PREDICTION: Oregon to Land Elite Edge Rusher in 2024 Recruiting Class
It felt like Oregon had reached a new tier as a recruiting power when they landed Kayvon Thibodeaux in the 2019 class. He was ranked the No. 1 player in the country by ESPN and was a consensus top-10 player on both 247Sports and Rivals.
Thibodeaux became the highest-rated commit the school had ever seen, a distinction he still holds today. He's the best edge rusher we've seen come through Eugene in recent years and now Dan Lanning wants to ensure players of his caliber are more common than they are rare.
Today, I'm logging a prediction for Oregon to land 2024 Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic EDGE Elijah Rushing.
Confidence meter: 7/10
Explaining the Pick
If you're looking at priority targets for Oregon this cycle, you'd be hard pressed to find one that's been higher on the board for this coaching staff longer than Rushing has. He was one of the first high-profile defenders to make his way out to Eugene to visit with Dan Lanning and his new coaching staff and he's kept coming back.
That's one of the reasons I'm feeling confident enough to make this pick: longevity. I'd bet Oregon is the school Rushing has visited the most during his time as an elite recruit and the Ducks have always been mentioned as one of the frontrunners in his recruitment.
The Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi factor play a big role here as they're two of the top developers of defensive linemen in college football. Lupoi worked with Myles Garrett during his time in the NFL ranks and Lanning played a big role coaching Georgia's defense in 2021, arguably the greatest defense college football has ever seen--with every starter now on an NFL roster.
Rushing told Ducks Digest that the duo carries weight in his recruitment and is part of what makes Oregon's appeal so strong. The Ducks have one commitment at his position in Yuma (Ariz.) Catholic product Jaxson Jones and would love for Rushing to become a headliner in this class as one of multiple five stars they're pursuing.
He released a top 12 back in November, but from what I can gather the main teams are Oregon, Tennesse and Arizona. I'm told the family connection at Arizona with his brother Cruz transferring back home doesn't carry as much weight as some think it does on the surface.
Furthermore, he's taking his official visit to Tennessee this weekend, but I don't think they'll be able to make up enough ground to win out. He took his official visit to Oregon earlier this month and my feel is the coaching staff only strengthened their case.
Rushing hasn't set a commitment date, but he's mentioned committing in the summer after his official visits. When that time comes, I think he'll ultimately end up a Duck.
Junior Film
Read More
Trio of recruits emerging at cornerback for Oregon in 2024