season.

In January 2008, he was drafted by Team Tennessee of the All American Football League. However, just before the start of the new league's inaugural season in April, the AAFL decided to postpone its launch until 2009 due to the slumping economy.

With no playing season to look forward to, Ejelonu found a new team that had several of his former Michiagn State teammates already on it, the Saginaw Sting of the Continental Indoor Football League.

"I wanted to make sure I stayed in shape," said Ejelonu. "I've got to do more than just train in the gym. I've got to be out here playing. I've got a lot of friends on the team like (OL) Eric Knott and (QB) Damon Dowdell. We had a team chemistry back at Michigan State and I wanted to continue that chemistry and play football with these guys."

Ejelonu returned to Fort Wayne Saturday night (May 10) with his Saginaw teammates for a game against the Fort Wayne Freedom. He recorded two sacks during the game from his defensive end position and helped lead the Sting to a 34-21 win over the Freedom. With the win, the Sting improved its record to 7-2 on the season.

"I'm very excited that I'm on a winning team and (this team) has been my family," Ejelonu said.

Sting head coach Karl Featherstone is happy to have Ejelonu on the team. "He's got great footwork and great hands," said Featherstone. "He knows how to play that (defensive) end position. He's a very aggressive player and a great attribute to the defensive line."

But Ejelonu is more than just a football player. He is also an entrepreneur. He is the President and CEO of his own company called DAASH Athletics Enterprises, Inc., which will run sports camps throughout the year. The company will also have a scholarship fund to provide academic tutoring for athletes who can't afford tutors.

If all that wasn't enough, he recently had a tryout with the NFL Buffalo Bills.

So life is good for Ejelonu right now. His current team has a winning record and is certainly headed for the CIFL playoffs, he might be getting a call from the NFL or the AAFL in the near future and his company will be launching a web site very soon.

Not bad for a guy who never played football until his senior year in high school!

http://www.daashathletics.com/
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Randy Snow is a freelance football writer from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Since 2003, he has covered the Arena Football League, arenafootball2, United Indoor Football, the Continental Indoor Football League, the All American Football League and the Canadian Football League. Randy has been a member of the Arena Football League Writer's Association since 2005 and can be reached at randysnow22@yahoo.com