Most people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone. That saying is one that has shaped Maryland linebacker Ayinde Eley’s appreciation for football. Twelve years of putting that uniform on. Twelve years of stepping foot onto the field. Twelve years of playing a game that he loves. All almost taken away within seconds.

The redshirt sophomore started the first game of the 2019 season against Howard with two solo tackles, totaling nine solo tackles in his college career. Nine tackles that Eley thought at times he’d never be able to make.

Eley had two seizures his junior year of high school within a week of each other. A very rare disease, autoimmune encephalitis, which occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly invades healthy brain cells, caused the seizures.

After the second seizure, he lost mobility on the left side of his body. Football was taken away from him for about two years, causing him to miss his senior season.

There was a point in time when everything was going on that I didn’t know if I was going to play football again or if I was going to gain my mobility back, said Eley. I could watch football, but I couldn’t play it. It was just tough. I didn’t have the motivation to do very much. I just had to keep reminding myself that if you work and get back to where you used to be, you can be back on the field.

With the help of the medical staff at the Children’s National Health System and the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital that were committed to getting Eley back on the field, the rare disease was quickly diagnosed and treated. Before long, he was able to dream about football again.

Eley persevered throughout his senior year of high school while going through rehab to regain mobility on his left side. His senior year, ESPN rated him as the No. 15 player in Maryland, and he received offers from Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.