On growing up in Las Vegas: Okay, my name is Elija Lofton and I play tight end. All right, so I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. I grew up with a group of guys I played football with in youth football, and that we've been around since like brothers since we was like kids. And we eventually went over to high school at Bishop Gorman, and we played together at Bishop Gorman, and now we all just all over the place.
On playing with future stars: So we used to go to school together, it was a school called Game Changers Sports Academy, where we just train and do online school. So it started there, really. And then we just push each other because it's an all-boys school, so really nothing to do besides push each other, make each other get better and stuff like that.
On his earliest football memory: My earliest football memory was when I was in AU football, and I played defensive line. I chased down a guy, stripped the ball out, and took it an 80-yard touchdown. My first touchdown ever in football, so that was my favorite memory.
On Bishop Gorman: Bishop Gorman like installed a lot of, it was like a, I wouldn't say colors, but they installed a lot of things like, for example, our practice style, our weight room, the way we do stuff, the way we handle things, the way that we carry ourselves, and it helped me a lot, and that's helpful. For me, high school football, especially in Vegas, was just a group of guys, like, you talking about that we, we've been together since we were like eight years old, so just seeing everybody develop and see everybody grind and go through everything together, and we've all been through, and then everybody's dreams coming true and unfolding in front of us, it's just like a blessing.
On Miami: It was like a dream come true because as a kid, like, Miami was the first school I visited as a young kid, so of course it was my dream to go there and play football. So getting an offer and signing with my mom next to me, it was a blessing, a dream come true.
On Coach Mario Cristobal: And just like Coach Cristobal, like, he's a really hardworking coach, a good coach, so it's hard to not come, that's somebody that's gonna push me, be my stuff every day, and makes me wanna help me get to the next level. What makes him strong leader is that he hold everybody accountable, don't care how, don't care where you at, where, ones, twos, threes, don't matter what job you got, even coaches, everybody to a high standard, and that's what allow the university to keep growing and keep getting better and keep pushing us to the next level.
On his NFL goals: I like UM because I like, I don't know, like, I like, it was my dream school, five years I see myself inside the NFL, and playing a game that I still love, hopefully with a family.
On playing with future stars: So we used to go to school together, it was a school called Game Changers Sports Academy, where we just train and do online school. So it started there, really. And then we just push each other because it's an all-boys school, so really nothing to do besides push each other, make each other get better and stuff like that.
On his earliest football memory: My earliest football memory was when I was in AU football, and I played defensive line. I chased down a guy, stripped the ball out, and took it an 80-yard touchdown. My first touchdown ever in football, so that was my favorite memory.
On Bishop Gorman: Bishop Gorman like installed a lot of, it was like a, I wouldn't say colors, but they installed a lot of things like, for example, our practice style, our weight room, the way we do stuff, the way we handle things, the way that we carry ourselves, and it helped me a lot, and that's helpful. For me, high school football, especially in Vegas, was just a group of guys, like, you talking about that we, we've been together since we were like eight years old, so just seeing everybody develop and see everybody grind and go through everything together, and we've all been through, and then everybody's dreams coming true and unfolding in front of us, it's just like a blessing.
On Miami: It was like a dream come true because as a kid, like, Miami was the first school I visited as a young kid, so of course it was my dream to go there and play football. So getting an offer and signing with my mom next to me, it was a blessing, a dream come true.
On Coach Mario Cristobal: And just like Coach Cristobal, like, he's a really hardworking coach, a good coach, so it's hard to not come, that's somebody that's gonna push me, be my stuff every day, and makes me wanna help me get to the next level. What makes him strong leader is that he hold everybody accountable, don't care how, don't care where you at, where, ones, twos, threes, don't matter what job you got, even coaches, everybody to a high standard, and that's what allow the university to keep growing and keep getting better and keep pushing us to the next level.
On his NFL goals: I like UM because I like, I don't know, like, I like, it was my dream school, five years I see myself inside the NFL, and playing a game that I still love, hopefully with a family.
