Michael Lev: Elijah Rushing’s decision to stay home comes with pressure, but it's nothing he can’t handle

Everything was set up for Elijah Rushing’s big announcement.

A table and backdrop, featuring swaths of Salpointe Catholic’s maroon and gold and interlocking “SC” logos, were positioned on one side of the school’s weight room. Rushing, the towering Lancers defensive end and top-ranked prospect in the state of Arizona, sat across from a laptop that would beam his announcement to the World Wide Web. Family members, teammates, coaches and friends formed a semi-circle to watch and cheer him on.

And then ... nothing.

Rushing’s father, George, couldn’t get Skype to work quite right. 247Sports was supposed to stream Elijah’s announcement at 2 p.m. Thursday. Technical difficulties were making that impossible.

I was standing just a few feet away, and I kept waiting for Elijah to lose his cool. Maybe start pacing around the room. Or muttering some four-letter words. Or flop-sweating like Albert Brooks in “Broadcast News.”

But it never happened.

Rushing remained poised and patient as his dad talked on the phone to 247’s tech people, trying to solve the problem. Finally, after about a half-hour, they figured out a solution. Moments later, Rushing revealed that he planned to become an Arizona Wildcat, proudly placing a navy UA cap atop his head.

You couldn’t help but be impressed with how Rushing handled those technical difficulties — that interminable wait. It had to feel uncomfortable. Around 50 people, maybe more, had come to support him. A hundred eyeballs were glaring at him.

If his comportment Thursday is representative of how he handles stress, Rushing will have no trouble dealing with the pressure he’ll face at Arizona. And there will be pressure.

By committing to his hometown school, Rushing chose the less-worn path — but one that’s brightly lit. As the highest-ranked recruit in UA history, Rushing must perform under a glimmering spotlight.

It wouldn’t have been that way at Oregon, Notre Dame or Tennessee, his other finalists.

Their fanbases are just as intense, probably more so. But those schools get four-and five-star recruits all the time. They don’t always pan out. Onto the next.

Rushing is a one-off, at least for now. He’s the local star who decided to stay local. He chose the unconventional route — the more challenging route. He did so with intent.

“I don’t like to be like everybody,” Rushing said a few minutes after the announcement. “I’ve never been like everybody.”

Rushing then quoted a Drake lyric: “You don’t worry ’bout fitting in when you custom-made.”

“I feel like I’ve always been custom-made,” Rushing said. “I’ve never been doing what other people do. I’ve always done my own thing, and it’s gotten to me to the spot where I’m at. And I think it’s important just to keep on that route.”

For Tucson

Don’t misconstrue Rushing’s words. He wasn’t being self-indulgent. He wasn’t bragging. He was simply recognizing that he’s unique and that he made an individual, personal choice.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

I asked Rushing’s mother, Trisha, about the conviction her middle child showed by electing to attend Arizona — by picking the upcoming underdog over the established bluebloods. She first cited the opportunity for Elijah to play with older brother Cruz, who transferred to the UA from Florida earlier in the offseason. She called it a “blessing.”

“But also,” she added, “he really feels a strong pull in his heart to build something here at home, the place where he was raised, where he became the person that he is. He just has such a love and affinity for his city. There was just really a tug on his heart that he just couldn’t ignore.”

Representing Tucson and Southern Arizona seems to be important to Rushing. He described the region as “underrepresented” in the recruiting world — a more respectful way of saying disrespected. He implied that prospects from around here are viewed, unfairly, with a heightened degree of skepticism.

“People look at me different because I’m from Arizona,” he said, “because I’m from this place.”

Rushing believes the state of Arizona doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves as a producer of top football talent. He framed his decision to stay here and help lift the UA program as an opportunity to “bring the cameras, bring everything over here and just prove that we have people down here, we have talent out here.”

Pressure? Bring it on.

Support system

Of course, Rushing won’t face it all alone. He has an extensive support system here. That, as much as anything, is why he chose to stay home.

When the technical issues finally were resolved, Rushing was sitting by himself at the dais. He waved for his parents, who were off to the side, to join him. They sat on either side of him.

They then summoned Salpointe’s coaching staff, including trainers, to join them. Seven men and women stood behind the Rushings.

“Nothing is more important than your support system and the people who brought you up,” Elijah Rushing said.

The Rushing household also goes seven-deep.

“It is truly the core of who he is,” Trisha Rushing said. “We’re a unit ... first and foremost.”

The support system has its limits, though. When Elijah takes the field at Arizona Stadium in 2024, Cruz might be in position to help him make a tackle or strip a ball-carrier. But the other Rushings will be removed. They’ll be in the stands.

If Elijah isn’t sacking quarterbacks or stuffing running backs on a regular basis, he’s the one who will have to explain why.

He’s ready to take on those questions, those skeptics, that pressure — all of it — as if they were blockers trying to impede his path.

“He understands that this comes with a huge spotlight — and it comes with great responsibility,” Trisha Rushing said. “I feel like he’s ready to rise to the occasion.

“He’s got us. We know sometimes he’s going to be a hero and sometimes, if he makes any mistakes on the field, he’s going to have to deal with that as well.

“That’s something he really thought through — and he still wants to stay here and represent his city.”