Five-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing committed to Oregon on Monday, three weeks after backing off of his pledge to the hometown Arizona Wildcats. Here is what you need to know:
- Rushing, who plays at Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, Ariz., is ranked No. 28 overall and the No. 3 edge in the 247Sports Composite.
- He originally committed to Arizona in early July.
- He is the second Salpointe Catholic prospect to decommit from Arizona in the past month, joining three-star defensive lineman Keon Wilhite (No. 823 nationally). Wilhite has since committed to Washington.
- Oregon’s class includes 24 players and is ranked No. 6 nationally.
What does this say about Oregon?
Oregon was absolutely ruthless with the way it ended the 2023 cycle. It landed some high-level prospects at the 11th hour, including four-star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei and four-star quarterback Austin Novosad. The Ducks are recruiting like an SEC program on the West Coast.
That’s what happens when you have a head coach like Dan Lanning, who had a front-row seat to recruiting at the highest level while an assistant at Georgia under Kirby Smart. In order to win big, there is an element of ruthlessness that’s just necessary.
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What is more ruthless than taking the local hero committed to the local program and ripping him away?
Rushing is the first five-star prospect in Oregon’s 2024 class, but it’s a continued trend of the Ducks being the West Coast bully in the realm of talent accumulation. Of course, players with Rushing’s skill set could be the literal difference between wins and losses in the future, but stepping on Arizona’s neck while landing this prospect is just brutal for the Wildcats. — Ari Wasserman, senior college football writer
Required reading
- West Coast recruiting thoughts: Where will USC, Oregon, Cal and others go for talent?
- Arizona’s Jedd Fisch gets it, and the prize may be 5-star DE Elijah Rushing
(Photo of Dan Lanning: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)