Elijah Hughes Shares Why he Chose USC, When he Knew & More
Although it didn’t appear this would be the outcome last month when communication dropped off with the USC coaching staff, 3-Star Arlington (VA) DL Elijah Hughes announced his commitment to USC.
When Hughes took his USC visit on September 30, we’re told the USC staff felt they did all they could to make a winning presentation to Hughes and his family.
Hughes chose USC over Virginia Tech and Stanford.
In early September WeAreSC published a USC Defensive Linemen “Hot Board” article and rising Arlington (VA) DL Elijah Hughes was among those on our list. He’s currently not rated by On3, but Hughes is an extremely impressive looking football player. It will be interesting to see where he’s ranked when On3 gets around to it.
Although his offer list isn’t extensive, bigger schools started paying close attention in late this summer. Hughes also has offers from a few Ivy League schools. USC, Miami, Virginia Tech, Stanford, Maryland, Virginia and Duke are his Power 5 Conference offers. Yale and Princeton are his Ivy League offers.
August USC offer
USC offered on August 23 and despite offering relatively late, Hughes’s interest in the Trojans was high enough to schedule a Sept. 30 Official Visit.
“The offer pretty much came out of the blue,” said Hughes back in September. “It was within a week of when we first started talking. So, there’s definitely interest there.”
Why USC and when Hughes knew
We reported in September that Hughes was among the half dozen or so defensive line targets for the Trojans, so obviously USC had serious interest. But we asked what motivated Hughes to schedule the USC official visit?
“It’s combination of the level of football and academics,” said Hughes. “I also heard It’s a beautiful campus and it’s a place I definitely want to check out.”
On Wednesday Hughes detailed why USC was the choice, when he knew, how impactful his official is it was and much more.
Distance from home
USC has many players from out of state, so distance from home isn’t an issue for a lot of guys. But it absolutely is for others. We asked Hughes whether the distance from his home in Arlington (VA) to Los Angeles is a potential negative?
“Not really, I would say,” said Hughes. “I was born two hours from L.A., so we have a lot of family friends and family out there. At the same time, you’re on campus working most of the year regardless of where you go. It’s a long flight, but it’s not necessarily a deterring factor.”
USC final official visit
Hughes took official visits to USC, Stanford, Virginia Tech and Maryland, which meant he had one remaining. But the USC visit ended up being his last.
What was important in a school & football program?
“There are a lot of factors and this may sound broad, but just the best place for me,” Hughes said. “The best fit. People say this is the biggest decision up to this point in my life, so I definitely want to be a thousand precent sure before I make a decision.”
Position at USC?
“I’m assuming I’ll know a lot more about that after my visit,” said Hughes. “But I’m pretty confident they see me as a three tech.”
