University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
2016 Football Roster
McGuire, Elijah
Jersey Number 15
Elijah McGuire
- Position:
- Running Back
- Ht./Wt.:
- 5-11 / 209
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Houma, La.
- High School:
- Vandebilt Catholic
Bio
• 2017 East-West Shrine Game Offensive MVP
• 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List
• 2016 Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
• 2016 Second-Team Preseason All-Sun Belt
• 2016 Paul Hornung Award Watch List
• 2016 Doak Walker Award Watch List
• 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
• 2016 Maxwell Award Watch List
• 2015 Second-Team All-Louisiana
• 2015 Doak Walker Award Watch List
• 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List
• 2015 Hornung Award Watch List
• 2014 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
• 2014 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year
• 2014 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Year
• 2014 First-Team All-Louisiana
• Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week (Offense - 10.27.14)
• LSWA Player of the Week (Offense - 10.27.14)
• CFPA National Running Back of the Week (10.27.14)
• 2013 First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
• 2013 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year
• 2013 FWAA Freshman All-America
• 2013 LSWA Freshman of the Year
• 2013 Second-Team All-Louisiana
2016 (Senior)
Finished his career as the Ragin’ Cajuns all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,968), total points scored (318) and total touchdowns (52) ... second in school history in both rushing yards (4,312) and attempts (711) ... posted his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season with 1,127 yards and seven touchdowns ... added 29 receptions on the season with a pair of TDs ... recorded five 100-yard rushing games on the season, increasing his career total to 17 ... rushed for 223 yards and a touchdown against South Alabama (9/17) ... gained 139 yards on 19 carries in win over McNeese State (9/10) ... rushed for 89 yards on a career-high 38 carries with three TDs at Tulane (9/24) ... scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns and added a 22-yard TD reception in the fourth overtime ... gained 112 yards on 20 carries with a pair of TDs at Texas State (10/22) ... rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries at Georgia (11/19) ... rushed for 110 yards on 28 carries with a TD at ULM (12/3) ... capped off the season with 99 yards on 17 carries against Southern Miss (12/17) in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl ... caught a season-high six passes in games against Boise State (9/3) and Georgia Southern (11/10) ... caught three passes for 50 yards and a TD on Senior Day against Arkansas State (11/26) ... participated in the East-West Shrine Game, scoring the game’s only touchdown on an 18-yard fourth-quarter score to earn Offensive MVP honors.
2015 (Junior)
Rushed for a team-high 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Ragin’ Cajuns while hauling in 34 passes and three TDs … joined Tyrell Fenroy (2005-08) as the second running back in school to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons … finished sixth in the SBC in rushing (87.2) and was seventh in the league in all-purpose yards (119.2) … named honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference and second-team All-Louisiana ... scored 102 points, recording 16 TDs with three two-point conversions … recorded three 100-yard rushing games on the season … tied for the team-lead with 13 plays of 20 yards or more on the season … rushed for 162 yards with school-record tying five TDs against Northwestern State (9/12) … scored on a 7-yard run on the Cajuns’ first drive before racing 88 yards on the next drive … added rushing TDs of 3 and 24 yards in the first half against the Demons before scoring his fifth TD of the game on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter … gained a season-high 170 yards on a career-high 28 carries in a SBC-opening victory against Texas State (10/10) … added 159 yards with rushing TDs of 64 and 31 yards against New Mexico State (11/21) … became the first running back in Ragin’ Cajuns history to record 100 receptions in a career … set career-highs with 10 catches for 134 yards, highlighted by an acrobatic 20-yard TD in the fourth quarter at Arkansas State (10/20) … caught a 49-yard TD from Jalen Nixon in the first quarter at Louisiana Tech (10/3) … added a 7-yard TD reception in season-finale against Troy (12/5) … finished the season as one of two active NCAA players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving … joined Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball in mid-January and played in 16 games down the stretch as a defensive specialist … earned third letter.
2014 (Sophomore)
Named as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year ... tabbed as the Offensive Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association ... rushed for a team-high 1,264 yards and 14 touchdowns, ranking fourth in school history for most yards in a season and tied for fourth in touchdowns … among NCAA individuals, finished 29th nationally in rushing yards, 34th in rushing yards per game (97.2), 19th in all-purpose yards (1,848), tied for 21st in rushing touchdowns and third in yards per carry (7.61) ... team’s leading receiver with 45 catches … joined former quarterbacks Brian Mitchell (1989), Michael Desormeaux (2007-08) and running back Fenroy as the only players in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season … joined Fenroy as the only players in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards in their first two seasons … led the Sun Belt Conference in all-purpose yards … recorded a rushing touchdown in nine consecutive games before having his streak snapped in the Ragin’ Cajuns 16-3 win over Nevada (12/20) in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl … ranked third in the league in punt returns, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt … accounted for a team-best 22 plays (13 rushes, eight receptions, one punt return) of 20 yards or more on the season, including seven plays of 40 yards or greater ... recorded five 100-yard games on the season, increasing his career total to nine … rushed for a career-high 265 yards (the 12th-best total in a single-game during the 2014 season among NCAA rushers) on 19 carries with four touchdowns in a nationally-televised victory over Arkansas State (10/21) … named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week … the 265-yard performance was the first of three straight 100-yard games that included 116 yards against South Alabama (11/1) and 136 yards at New Mexico State (11/8) … opened the season with a 129-yard, 13-carry performance against Southern (8/30) … gained 165 yards and two TDs at Troy (11/29) in the regular-season finale ... caught passes in 11 of 13 games during the season with two scores ... caught a 62-yard scoring pass on second play from scrimmage in 34-10 win at Texas State (10/14) ... caught career-best 10 passes and recorded 170 yards of total offense at Boise State (9/20) ... had nine receptions for 90 yards in win over South Alabama (11/1).
2013 (Freshman)
First team All-Sun Belt selection and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year after leading the nation with an 8.4 average rush ... regular in the backfield in all 13 games, earning a starts against ULM and Tulane ... carried 103 times for 871 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 384 yards and three scores ... had 17 plays of 20 yards or more and recorded four 100-yard games, one short of the school record for a freshman ... caught a 31-yard pass from Terrance Broadway on a wheel route on his first collegiate play at Arkansas (8/31) ... rushed nine times for a career-high 137 yards and three touchdowns in first home game vs. Nicholls State (9/14) ... cored on a 42-yard run vs. the Colonels, dragging a defender for almost 10 yards on the play ... carried 10 times for 110 yards at Arkansas State, including a 70-yard run, the longest non-scoring play of the season ... became the first player in school history to rush for 100 yards and catch passes for 100 yards in the same game, carrying 11 times for 107 yards and making three catches for 125 yards, including touchdowns of 80 and 36 yards at Georgia State (11/16) ... rushed 14 times for 119 yards and a touchdown vs. ULM (11/30), adding five catches for 35 yards ... had a career-high seven catches for 94 yards against Tulane in the New Orleans Bowl (12/21), added 45 yards rushing including a 27-yard touchdown on 11 carries ... earned first letter.
High School
First team all-state choice as an athlete by the LSWA as a senior at Vandebilt Catholic High ... led the state in rushing, carrying 223 times for 2,603 yards, an 11.8 average and 31 touchdowns to help the Terriers to an 11-2 record ... also passed for 497 yards and five touchdowns in helping team win first district title since 2002 and reach the quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the first time since 2007 ... also earned first team all-region mention ... has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash ... three-star ranking by Rivals.com ... was ranked No. 33 in Louisiana during the preseason and No. 17 in the Louisiana Post-Season Top 40 by Rivals.
Personal
Born June 1, 1994 in Houma, La. ... the son of Marion McGuire ... is the youngest of six children, having one brother (Ryan) and four sisters (Nina Smith, Octavia, Miesha and Darneshia McGuire) ... earned his degree in General Studies in December 2016.
• 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List
• 2016 Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
• 2016 Second-Team Preseason All-Sun Belt
• 2016 Paul Hornung Award Watch List
• 2016 Doak Walker Award Watch List
• 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
• 2016 Maxwell Award Watch List
• 2015 Second-Team All-Louisiana
• 2015 Doak Walker Award Watch List
• 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List
• 2015 Hornung Award Watch List
• 2014 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
• 2014 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year
• 2014 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Year
• 2014 First-Team All-Louisiana
• Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week (Offense - 10.27.14)
• LSWA Player of the Week (Offense - 10.27.14)
• CFPA National Running Back of the Week (10.27.14)
• 2013 First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
• 2013 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year
• 2013 FWAA Freshman All-America
• 2013 LSWA Freshman of the Year
• 2013 Second-Team All-Louisiana
2016 (Senior)
Finished his career as the Ragin’ Cajuns all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,968), total points scored (318) and total touchdowns (52) ... second in school history in both rushing yards (4,312) and attempts (711) ... posted his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season with 1,127 yards and seven touchdowns ... added 29 receptions on the season with a pair of TDs ... recorded five 100-yard rushing games on the season, increasing his career total to 17 ... rushed for 223 yards and a touchdown against South Alabama (9/17) ... gained 139 yards on 19 carries in win over McNeese State (9/10) ... rushed for 89 yards on a career-high 38 carries with three TDs at Tulane (9/24) ... scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns and added a 22-yard TD reception in the fourth overtime ... gained 112 yards on 20 carries with a pair of TDs at Texas State (10/22) ... rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries at Georgia (11/19) ... rushed for 110 yards on 28 carries with a TD at ULM (12/3) ... capped off the season with 99 yards on 17 carries against Southern Miss (12/17) in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl ... caught a season-high six passes in games against Boise State (9/3) and Georgia Southern (11/10) ... caught three passes for 50 yards and a TD on Senior Day against Arkansas State (11/26) ... participated in the East-West Shrine Game, scoring the game’s only touchdown on an 18-yard fourth-quarter score to earn Offensive MVP honors.
2015 (Junior)
Rushed for a team-high 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Ragin’ Cajuns while hauling in 34 passes and three TDs … joined Tyrell Fenroy (2005-08) as the second running back in school to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons … finished sixth in the SBC in rushing (87.2) and was seventh in the league in all-purpose yards (119.2) … named honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference and second-team All-Louisiana ... scored 102 points, recording 16 TDs with three two-point conversions … recorded three 100-yard rushing games on the season … tied for the team-lead with 13 plays of 20 yards or more on the season … rushed for 162 yards with school-record tying five TDs against Northwestern State (9/12) … scored on a 7-yard run on the Cajuns’ first drive before racing 88 yards on the next drive … added rushing TDs of 3 and 24 yards in the first half against the Demons before scoring his fifth TD of the game on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter … gained a season-high 170 yards on a career-high 28 carries in a SBC-opening victory against Texas State (10/10) … added 159 yards with rushing TDs of 64 and 31 yards against New Mexico State (11/21) … became the first running back in Ragin’ Cajuns history to record 100 receptions in a career … set career-highs with 10 catches for 134 yards, highlighted by an acrobatic 20-yard TD in the fourth quarter at Arkansas State (10/20) … caught a 49-yard TD from Jalen Nixon in the first quarter at Louisiana Tech (10/3) … added a 7-yard TD reception in season-finale against Troy (12/5) … finished the season as one of two active NCAA players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving … joined Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball in mid-January and played in 16 games down the stretch as a defensive specialist … earned third letter.
2014 (Sophomore)
Named as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year ... tabbed as the Offensive Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association ... rushed for a team-high 1,264 yards and 14 touchdowns, ranking fourth in school history for most yards in a season and tied for fourth in touchdowns … among NCAA individuals, finished 29th nationally in rushing yards, 34th in rushing yards per game (97.2), 19th in all-purpose yards (1,848), tied for 21st in rushing touchdowns and third in yards per carry (7.61) ... team’s leading receiver with 45 catches … joined former quarterbacks Brian Mitchell (1989), Michael Desormeaux (2007-08) and running back Fenroy as the only players in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season … joined Fenroy as the only players in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards in their first two seasons … led the Sun Belt Conference in all-purpose yards … recorded a rushing touchdown in nine consecutive games before having his streak snapped in the Ragin’ Cajuns 16-3 win over Nevada (12/20) in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl … ranked third in the league in punt returns, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt … accounted for a team-best 22 plays (13 rushes, eight receptions, one punt return) of 20 yards or more on the season, including seven plays of 40 yards or greater ... recorded five 100-yard games on the season, increasing his career total to nine … rushed for a career-high 265 yards (the 12th-best total in a single-game during the 2014 season among NCAA rushers) on 19 carries with four touchdowns in a nationally-televised victory over Arkansas State (10/21) … named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week … the 265-yard performance was the first of three straight 100-yard games that included 116 yards against South Alabama (11/1) and 136 yards at New Mexico State (11/8) … opened the season with a 129-yard, 13-carry performance against Southern (8/30) … gained 165 yards and two TDs at Troy (11/29) in the regular-season finale ... caught passes in 11 of 13 games during the season with two scores ... caught a 62-yard scoring pass on second play from scrimmage in 34-10 win at Texas State (10/14) ... caught career-best 10 passes and recorded 170 yards of total offense at Boise State (9/20) ... had nine receptions for 90 yards in win over South Alabama (11/1).
2013 (Freshman)
First team All-Sun Belt selection and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year after leading the nation with an 8.4 average rush ... regular in the backfield in all 13 games, earning a starts against ULM and Tulane ... carried 103 times for 871 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 384 yards and three scores ... had 17 plays of 20 yards or more and recorded four 100-yard games, one short of the school record for a freshman ... caught a 31-yard pass from Terrance Broadway on a wheel route on his first collegiate play at Arkansas (8/31) ... rushed nine times for a career-high 137 yards and three touchdowns in first home game vs. Nicholls State (9/14) ... cored on a 42-yard run vs. the Colonels, dragging a defender for almost 10 yards on the play ... carried 10 times for 110 yards at Arkansas State, including a 70-yard run, the longest non-scoring play of the season ... became the first player in school history to rush for 100 yards and catch passes for 100 yards in the same game, carrying 11 times for 107 yards and making three catches for 125 yards, including touchdowns of 80 and 36 yards at Georgia State (11/16) ... rushed 14 times for 119 yards and a touchdown vs. ULM (11/30), adding five catches for 35 yards ... had a career-high seven catches for 94 yards against Tulane in the New Orleans Bowl (12/21), added 45 yards rushing including a 27-yard touchdown on 11 carries ... earned first letter.
High School
First team all-state choice as an athlete by the LSWA as a senior at Vandebilt Catholic High ... led the state in rushing, carrying 223 times for 2,603 yards, an 11.8 average and 31 touchdowns to help the Terriers to an 11-2 record ... also passed for 497 yards and five touchdowns in helping team win first district title since 2002 and reach the quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the first time since 2007 ... also earned first team all-region mention ... has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash ... three-star ranking by Rivals.com ... was ranked No. 33 in Louisiana during the preseason and No. 17 in the Louisiana Post-Season Top 40 by Rivals.
Personal
Born June 1, 1994 in Houma, La. ... the son of Marion McGuire ... is the youngest of six children, having one brother (Ryan) and four sisters (Nina Smith, Octavia, Miesha and Darneshia McGuire) ... earned his degree in General Studies in December 2016.
Michael Desormeaux Media Availability (Sept 1, 2025)
Monday, September 01
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Sunday, August 31
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