Abanikanda attended Marietta–Osborne High School in Georgia. Coming out of high school he was two star recruit.[2] According to Rivals.com, Abanikanda ran a 4.62 forty yard dash, benched 330 pounds, with 20 repetitions.[2] Abanikanda was headed to Illinois until a final push from Southern Miss changed his mind.[3]
Following his backup plan,[5] Abanikanda signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on May 26, 2009.[4] After the release of Derrick Doggett on June 10,[6] Abanikanda's main competition for the starting weakside linebacker spot[7] is fellow import rookie Mark Restelli also in his first year with Edmonton.[8] Abanikanda debuted for Edmonton on June 17 in a preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and recorded three tackles while Restelli had one tackle and an interception.[9] Eskimos head coachRichie Hall has called Abanikanda and Restelli's battle the closest one in camp so far. Hall also stated that he hoped, "one player outperforms the other player" in Edmonton's next preseason game against the BC Lions on June 21."[9] During training camp, his head coach called him "T. A." because he couldn't pronounce his name.[6] Eventually, he was released on June 25, 2009, as a final cut with Restelli winning the job, however he could end up on the Eskimos' practice roster.[10] He was re-signed to the practice roster on June 29, 2009, only to be released again on July 12.
