Rivals250 DE Elias Rudolph down to three, commitment coming soon
The time has all but come for Elias Rudolph.
The Ohio native, who was at Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High School this spring, will shut down his recruitment on July 3 at Taft High School back in Ohio, he announced. It coincides with his sister's birthday.
A previously planned official visit to Ohio State, originally set for this weekend, has been called off. It means Rudolph is down to three, naturally the visits he did take in this month, Michigan, Pittsburgh and Miami.
The end of visits means the Rivals250 talent will be in decision-making mode over the next two weeks.
"I need to get down to my notebook and pen, weight the pros and cons," Rudolph said. "It's gonna be a hard decision. These schools are so diverse, in their own way. It's real tough after these visits.
"All three of these schools check the boxes."
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Miami hosted Rudolph over last weekend, where the program likely sat on the outside looking in before the trip. Time with Mario Cristobal, Jason Taylor and company changed the tune over the course of 48 hours in Coral Gables.
"I just went on the official, it was tremendous," Rudolph said. "It was great in person, I loved it down there. Just how much I interacted with the coaches and the information about the program. The whole staff was like, 'we need you.'
"I liked everything, but my favorite thing was going to Cristobal's house. We just chilled, vibed, and he had a basketball court, so I shot a couple of shots."
Taylor, Miami's new defensive ends coach, spent the majority of the weekend around Rudolph.
"He says I resemble him, a lot of coaches say I resemble him," he said. "He said he liked me from the jump and that I would love the culture."
Michigan hosted Rudolph for an official visit the previous weekend.
"I loved it, it was outstanding," he said of Ann Arbor. "Just being there with the number two team in the country and to get a better feel with the coaches.
"I have a great connection with coach (Jim) Harbaugh. He's my dude. Just the type of person he is, his goals, his standards, there's a lot of things about Jim Harbaugh that I like."
The head Wolverine has made a true impression on Rudolph, but each head coach still in the race has put in the time. At last check, the rising-senior said it was Pitt recruiting him the hardest of the bunch.
A few visits later, Rudolph is near ready to come off the board. He told Rivals a private decision had not yet been reached as of Monday evening.
