University of Delaware Athletics
Elijah Sessoms Looking to Continue Upward Trajectory
4/16/2024 2:31:00 PM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football team is into its final week of spring practices as the annual Blue-White Spring Game is just days away. One of the bright spots for the Blue Hens this spring has been the continued improvement of tight end Elijah Sessoms. A product of Dover High School, Sessoms is one of 11 Delawareans currently on the roster and is looking to take on a bigger role for the offense in 2024.
Sessoms will be entering his junior season at UD this fall. He did not see the field as a freshman in 2022 but spent valuable time on the scout team and learned from veteran all-conference tight ends Bryce De Maille and Braden Brose, expanding his skill set both as a receiver and a blocker.
“They helped me with a lot of footwork and fundamental stuff,” Sessoms said. “They instilled in me fine-tuning my movements. I had the extra year with Braden and he opened my eyes a little more to being more focused on the field. He helped me understand the offense and patience.”
Sessoms continued his upward trajectory through last year’s spring practices and fall training camp. He was rewarded for his hard work as he appeared in all 13 games in 2023, playing a primary role on special teams while serving as Brose’s primary backup on the offense.
“I have been really impressed over the last couple years with how he’s been able to soak in the offense with his limited game reps,” Delaware’s tight ends coach Garrett Smith said. “Before he was a young guy with a lot of bodies in front of him and it was very clear his first year here that he was going to redshirt and be a scout team guy. Since then, he has stepped into his role and is feeling more comfortable on offense and in the meeting rooms.”
Fittingly enough for the kid from just an hour away in Dover, Sessoms’ first-career catch came on Delaware’s Homecoming Weekend in 2023. In a rain-soaked game against North Carolina A&T, his first catch was a 16-yard gain in the second quarter that set up a UD touchdown on the very next play.
“It was a monumental moment for me,” Sessoms recalled. “I sat after the game thinking how much it meant to me because it took so much out of me and my family growing up to have me in this position which I’m so grateful for.”
Sessoms’ family moved to Delaware from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania when he was in eighth grade. He quickly became a star at Dover High School, accumulating numerous accolades in both football and basketball including first team all-district and all-state honors in football as a senior in 2021. He garnered attention from FBS programs like Temple and Coastal Carolina but was drawn to UD for what it offered outside of football.
“I was really trying to see where I fit best, and it ultimately came down to Delaware. I was big into school first, then athletics, and the school aspect really sold me. Great resources, great alumni; they really keep the students involved and really look out for our futures. That’s the one thing that really caught my attention here.
“I was looking at my first major here, which was exercise science. That part really got me interested. When I got here, I got introduced to the entrepreneurship side of Delaware and how they have a lot of alumni come back and talk to the students to help them build their venture and build their journey which has really helped me.”
Away from the football field, Sessoms can often be found with a camera in his hand. His love for photography began simply as a curiosity in high school and quickly developed into a great passion. He is regularly on the sidelines at other Delaware sporting events, taking action pictures for his fellow student-athletes and the athletic department.
“I picked up the passion from an old camera my mom had lying around. We didn’t have many photographers come to our games in high school, and we just would get overcharged if we ever did. I picked up the camera and brought it to a JV basketball game to see what I could do, and they didn’t come out that bad. I made a photography Instagram account and got a lot of love from the players, and it’s just gone on and on from there. The Delaware games are so close, I may as well shoot those.”
Sessoms has had to put the camera away for the past few weeks as the football program has picked up its spring practice schedule. While he is still currently the youngest member of the tight room, he is no longer the young freshman on the scout team. Of the five tight ends on the roster this spring, Sessoms is the only returner who caught a pass for the Blue & Gold in 2023.
“The tight end room this spring is really a small knit group. We complement each other well and have a great bond together just learning all the plays. I’m doing everything I can off the field to make sure I’m in the best shape I can be to be on the field against Bryant. I’m taking really good care of my body and fine tuning the little things that I can never do any wrong.”
“Elijah’s biggest strength is his ability to make contested catches,” Smith said. “Tight ends are never going to be the fastest person on the field, so they have to find ways to catch the ball with somebody draped over them. He’s held his weight at a good level that allows him to run around in the pass game, but he still continues to work out enough to take guys off the rock in the run game.”
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