The career of 22-year-old rookie Elijah Arroyo is 6 days away from his dream game, the one he used to play on dirt fields in Cancun, the Mexican city located in the Yucatan Peninsula, when he was a kid.
Arroyo and his Seattle Seahawks will meet the New England Patriots on February 8 to determine the winner of Super Bowl LX.
Arroyo is a powerful tight end
Elijah Arroyo is 1.96 meters tall and weighs 115 kilograms.
A threat to opposing defenses who shined with the Miami Hurricanes of college soccer.
Team that projected him to the NFL, where he was selected in the second round of the 2025 Draft by the Seahawks.
His first year in Seattle was hit and miss due to injuries, which caused him to miss the last four games of the regular season.
He racked up 15 receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown, but is now ready to help his offense in contention for the Lombardi Trophy in the game against the Pats at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (California).
A family name bigger than everything
Elijah Arroyo was born in Orlando, Florida on April 5, 2003.
In 2010 she moved with her parents to the tourist city of Cancun, in the state of Quintana Roo, to live with her grandparents.
Despite leaving his friends behind, the only thing he asked his mother, as if the trip depended on it, was if there was a soccer team for him.
The answer was affirmative.
Upon his arrival in Cancun, Elijah Arroyo found a field with no grass, where stray dogs roamed.
Before each game, players had to remove stones, pick up broken glass and bottles.
The closed wing was formed between shortages and dreams.
And so he experienced his own ‘Super Bowl’ with his team, Trojans, against Tigres de Yucatán.
In April of last year, after being selected by the Seahawks he understood everything.
“It meant a lot. Being there transformed me into a selfless team player and having a Mexican last name, being able to represent the people of Mexico.”
“It makes me feel like I represent something bigger than myself. It’s something that fills me with pride,” he said, recalling that time.
The prodigal son returns home
Elijah Arroyo returned to the United States at the age of 13.
At Frisco (Texas) he played in high school and showed skills that caused him to be coveted by the best college soccer programs in the country.
Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, South Carolina and USC opened doors for him.
But Elijah Arroyo had only one team in mind: Miami Hurricanes.
However, he struggled to take flight with Hurricanes due to a pair of knee injuries that limited his performance at the close of the 2022 campaign and the start of 2023.
Arroyo powered through 2024 with 590 yards and 7 touchdowns making him the seventh-best prospect at his position, something the NFL’s Seahawks didn’t pass up.
Since his time with Miami in high school and now with the Seahawks, Elijah Arroyo has been the face that Latinos are looking for.
The Latino voice that learned American soccer in Spanish
It's something that fills me with pride
Elijah Arroyo
He was featured in NFL commercials and capsules for the ‘Por la cultura’ program and ‘Latino Heritage Month’.
Elijah Arroyo recounts his experiences and how he learned virtually every concept of American soccer in Spanish before learning it in English.
“Trojans was the first real sorority I was a part of. I’ll never forget forging a relationship with those guys.”
“It’s like being in the locker room now with the Seahawks. It’s something I’m never going to part with.”
The tight end emphasized that as if he were on an earthy field he will take the field in Super Bowl LX.
With information from EFE
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com
