The Miami Hurricanes football program continues to capitalize on a busy month of recruiting visits in June. On Thursday evening, Bishop Gorman (NV) four-star tight end Elija Lofton gave his public commitment to Miami over the likes of collegiate programs among Arizona State, Texas, and Washington, who rounded out three of his four finalists.
Lofton is fresh off of an official visit to the Hurricanes last week, which took place from Thursday to Saturday. The Hurricanes coaching staff was able to convince him to close his recruitment, commit to Miami, and not take an official visit to the Texas Longhorns this upcoming weekend.
That is a big victory in itself for Miami’s coaching staff; the Longhorns were considered the biggest competition in his recruitment heading into the summer. Newly appointed tight ends coach Cody Woodiel and head coach Mario Cristobal led the charge on the recruiting efforts for the blue-chip prospect. A recruitment that paid off through persistence, as Lofton took multiple unofficial visits with his mother to Coral Gables leading up to his official visit and eventual commitment.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound tight end has been honored as a High School All-American and intends to participate in the Polynesian Bowl in January, which takes place in Hawaii. As a junior, Lofton produced 756 receiving yards on 30 receptions for 11 receiving touchdowns during the 2022 season for Bishop Gorman.
While on the surface it’s a big win for Miami to add the fifth four-star prospect of their 2024 recruiting class, Lofton’s commitment could actually cause ripple effects in the form of more west coast prospects joining the Hurricanes this cycle. He has a close connection with a few other top Miami targets, including five-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland, five-star offensive lineman Brandon Baker, and four-star defensive lineman TA Cunningham. Those four have toured numerous collegiate programs together during the 2022 season and the spring of 2023.
Lofton joins as the 11th overall commitment in the Hurricanes 2024 recruiting class, the second highest-ranked prospect, and the fifth commitment from outside of the state of Florida. He will very likely not be the only tight end Miami takes in this recruiting class; the Hurricanes plan to continue recruiting a group of four-stars in hopes of pairing one with Lofton between Caleb Odom, Walter Matthews, Hogan Hansen, Tayvion Galloway, and Amir Jackson.
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