Miami commit Elijah Melendez talks balancing football and his summer job: “I feel I can build and more value to myself”

Every weekday morning at 5 a.m., 2025 Miami linebacker commit Elijah Melendez is up bright and early, and it may not be for what you think.

Since wrapping up his junior year at Osceola High School, Melendez has been working alongside his father doing construction in Central Florida over the last three months.

“I do construction on commercial and residential buildings,” Melendez told CaneSport. “I go to work every day at 5 a.m. and get off around 3 p.m.”

While this is not something Melendez, who is the No. 171 overall prospect in the 2025 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, necessarily needs to do, he believes this will only benefit him and show everyone that he is more than just an athlete.

“I feel I can build and add more value to myself by doing that,” Melendez said. “Everybody always needs work done everywhere.”

Working on-site at different construction projects has been something Melendez has done for some time now with his dad. Over the years, he compared working alongside his father to being coached on the football field.

“My dad is actually my boss,” Melendez explained. “It’s good, and it’s fun working with him. It’s always hard because he’s kind of like a coach.”

Melendez also explained how Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and the Canes staff are happy to see him doing this and what his favorite part of the job is as well.

“The coaches love it, but it’s normal for me,” Melendez said. “I’ve really been doing it my whole life. My favorite part is really the process. You’ve got to really put your mind to it. You start from nothing, and then you’ve got four walls up and everything.”

Despite his demanding work schedule, the Miami commit always makes time for football and the gym.

He believes getting into the rhythm of being on a strict and organized schedule will help make the transition for high school to college a bit easier as well.

“I think it’s really good for me,“ Melendez said. “It helps me gain a lot of discipline. Even the days I do have workouts with my high school, they’ll be from 9 to 12, so I’ll be at work from 5 to 8:30, go to workouts, get done with that, and go back to work for a few hours.”

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