Five-Star EDGE Elijah Rushing Breaks Down Oregon Commitment

Rushing picks Oregon in another statement recruiting win for Dan Lanning and the Ducks.

Earlier this week, Oregon landed a massive commitment from five-star Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic EDGE Elijah Rushing. 

He took some time to speak with Ducks Digest about his decision and his recruiting process.

Committed! 🦆@CoachDanLanning @CoachLup @KamranAraghi1 @BlairAngulo @adamgorney @ChadSimmons_ @BFBaumgartner pic.twitter.com/XrOeogsjJ6

— Elijah Rushing (@elijah_rushing) October 30, 2023

Rushing's recruitment was one of the most-followed in the country, especially after he backed off a pledge to the in-state Arizona Wildcats. So why did he choose the Ducks?

"After opening the recruitment, just assessing everything--Oregon just made sense for me," Rushing said. "Just the defensive expertise with Coach (Tosh) Lupoi and Coach (Dan) Lanning. Both defensive minds and the fire that you see when you watch them as far as I got to see from just watching it from home. 

Another big piece of the puzzle for Rushing was that the Ducks didn't just talk the talk. He saw them walk the walk.

"Just hearing them talk to me about that mindset prior to going into it, and then kind of just seeing it coming to fruition, it was just something that--it just kind of made sense for me once I started to open the recruitment, look everywhere."

Rushing's commitment came just two weeks after Ducks landed another five-star in Mater Dei defensive lineman Aydin Breland. There's a saying that good players want to play with good players, and getting another blue-chip trench talent only strengthened Oregon's chances.

"In the moment, it was just me assessing everything. I wasn't really following anyone per se," he said. "I was just going with what was best for me and him doing that, it's definitely great to be around great players. It definitely does help like you said, good players want to play with other good players on good teams. So it definitely just helps, that dynamic."

Another big part of any recruitment is relationships and the 6-foot-6, 249-pound defender built some strong ones up in Eugene.

"They were just people who always--it was just like, easy to talk to and I just felt like we kind of spoke the same language," Rushing said. "Whenever I was kind of sharing my viewpoint, Coach Lupoi he'd be on the same page. Coach Kam (Araghi), Coach Lanning they'd all be on the same page. And when I heard them speak to me it kind of made sense for just how they communicate things. It's almost like I speak their language."

Elijah Rushing is the latest blue-chip defender to join Oregon's 2024 recruiting class / Elijah Rushing on Instagram (@elijah_rushing_)

Oregon's staff has done a great job of demonstrating their blueprint for development with recruits in the 2024 class and with Rushing, Lupoi wants to develop him in the mold of one of the best players he's coached personally. 

"They kind of see me playing--it's like Myles Garrett. Kind of playing like that. Drop (into coverage) a few times, but it's really just rush off the edge. As far as the plan that they talked to me about."

Rushing said he's "Trying to get there early" and plans to enroll at Oregon in the December/January timeline.

How does he feel now that his decision is made?

"It definitely feels good," he said. "Just having somewhere you're focused on going. Just working towards, just training to get to that place and just do what I do."

Salpointe Catholic enters their final game of the regular season this weekend at 8-1 and Rushing shared some thoughts on his senior year.

"I feel like we've been doing really well, especially changing into a more competitive region," the newest Duck said. "So just going from Tucson up to Phoenix where most of the competition is, it was just great for us to just kind of just prove ourselves to the state."

With Rushing in the fold the Ducks are still pursuing two top-tier talents along the defensive line in the 2024 cycle in Florida EDGE Solomon Williams and Adidas All-American defensive lineman Jericho Johnson.

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