4-Star Elijah Higgins recaps Ohio State and previews Stanford visits
AUSTIN, Tex. -- Elijah Higgins was probably the first name on many Texas fans’ minds after Garrett Wilson chose to commit to Ohio State at the end of last month.
Both prospects are two of the best wide receivers in the country, and both play for high school programs in Austin, Texas. Even though Wilson chose to head back to Ohio - where he is originally from - Higgins said that the Longhorns staff hasn’t gone into freakout mode trying to lock him up.
“I actually went on a visit [to Texas] a couple of days before Garrett went to Ohio State and committed and all that and kind of had an idea that he was going to go there,” he said. “Once he committed, I thought the coaches were really going to pile on with me, but they haven’t really done that. I think that they know that I am really interested in them still and they don’t have to push as hard as everyone else thinks they might.”
Higgins has his own ties to Ohio State in recent days as well. He accompanied 7-on-7 teammate and Rivals100 quarterback Grant Gunnell on his official visit to Columbus at the end of last month, albeit in an unofficial capacity. Still, the trip was an important one for his consideration of the Buckeyes, who offered him at the end of January.
“For me, it was one of the best visits by far,” he said. “Just the development there, the culture and tradition. 110-thousand fans a game, the alumni, the networking that Urban Meyer does to connect people with CEO’s and things like that is big. I really enjoyed it, it was eye-opening for me.”
Higgins said that he is working towards narrowing things down to a top six-or-seven schools at some point, but isn’t concerned about making a big deal out of it. Of course, it is important to know the teams that will be on it, and in addition to Texas, Arkansas and Stanford also are favorites to hold a spot on that list as well. Higgins will visit Stanford this weekend and is also hoping to work in a stop at Cal as well.
IN HIS WORDS
On Arkansas, where he said he plans to visit in June as well as take an official visit
“They’ve been out here I want to say two-or-three times since the contact period began,” he said. “The relationships that I built with them when they were at SMU were important and they kind of offered me as soon as they got to Arkansas. I see that there is an opportunity for me to play early and their ability to utilize me as a player as well.”
What he thought of Gunnell’s experience at Ohio State and what it could mean for him
“I don’t know all the details with Grant, but I know that he liked it a lot too,” he said. “It’s kind of different because I think Ohio State is changing what they do on offense - he’s a 6-6 pro-style quarterback - and what they had before wasn’t really like that, so I think they’re switching things up and throwing the ball a lot more than they have.”
Where things are at with Stanford ahead of his visit this weekend
“We’ve been talking a lot - it’s really just up to me now,” he said. “After this visit I think that I should realize whether or not it’s the school for me. I want to get the most out of it - I’ll be up there for three days - so I know that’s going to happen. They don’t do their official visits until much later, so I know that on this trip I’ll make sure that I see everything that I need to see.”
RIVALS REACTION
Another interesting connection between Higgins and Gunnell is possible mutual interest in Arizona. Gunnell took an official visit to Tucson in April, and has been encouraging Higgins to take a visit of his own.
“Me and Grant are really close and he said that’s a visit that I need to take to go check things out,” he said. “I know Coach (Kevin) Sumlin is a really good dude and a great coach as well, so I want to go out there and check things out as well.”
So far as Texas is concerned, he said that even though the staff hasn’t gone overboard in focusing on him in the wake of Wilson’s commitment, it’s still showing him that he’s a priority and there is clearly a strong mutual interest.
“They’re still recruiting me hard,” he said. “But they’re just not really pushing it because they know my interest in them.”