Elijah Crawford will take an official visit to Rutgers in June, one of three official visits the Maryland defensive lineman is likely to take this summer.
Crawford was offered by Rutgers on March 1 and announced on Monday an official visit to Rutgers the weekend of June 14.
He was on campus recently for an unofficial visit where he saw a spring practice. The interior defensive lineman has Rutgers scheduled and will be at West Virginia the weekend of June 7.
Syracuse is also in the mix for Crawford but that official visit has not yet been scheduled. Other programs to offer Crawford include Temple and Virginia Tech.
At 6-foot-4 and 265-pounds, Crawford is coming off a strong season for McDonogh (Owings Mills, Maryland). In nine games played season, Crawford had 39 total tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks.
“They just impressed me with everything,” Crawford told Rutgers Wire.
“Practice was fast paced with everyone flying around. The campus was really impressive in just how it is so modern and the strength and conditioning was probably the biggest thing.
“I talked to coach JB (Jay Butler) and he showed me some of the guys’ transformations from their time there and it was just unreal how much they’ve grown.”
Overall, Crawford cites a strong relationship with the Rutgers staff since being offered six weeks ago.
“It’s great, I talk to coach Ferrell (Colin Ferrell) and he’s really genuine and he has a great defensive mind,” Crawford said.
“And (he) really understands d-line play and how I can better my game. On top of that, I talked to coach H (Joe Harasymiah), the defensive coordinator. And we just talked about how I’d fit into their team and just their philosophy and he was just really impressed with my game.”
Crawford said a fourth official visit could take place this summer “depending on how this period goes.”
He hopes to announce his commitment the first week in July.
