Three-Star Edge Rusher Places Clemson Among Top Six, Sets Commitment Date

A three-star edge rusher recently included Clemson in his top six, but it appears the door may already be closed.

Three-star EDGE Elijah Cox has trimmed his list down to Clemson, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, FSU, Mississippi State and Purdue. He is set to commit on July 5. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The majority of the final touches have been put on Clemson’s 2027 recruiting class; however, some players remain on the board and have yet to make their collegiate decision.

On Tuesday, 247Sports' Benjamin Wolk announced that Westlake (Ga.) defensive end Elijah Cox had trimmed his list down to six schools, including Clemson, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Mississippi State and Purdue. 

He’s scheduled a commitment date for Sunday, July 5, at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Cox is rated a three-star prospect and ranks as the No. 520 overall player, the No. 45 player at his position and the No. 63 recruit in the state of Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound edge rusher first got his name out on the national recruiting scene through successful camps with multiple different programs last summer, including Baylor, Western Kentucky, Connecticut, Arkansas State, Jacksonville State and East Carolina — all of which offered.

His junior campaign, though, is what truly changed how teams looked at him. In 2025, he finished with 35 tackles, eight for a loss, four sacks and one pick-six across eight games. The standout season led to a handful of Power Four offers and multiple unofficial visits. 

Throughout his junior year, he visited Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina and Ole Miss (twice). Once the season wrapped up, he made a trip to Georgia, then returned to Georgia Tech three times between December and April.

Then came Clemson, which offered Cox after hosting him for an unofficial visit in mid-April. While he had already locked in official visits with Florida State (June 12-14) and Ole Miss (June 19-21) in February, he added the Tigers to that list in the first week of May, and Mississippi State late down the line.

While there was no reporting on how the visit went for him, an unfortunate series of events unfolded beneath Cox following the visit, as Clemson filled all three edge rusher spots after the weekend concluded. The commitments came from four-star Santana Harvey, four-star Desmond Malpress and three-star JiQuan Rogers.

With Cox now essentially out of the picture for the ACC program, Ole Miss appears to be the team to beat in the race for the three-star talent. Most recently, OMSpirit’s Zach Berry reported that Cox has “jumped to the top of the board” for the Rebels following a successful in-person meeting with associate head coach/defensive line coach Randall Joyner and head coach Pete Golding.