Why Tennessee missed on 5-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing
The Tennessee Vols missed on one of their top 2024 recruiting targets on Thursday as five-star edge rushing Elijah Rushing committed to the Arizona Wildcats. Rushing, 6-foot-6/251 lbs from Tuscan, AZ, opted to stay close to home, choosing the Wildcats over Tennessee and Oregon. The talented recruit is ranked in 247Sports' composite rankings as the […]
The Tennessee Vols missed on one of their top 2024 recruiting targets on Thursday as five-star edge rushing Elijah Rushing committed to the Arizona Wildcats.
Rushing, 6-foot-6/251 lbs from Tuscan, AZ, opted to stay close to home, choosing the Wildcats over Tennessee and Oregon.
The talented recruit is ranked in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 3 edge rusher in the nation and the No. 27 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
Rushing is a player that Tennessee badly wanted to land, but there were several factors that worked against the Vols in this major recruiting battle.
For starters, the Wildcats got a leg up on everyone else in this battle by bringing Rushing's brother, Cruz, to Arizona from Florida (Cruz Rushing was a preferred walk-on with the Gators, but he'll be on scholarship at Arizona according to The Athletic).
The presence of Rushing's brother at Arizona isn't the only reason the coveted five-star recruit committed to the Wildcats.
Rushing told 247Sports that playing close to home is something that Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch sold him on during the recruiting process.
"I want to build something special at the next level and what better way to do that than at my hometown school for a community I love," said Rushing to 247Sports.
“Coach Fisch continuously pitched the idea of being a hometown guy and now I can advocate for my home state,” added Rushing. “I’m really excited to be commitment and love the trajectory of the program. For me it’s important to be on the front end of something special. We’re building something big and it’s a great opportunity, a blessing, really, to have my hometown behind me. If you take care of the city, the city will take care of you, so I’m going to do everything I can to push us forward as a team.”
It sounds like this was a situation where there was just too much for the Vols to overcome. If playing close to home is important to Rushing, then it was always going to be tough to convince the five-star recruit to leave the west coast for Knoxville.
Tennessee will continue to swing at Rushing in the hopes of flipping him — and maybe they can make a big impression on him with a strong 2023 season — but distance and the presence of Rushing's brother at Arizona will make it tough for the Vols to change the trajectory of this recruiting battle.
Tennessee QB Joe Milton makes bold promise that he now has to deliver on
Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton put a little added pressure on himself this week with a bold comment
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
