Decision Day For Four-Star Defensive End Elijah Golden: Where Will The Elite Pass Rusher Land?

One of the top defensive ends in the country is going to announce his college commitment decision today. 2026 DE Elijah Golden, who plays at Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, FL will be choosing between Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Oklahoma today at 3:30. Heading into the commitment, Notre Dame appears to be the favorite, as they have picked up a couple of recruiting predictions to land him, but it is college football recruiting and anything can happen. Golden was supposed to announce on July 26th, but opted to push his commitment back by a couple of weeks.

Golden would be an elite get for the Hokies and would be their highest-rated commitment by a large margin. Right now, the Hokies' class ranks 85th in the country and only has 10 commitments. It has not been a particularly strong summer for Brent Pry and Virginia Tech, but they hope to make a big splash by landing Golden.

At 247Sports, Golden is ranked as the No. 113 player in the country, the No. 16 defensive lineman in the country, and the No. 13 player in the state of Florida.

Here is a scouting report on Golden, courtesy of 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins, who compared him to former SMU edge rusher Elijah Roberts:

"Green front-line defender with the materials needed to eventually emerge as a force at the point of attack. Might project best as a base end that can play over tackles and set the edge, but could kick further inside or even hang on the outside depending on how the body fills out in coming years. Tends to make the biggest impact with his engine as he will work vigorously to get through obstacles and then build speed in pursuit. Not exactly a precision rusher, but understands how to use his hands and can create an advantage on passing downs with his snap anticipation. Strong relative to his age, but needs to unlock more knockback power as that will help establish leverage more consistently. Finally started to show some signs of life with 10 sacks as a junior after being utilized in more of a reserve role as a sophomore. However, still far from a complete product and is the type of prospect that must keep making developmental strides if he’s ever going to match the player that has turned heads in combine settings. Should be viewed as a future multi-year contributor for a College Football Playoff contender that has a chance to morph into a game-wrecker if it all comes together."

On Thursday, Virginia Tech was able to land three-star QB Cole Bergeron, who chose the Hokies over Georgia Tech and Colorado.