Carson Strong headlines four NIL partnerships for the Aces

RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces have announced the NIL signings of Kameron Toomer, Daiyan Henley and Elijah Cooks while also partnering with 2020 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and University of Nevada’s quarterback Carson Strong.

Nevada became the 17th state to sign a bill for college students to profit off their own name, image, likeness in May 2021, becoming effective on July 1, 2021. The Aces’ connection with these four student-athletes will encourage all local college students to attend Coors Light Thirsty Thursdays at Greater Nevada Field.

“We’re excited to be partnering with local athletes and students in northern Nevada,” Aces Marketing Director Vince Ruffino said. “We hope to establish strong bonds with these student-athletes that we can carry over into future seasons and we have brought in a dynamic group of individuals to partner with us this year.”

Nevada’s Strong is coming off a stellar season with the Wolf Pack, throwing 2,858 yards and 27 touchdowns with a 70.1 completion percent on his way to Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. The junior quarterback averaged an FBS-second-best 27.7 completions per game while ranking fourth with 317.6 passing yards per contest. The projected No. 1-overall pick by Sports Illustrated has a steady following on Twitter (@Carsonstrong_) and Instagram (@carson12strong) with nearly 6,000 followers.

The candidate for the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award and CFPA National Performer of the Year will be joined by Toomer, Henley and Cooks.

Cooks tallied nine touchdowns in 2019 and secured a team-high 76 catches for 926 yards in nine contests. Despite missing significant time in 2020, the 6-foot-4 wideout was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List for the best wide receiver in the NCAA. Cooks has nearly 6,000 combined followers on Instagram (@elijah_cooks) and Twitter (@elijahcooks).

Defensive end Toomer enters his final year of eligibility as a graduate student after a superb senior season. After suffering a season-ending injury in 2019, the Pack’s pass rusher recorded one sack, recovered one fumble and registered 29 total tackles in the 2020 campaign. Toomer has a steady following on TikTok (@kamtoomer), bringing nearly 24,000 followers to his page.

The Wolf Pack’s Henley racked up 49 total tackles in the shortened 2020 season, including 35 solo tackles in nine contests. The receiver-turned-linebacker spent the first two years at the University of Nevada as a pass-catcher, reeling in a trio of touchdowns before becoming pass blocker in 2019. Henley leads all of our signings with 9,680 followers on Instagram (@daiyanh11).

All four players will be in attendance at a future Thirsty Thursday game to be named later. Nevada students can purchase tickets for Thursday’s game by clicking here and using their university emails to receive a discounted price.