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Tennessee could be back in the mix for elite 5-star recruit

Originally posted on A to Z Sports  |  By Zach Ragan  |  Last updated 10/9/23

The Tennessee Vols could be back in the mix for an elite 2024 five-star recruit that they missed on earlier this summer. 

Five-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing committed to the Arizona Wildcats over Tennessee, Notre Dame, UCLA, and Oregon in July. 

Over the weekend, Rushing announced his decommitment from Arizona. 

“I would like to express my gratitude to the coaches and staff at the University of Arizona for the opportunity to be a Wildcat,” wrote Rushing in a Tweet. “As a hometown kid, my desire was to rep my city while becoming the best version of myself. I have taken into consideration the recent progress and strides the program has made. Although it is evident that the program is on the rise, I have to consider my future goal. I have come to the conclusion that the program is not the right fit for me to take the next step with regard to my development. I am, therefore, decommitting from the program.”

Rushing, 6-foot-6/251 lbs from Tucson, AZ, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 edge rusher in the nation and the No. 8 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class. 

The talented pass rusher's father told 247Sports that his son reopened his recruitment in part because he wants to compete for championships and that's just not where Arizona is as a program right now. 

“They have made some great strides as a program and done a lot of really good things, but they’re building more long term," said George Rushing to 247Sports. "The strategy doesn’t align with our goals and the steps we want to take to continue progressing while competing for championships.”

Rushing's father also told 247Sports that his son will be considering Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Arizona State, Tennessee, and Auburn moving forward (though it's always possible that other programs could get into the mix). Those programs never stopped recruiting Rushing after his commitment to Arizona according to Rushing's father. 

Rushing took an official visit to Tennessee in June and he called the visit "amazing", though it wasn't enough at the time to convince him to pick the Vols over the Wildcats. 

But maybe that changes this time around -- especially with the way that Tennessee's defensive line has played at a high level this season. 

According to Rushing's father, his son isn't expected to announce his new decision until after his high school season is over. 

That means there's plenty of time for the Vols to make another strong pitch to the highly coveted edge rusher. 

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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