North Carolina State
one of our High School BFS All-Americas. Players are individuals we select will be successful and produce in By Greg Shepard Every year we honor some 200 high school football players on our BFS All-America team. Elijah Austin who is from Bainbridge High School in Georgia made our 1985-86 Honorable Mention All-America Team. At Bainbridge, Elijah ran a 4.9 forty at a bodyweight of 230 pounds. He squatted 520, Benched 395, and Dead Lifted 495 pounds as an All-Region football player. On page 15 you read about John Hinson also from Bainbridge, Georgia.
Since Elijah now Benches 575 pounds, you might well ask, “Whats goin’ on? What do they feed those guys?” Elijah just laughs, “Well, we don’t use steroids. My lifts are from good old country eatin’.” Elijah was a star athlete at Bainbridge, where he also threw the Shot Put and Discus. As a result, Elijah was the athlete-of-the-year in his senior year at Bainbridge. As a 9th grader, he participated on the varsity which won the Georgia State 4-A Championship. Elijah was team captain as a senior. He was a starter there for three years and was selected to play in the Georgia NorthSouth All-Star game. We thought it would be good to do a follow-up on selected for a variety of positive reasons.
We feel the spite of obstacles put before them. Elijah is no exception. Elijah’s mother graduated from college but because of a divorce he lived a lot with his grandmother. Elijah was background helped form his strength of character. Elijah has always worked hard and stuck to it. As a 10th grader, he Benched 170. The following year Elijah popped up 330 pounds and by the end of his 12th grade year Benched a whopping 420 pounds.
Elijah entered North Carolina State University on Proposition 48 status. Many colleges don’t like to gamble with players on this kind of status but in Elijah case it wasn’t a gamble but an investment. Elijah gives this advice, “Do proper work academically and do proper work athletically. The two go hand-in Elijah attends his classes and is majoring in cr: justice with a 2.0 GPA. Elijah is on line to graduate in five years. Strength Coach David Horning reports, “Elijah is a great person who works hard at everything. He's doing okay on grades and works extra hard to make it in the classroom. Elijah also made the N.S.C.A. strength team as a sophomore.
his strength makes him an awesome force at nose guard.” Continued on page next page 2.
ELIJAH AUSTIN Continued from previous page Elijah is committed to be a leader in the weight room and believes the work done there helps him with his nose guard technique. “I also play basketball for agility and athletic ability. In addition to that I stretch and sprint.” When| asked Elijah if he had a girl friend and if so was he planning on getting married. He laughed, “Yes and No!” Then, we got a little more serious. I asked Elijah to tell you his thoughts on being happy and successful. He drew in a big breath and gave this sage advice, “Work Elijah Benches 575! hard at something you enjoy and do your best to stay Spotted by N.C. State Strength Coach David Horning. away from drugs.
Get your education and work hard to graduate. Remember your family and stay close to them.”
We thank Elijah for his Upper Limit example and thank Strength Coach David Horning for making this article possible.
Gamble but an Investment.”
ELIJAH AUSTIN Progress Chart 86-87 87-88 88-89 Elijah by Wolfpack Wall of Fame.
XElijah strengthening his grip and Pullup Power.
From BFS Magazine — Fall 1989. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
