Four-Star QB Elijah Brown commits to Stanford

Four-star quarterback Elijah Brown of Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei announced his commitment to Stanford Sunday afternoon.

The 6-foot-2, 200 pounder chose the Cardinal over UCLA.

Brown on why he chose Stanford

“It’s an amazing school and I believe the new coaching staff is going to really change things,” Brown said. “The campus is amazing as well and everyone seems so genuinely nice. You can really tell how much the coaches care for their players. Also I felt that there are a lot of people there with common goals and I want to surround myself with those people.”

Relationship with coaching staff + top-tier academics 

“I’m probably closest with coach Taylor and Osborne and they really love me,” Brown said. “They are some great people to hang around as well. Absolutely the degree there is insane. You can’t get that anywhere else and still play competitive football.”

Elijah Brown Scouting Summary

“Accurate passer who is a cool customer leading one of the nation’s top high school programs against top competition. Measured at around 6-foot-1.5, 195 pounds prior to his senior season. Added close to 20 pounds as a junior. Took over for Heisman winner and No. 1 pick Bryce Young at SoCal powerhouse Mater Dei as a freshman. Has a stellar win-loss record against top competition. An accurate passer. Throws with excellent timing. Shows the ability to throw with touch and layer the football. Sees the field well and makes quick decisions. Has faced complex defenses. Primarily works from the pocket and has a good feel for the pass rush. Completed 68.1% of his passes for 2,785 yards and 31 touchdowns against 4 interceptions.”

Brown ranks as the No. 63 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 7 quarterback and the No. 6 player in the state of California.

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $353K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Brown Personal Life (via On3)

“Elijah Brown is following in the footsteps of other great star quarterbacks of the past at Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei High School, which is known as Heisman High. Mater Dei is the only high school in the country to produce three Heisman Trophy winners (Bryce Young, Matt Leinart and John Huarte). Brown fits the mold of the next great one from Mater Dei. He took over as the starting quarterback for the Monarchs in 2021, and he threw for 2,581 yards and 30 touchdowns. He then put up even better numbers in 2022 – playing against arguably the toughest high school schedule in the country – with 2,785 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 68% of his passes. Those numbers helped him earn Junior of the Year honors from Cal High Sports and numerous other local publications.”

“Everything Elijah does is at a different pace,” Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson said before he retired after the 2022 season. “He’s slow. It’s not arrogance, it’s just the way he moves. From afar I watch him and he just kind of saunters. I remember Elijah being around here when he was in the fifth grade. He was in all of our quarterback academies, and he was in our Four Vertical program. He has that ‘it factor’ that all of the other great ones that have played here before have.” His father, Kenneth, is a coach at Mater Dei. His mother is Shawna Brown. Away from football, Brown enjoys studying history and he has a 4.0 GPA.”