BREAKING: Elija Lofton Announces for Miami Hurricanes!
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The Miami Hurricanes have continued to add to their 2024 recruiting class with talented prospects, and Elija Lofton was the latest verbal commitment for Mario Cristobal's program.
Lofton visited the University of Miami during the June 9 weekend. All indications were that he had truly enjoyed his time in Coral Gables. Tonight’s verbal commitment to the Canes was the culmination of Miami’s entire staff doing an excellent job of recruiting Lofton and him wanting to end his recruiting process.
MORE DETAILS: Elija Lofton Film Break Down
Now let’s talk about what the Hurricanes will be bringing into the program with their eleventh commitment of the recruiting cycle.
The 6-foot-1 and 215-pound prospect has been labeled a tight end. Lofton actually deserved a better distinction; he’s a multifaceted athlete with too many skills to anoint a single position.
Lofton has been able to play slot receiver, split end, flex tight end, tight end, fullback, H-back and even a traditional wide receiver position during his prep career.
In 2022, Lofton’s versatility also helped Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman be one of the nation’s most dominant teams with a balanced offensive arsenal. Based on his statistics alone, Lofton was a difficult player to keep in check, regardless of where he lined up.
Statistics credited to Max Preps:
Rushing
: 10 attempts, 102 yards, 10.2 average, and 7 touchdowns
Receiving
: 30 receptions, 756 yards, 25.2 average, and 11 touchdowns
When Lofton did not possess the football, that’s actually when he was the most impactful, however. Yes, you read that correctly.
His film was tremendous, as it can be seen here:
The definition of an all-around talent would be 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧 from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman#Versatility | #Playmaker https://t.co/tbffxdbXIP #hudl
— Brian Smith (@fbscout_florida) June 15, 2023
Within the Gaels’ diverse offensive attack, Lofton was often a lead blocker during running plays, as well as a key perimeter blocker during screens. A tremendous one-on-one blocker, Lofton enabled several of his teammates to turn the corner unscathed, or head right up the gut, before hitting the jets and going for big yardage and touchdowns.
Think back to when the Hurricanes were winning big in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They had the ability to impose their will on opposing defenses with the power run game, screens, the short passing game, and going deep.
The Miami offense was a nightmare to slow down, let alone corral and stop. A big part of that were versatile offensive weapons like tight ends Daniel "Bubba" Franks, Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow, Jr., plus running back/fullback Najeh Davenport, among other talented Canes that were happy to do the dirty work when they were not gaining yards themselves.
They were all willing blockers that worked to open up running lanes for running backs like Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Jarrett Payton and Willis McGahee. To his credit, Lofton has a similar selfless style of play. That’s also what Miami needs to help elevate its program back towards the top of the college football landscape.
On June 15, 2023, the Hurricanes landed a really talented football player with Lofton.
2024 Recruiting Rankings: Florida's Top 25 Prospects
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.
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