Elijah Brown Working on Top Five

Elijah Brown is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and it's hard to find a more decorated passer in Southern California.

There's one big difference when you compare the quarterback position in the 2023 recruiting class against the 2024 class: Depth. 

Or maybe it's better to say the lack thereof.

The 2023 recruiting class brought us one of the deepest years at quarterback and that's far from the case in 2024. This next batch of quarterbacks is much more top-heavy, which means it could be even more difficult for schools to land their most highly-coveted passers.

One big-name quarterback that Oregon has offered in the 2024 class is Elijah Brown out of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei.

I was able to see him and catch up with him on Sunday after the Elite 11 camp in Los Angeles.

Elijah Brown pic.twitter.com/xz6Lsafr63

— Max Torres (@mtorressports) March 26, 2023

"I threw the ball pretty well. I felt like it was pretty good," he said of his performance Sunday. "It was nice being around these great quarterbacks. It was a great experience."

Brown usually plays it pretty lowkey when it comes to his recruitment but it sounds like he's closing in on a key moment in his process.

"Hopefully I'll have a top five by the end of spring and then go from there," he said of where he's at with his recruitment. 

Oregon has been linked to Brown and certainly Mater Dei for a a long time, but it doesn't sound like the contact with the Ducks has been as consistent as other programs, with one blue-blood program entering the picture.

"I'm hearing from (U)SC, UCLA, a little bit of Ohio State, ASU definitely, Stanford. Those are probably the top five right now."

It was the first time I'd heard Brown mention Ohio State. Even though the Buckeyes haven't offered it sounds like the two sides are in the early stages of forming a connection.

"(I'm) Just chopping it up with the coach, Coach (Corey) Dennis. Just kind of getting a feel for it right now and then go from there."

Stanford is one school that's been getting some buzz with the Southern California standout following the hire of Troy Taylor this offseason.

"Coach Tavita (Pritchard) previously was a QB coach who recruited me from there," Brown said. "Before he left to the NFL he kind of told them about me and they took a liking to me so that's kind how I kind of got in with that."

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Brown has a connection with a current Stanford quarterback who's just getting settled in Palo Alto, former Long Beach (Calif.) Millikan product Myles Jackson. 

"Yeah I've know Myles since eighth grade, youth. He's a great player, great person to be around. He's gonna be exciting. I hope he does great there."

For as decorated of a player as Brown is, he's not as heavily recruited as you'd expect. Ranked the No. 3 player in California by 247Sports, he has 16 reported offers that mainly consist of Pac-12 schools.

Even so, he's working on narrowing down his top schools and has an idea of when he'd like to make a decision.

"Before the season probably. It'll be around the season time I want to be committed."

Conference realignment has been one of the biggest talking points around college football lately and Brown expects it to factor into his commitment.

"It's gonna play a big role," he said. "USC and UCLA  going to the Big Ten--but whatever school I feel comfortable with and the coaching staff. I have to like the school in general to be able to go there. I'm putting everything in play as of right now."

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