By Rich Chrampanis
RED BANK – In this new era of Name Image and Likeness, Elijah McAllister is taking advantage of his status as a high-profile SEC athlete to grow his foundation. All Four One and One For All (also written as ALL4:1and1FORALL) held its second annual camp at Count Basie Field in Red Bank last Friday which featured kids not only getting instruction but a full day of fun, all provided by the former Rumson-Fair Haven two-sport superstar.
“Nobody gets anywhere by themselves,” McAllister said. “I can give back to the community as the community has given me and use my ability with NIL to fund camps like this and give kids something that they won’t forget.”
McAllister is a natural when it comes to interacting with youth and his vision of the camp mixes interactions with an elite college football player and a mini-carnival atmosphere. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Dayo Odeyingbo, a teammate of McAllister’s from Vanderbilt University, was on hand, along with former Minnesota Viking and Denver Bronco Andre Mintze. Kids attending the camp received T-shirts and gift cards; there were food trucks and a video game truck in the parking lot of Count Basie.
Following a five-year career at Vanderbilt that featured 65 tackles, an interception, and 2.5 sacks, McAllister will close out his college football career at Auburn University, also in the SEC.
“I’ve been a four-and-a-half, five-year player in the SEC so they know I can come in and make a ton of plays,” Elijah said. “I’m at a place that is a traditional blue-blood college. The tradition is amazing, they’ve won national championships, they have high-level draft picks, high-level talent consistently and the investment and fan support is like no other.”
Injuries and the pandemic prolonged his college football career and McAllister took advantage of the time academically. He earned a bachelor’s degree in medicine health society with a double minor in business and psychology and a master’s degree in learning, diversity, and urban studies at Vanderbilt. McAllister will now pursue a Ph.D. in education, leadership and psychology at Auburn.
“I want to be able to preach to the kids that you can do both (education and athletics) in life,” McAllister said. “I just want to be able to help people through the avenue of… teaching students and writing my own book. I’m excited to start that journey.”
McAllister will be a critical part of first-year head coach Hugh Freeze’s defense. Auburn looks to get back to the elite of college football after a 5-7 season. While he hasn’t taken a snap yet, he’s already making a seismic impact as the ultimate model of a student-athlete.
“Coach Freeze, he’s a great guy. He’s the person who recruited me personally to come and hopefully change the trajectory of the program fast in Year One,” McAllister said. “He’s given me a lot of ownership not only of myself but of the spaces I keep so I can continue to push the university forward in a positive way.”
While McAllister will be locked in on playing college football this fall and begin his doctorate studies, the foundation will host a back-to-school drive and a Thanksgiving dinner in Alabama. All For One and One For All has also donated to New Jersey food pantries and looks forward to making the summer camp an annual tradition.
The article originally appeared in the July 13 – 19, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
