Notre Dame football: What does OL Elijah Paige bring to the Irish?
By Carlee North
The Notre Dame football program continues to add to their No. 1 2023 recruiting class, this time landing Arizona offensive lineman, Elijah Paige.
The Notre Dame football team has landed yet another commitment in the past week, this time with 2023 offensive lineman Elijah Paige out of Arizona. Paige just took his official visit to South Bend on June 3rd and if canceling his Michigan State official visit that was scheduled for this weekend doesn’t tell you something, well him announcing a commitment to Notre Dame very shortly after surely should do it.
Paige knows what Notre Dame football has to offer, as he goes to the same school that current offensive lineman Tosh Baker went to. Being able to play at a university that prides itself on offensive lineman play, I’m sure made this decision rather easy.
To go along with academics and the history of all things football wrapped in one, it wasn’t going to turn away from that. At the moment Paige holds 34 offers from the likes of Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, and many other top programs.
What does Elijah Paige bring to Notre Dame football?
The 6’7 304-pound lineman is going to bring size and athleticism first and foremost. He’s an outstanding basketball player as well as on the football field. He moves very well for being so tall and has a nice reach.
He seems to project best at tackle, where he plays left tackle in high school. The size is intimidating that’s for sure and it’s something he uses to his advantage. The biggest thing for tackles on the blind side is stiffness and lack of side-to-side movement and he doesn’t seem to have that this early in his career.
He’s got a good reach and stones anyone that tries to bull rush around the edge. He’s only going to get stronger and learn more and more techniques once he gets to campus and with Harry Hiestand especially.
With Paige making his commitment public the 2023 class currently has 15 pledges with 7 on offense and 8 on the defensive side, still holding onto the number one recruiting class in the nation.
Paige will be joining the most recent 2023 commit Joe Otting and also Sam Pendleton and Sullivan Absher in the offensive lineman room. Expect the staff to go get one more lineman before it’s all said and done and he could be the crown jewel of the room. Only time will tell but Harry Heistand is continuing to evaluate and get the guys he wants.