Eli Apple was born on August 9, 1995, and currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL as a cornerback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State, where he helped lead the club to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.
He has also been a member of the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints.
Eli Apple attended Voorhees, New Jersey’s Eastern Regional High School. Apple was recognized as the top prospect in New Jersey and the 28th greatest prospect nationally in Rival’s 2013 class.
He received approximately twenty scholarship offers from Alabama, California, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Purdue, Miami, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Michigan, Ole Miss, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Clemson and listed Rutgers, Ohio State, and Notre Dame as his top three schools.
He declared his verbal commitment to Ohio State on February 12, 2012, following the departure of Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His decision to forfeit his remaining eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL Draft was made public on January 4th, 2016. While at the NFL Scouting Combine, Apple struggled with cramping and was forced to abandon the remainder of the activities. At the NFL Combine, he ran a 40-yard dash time that placed him tenth out of all participants.
The Cincinnati Bengals signed Apple to a one-year deal on March 23, 2021.
Apple collected 49 tackles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery in 18 games as a starter in 2021.
