Elijah McAllister wants to be like Thanos, accomplish life goals on and off the field

Auburn linebacker Elijah McAllister has great ambitions on the football field this season. But he also has expansive ambitions off the football field as well.

Unlike most other athletes who will continue with a different master’s degree program for their final season of college football, McAllister is participating in Ph.D. work in Auburn’s College of Education, aiming to land himself a doctorate in education, leadership and psychology.

While at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, McAllister compared his lengthy list of goals for his life to the Marvel character Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones.

However, unlike Thanos wanting to use the Infinity Stones to eliminate half the world’s population, McAllister’s goals are altruistic and won’t turn him into a comic book villain.

“I laugh when I tell people all the time, I don’t know if you’ve ever know of or seen Thanos,” McAllister said. “I want to get all the infinity stones I can in life. I want my family and the kids and everybody around me to understand you can do anything you want in life. The end goal is to continue to elevate who I am as a person mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, in all facets of life. Continuing to work in the academic space and working on my doctorate. I want to be able to write two books. In the future, be a professor in university and continue to improve myself off the field and on the field. I want to continue to become a better football player and let the chips fall when they may.”

McAllister already has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from his time at Vanderbilt. He earned a bachelor’s in medicine, health and society and then earned a master’s in education diversity and urban studies. McAllister also snagged a double minor in business and psychology.

The 6-foot-6 linebacker finished his time with the Commodores with 65 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

“Probably I wouldn’t say the upcoming opposing offense for the week, but getting a quarterback sack is more difficult,” McAllister said. “When I think of studying for a Ph.D., there’s nobody stopping me from studying and working on getting better in the academic space, whereas when I’m rushing the passer, that person in front of me is like, no, you’re not going to do your job. That’s probably more difficult than studying and working on my academics.”