Arizona football recruiting: How Nebraska offer affects four-star corner Elijah Blades

The pursuit of the 4-star corner just got a lot more interesting

If you've kept up with the Arizona Wildcats recruiting cycle this spring, you've become quite familiar with Nebraska. They're starting this new "Calibraksa" movement, infiltrating California, particularly the Calabasas area, targeting some of the most talented recruits in the state of California, many of whom are also Arizona targets.

Well, the latest Nebraska offer went to Elijah Blades, who said that Arizona is the leader just a few days ago. A few days ago, he also set his commitment date for June 12th, his birthday. He originally planned to commit sometime in the fall after taking an official visit to Florida and a few other schools. That commitment plan then turned into July, which then turned into the June 12th date.

Now, as Nebraska comes into the mix, things get shaken up a bit. Blades is contemplating whether or not he will commit on the set date of June 12th. He plans to take an official visit to Nebraska for the Oregon game on September 19th and still wants to visit Arizona and Utah. He will unofficially visit Florida on June 4th.

It's unfortunate that Nebraska sent him the offer this late, because I felt like Blades was ready to commit to Arizona. Bringing his decision date up from the fall to early summer was a great sign. Even if Blades does end up committing on June 12th to the Wildcats, the worry of his official visits starts to set in and whether he will remain committed, a problem Arizona has had in the past.

He has a great relationship with Donte' Williams and the Wildcats are bound to land many recruits that he is very close with as well. I still feel good about Arizona landing him, but this offer definitely changes things.

With Nebraska offering this close to his decision and affecting his recruitment shows that they have more than a decent shot. He's close with a couple of Cornhusker commits, including Keyshawn Johnson Jr., who made the push for the staff to offer Blades. I've mentioned before that Darnay Holmes seems to favor Nebraska most, and he is also a good friend with Blades.

Blades' recruitment will be one to watch closely. He still might commit on his set date of June 12th, but after that there's no telling what Nebraska, Florida or even Utah can do to sway him their way. Arizona has been in good standing for quite a long time, but Nebraska adds a huge wrinkle in the plan for the Wildcats and their pursuit of the 27th-ranked corner in the nation.

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