Bishop Gorman tight ends have been good to Miami. The Hurricanes just got another one.
The Miami Hurricanes made one of their biggest recruiting splashes yet for the Class of 2024 on Thursday by landing a commitment from Elija Lofton.
The four-star tight end orally committed to Miami during a live stream on 247Sports’ YouTube page. The Hurricanes beat out Texas, Washington and Arizona State to land his pledge.
Lofton is the No. 17 tight end in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247 composite rankings, and the No. 1 player in Nevada. He’s a star at Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman — the same high school that produced tight end Brevin Jordan, who was thrice an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in Coral Gables and now plays for the Texans.
Last year, the Gaels were the No. 4 team in the country, according to MaxPreps, and Lofton was one of their most dynamic all-around offensive weapons. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound receiver had 30 catches for 756 yards and 11 touchdowns, and also 10 carries for 102 yards and seven more touchdowns in 14 games. His 858 all-purpose yards were the fourth most on the team.
He also forced one fumble, chasing down a defender after an interception to deny a touchdown and give the ball back to Bishop Gorman.
His player comparison, according to 247, is Jordan and Jordan was similarly a threat as a runner when he was playing in Vegas.
Miami hopes Lofton’s commitment will kick off a big run of additions this summer. The senior is only the second blue-chip recruit to pick the Hurricanes so far in the 2024 recruiting cycle — and the first from outside South Florida — and Miami has spent this month bringing hordes of high-profile prospects down to campus for official visits, including five-star defensive linemen Justin Scott, David Stone, Colin Simmons and Dylan Stewart.
Lofton took his official visit during the weekend of June 9.
The Hurricanes will close out their busy June with Legends Camp next Thursday, followed by one more huge visit and then hope to start racking up commitments throughout the summer, just as they did last year to start building a top-10 Class of 2023.
Hurricanes grieve for Lewis family
Ray Lewis III, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, died earlier this week at 28 and there has been an outpouring of support from the Miami family.
“Our condolences to the Lewis Family,” coach Mario Cristobal tweeted. “The Entire Hurricane Family’s Thoughts & Prayers are with them.”
Lewis, like his father, played at Miami and played defensive back, although he never appeared in a game in two years as a Hurricane. He later transferred to Coastal Carolina, which was part of the FCS at the time, and finished his college career at Division II Virginia Union University in Richmond. He played in high school at Lake Mary Prep.
Details surrounding the circumstances of Lewis’ death have not yet been made public.
