Elite Pass Rusher Elijah Rushing Continues Forging A Connection With Notre Dame

It was a slight surprise when Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic defensive end Elijah Rushing locked in an official visit to Notre Dame on June 9th through the 11th. The Fighting Irish staff had put themselves in a nice early position but there seemed to have been a stall in momentum leading up to that announcement.

Clearly, the Notre Dame coaches have been putting in the effort behind the scenes and Rushing reciprocated that interest by locking in that return visit to South Bend. Getting an elite defender like Rushing in for an official visit is a tremendous step for Notre Dame, and the Arizona native is excited to get back on campus this summer.

"My conversations with Notre Dame have been great and really consistent,” Rushing told Irish Breakdown. "They are great people over there and have been authentic from the beginning.

"I’m looking forward to being around the players and other students to go through that Notre Dame experience,” he continued. "It’s a different feeling over there. They are extremely unique.”

Notre Dame has an opportunity to make a statement with this visit. The staff will aim to sell that uniqueness, as well as the full scope of being an athlete at the University of Notre Dame.

A five-star national recruit, Rushing has been well traveled this off-season. He has been everywhere from the West Coast, East Coast, SEC country and everywhere in between. Rushing has maintained his composure and enjoyed the process the best he can, especially with his decision time coming up quick.

"Recruiting has been going great,” said Rushing. "I have been learning a lot and making moves. There are a lot of great programs and coaches that have made me a priority and I’m really grateful.

"I’m making my decision after my official visits in the summer in July and August,” Rushing added. "That will really be an opportunity to get as much information as possible to make a good decision.”

While Notre Dame is not currently the favorite to land Rushing, having an impactful visit could potentially move the needle for the Arizona star. We will have a much better understanding for just how legitimate that chance is following that upcoming trip.

Rushing currently boasts one of the more impressive offer lists you will find. Some of his notable offers include the likes of Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Oklahoma, Florida, USC, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Nebraska, Colorado, UCLA, Utah, Wisconsin, Stanford, North Carolina, Auburn, Kentucky, Washington, Louisville, Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Cal and Arizona among others.

The Salpointe Catholic pass rusher is well regarded from the recruiting services, coming in as the nation's No. 8 overall player according to 247Sports, including sitting as the No. 1 edge in the 2024 class and the second best player in the state of Arizona. ESPN (No. 21), On3 (No. 50) and Rivals (No. 53) all also rank Rushing as a Top 100 recruit nationally.

The 6-5, 235-pound defender put together a dominant sophomore campaign in 2021, recording 75 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks for the 11-3 Lancers. He also added another six quarterback hurries to his stat line.

He followed that up with another dominant season as a junior. While the team was not quite as successful with a 7-5 record, Rushing was still incredibly impactful. The talented pass rusher finished third on the team with 73 total tackles. That was on top of pacing the squad in both tackles for loss (13.5), sacks (11.5) and quarterback hurries (59).

On top of his impact on the field, Rushing is also a 3.8 student in the classroom.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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