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The Arizona Wildcats sent out an offer late last Sunday night to a corner who shows off exactly what the staff is looking for. That corner is Elijah Blades, a 6-foot-3, 170lb 3-star prospect out of Cathedral (Los Angeles, CA). He's ranked 67th in the nation among all corners and 69th in the state of California.
He was a participant at Nike's The Opening Regional in the Los Angeles area this past weekend. At this regional, Elijah Blades won the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.42 seconds. To put that in perspective, he would have been about top eight at the NFL Combine among all defensive backs.
Elijah Blades wins the 40 with a time of 4.42 #GETOPEN pic.twitter.com/KODgQXuP5F
— Scout Recruiting (@scoutrecruiting) February 28, 2016
I got a chance to speak with Elijah after he received his offer from Arizona.
Thankful and Blessed to say that I have received my 2nd offer from Arizona Beardown This 1 will be in my top 5 pic.twitter.com/Eb0hIvw2JG
— Elijah Blades™ (@showtimexi) February 29, 2016
"I didn't know what to say. I have always loved Arizona. It was a dream come true," Elijah Blades said about his offer from Arizona.
He had been in contact with the staff for about two weeks, with Donté Williams leading his recruitment. Blades' only other offer is from San Jose State, where Coach Williams previously coached. But as of now, Blades is also talking to BYU, SDSU, Washington State and Washington.
He's planning to take unofficial visits to SJSU and Arizona.
"Well I've been to a game at Arizona and I loved the crowd. Everybody was into it. Loud and excited, it was great. And the competition at Arizona is good. Also, they get some good athletes, so that's a plus," when asked about what he likes at Arizona. "You can say I like everything about Arizona."
"I only know Coach Donté but he's straight forward with me so that's good," Blades said about safeties coach Donté Williams. "He's a great coach. I love the way he runs a defense."
When it comes time to deciding, he'll be looking for a school that fits him, a great atmosphere, and high competition level. He also wants a coaching staff that is straight-forward with him. Seems like Arizona has all of those checked off.
Blades is a huge defensive back, who could be playing safety or corner. Rich Rodriguez says he wants more pure size on defense, and Blades brings just that. This is probably the second recruit that I feel good about Arizona landing thus far, the first being Chris Brooks. Right now Arizona is the process of handing out offers to see who bites, but Blades is now the second recruit to say that the Arizona offer is is dream come true, putting Arizona in good standing.