Rivals150 WR Elijhah Badger commits to ASU during UA All-American Game
On one of the biggest stages of high school all-star games, four-star wide prospect announced his Elijhah Badger announced his commitment to the Sun Devils.
“The brotherhood and because I can be myself around there and that's where I feel most comfortable,” said Badger when explaining his decision. “I really like Herm Edwards and I'm friendly with some of the players there, like Willie Harts. The school I had my major and the opportunity for playing time."
As a senior for the Bulldogs who finished the 2019 season with a 10-2 mark, Badger hauled in 79 receptions for 1,386 receiving yards, averaging 17.5 yards per catch and 115.5 per game. The wide receiver scored 20 touchdowns to go along with two kick returns for a score posting 409 kick return yards.
Folsom head coach Paul Doherty called Badger an “incredibly talented” player and a very brute player at his position.
“I think he’s probably the best wide receiver in the state of California,” Doherty said. “What has been probably the most impressive thing about him is seeing his progress from sophomore year to junior year and his senior year. He can literally play anywhere on the field. He’s a very physical route runner and is very physical catching the ball and running after the catch. He’s very physical blocking on the perimeter too. He can catch the ball in heavy traffic and he always comes down with the football. He’s a football player.
“At his position, you don’t always find kids of that caliber, with these kind of skill sets and mentality. I saw his urgency improving, for example running after the catch. We stressed with all of our skills players that when you catch the ball you have to go north-south right away and Elijhah was the best player in our program doing it. We have used him as an example for a lot of our younger players. He has been huge for our team.”
Doherty stated that he feels that Badger can have a successful transition to the college level and rise to those expectations. At the same time, he said his now former player knows that he has to develop more consistency that will come with maturity on and off the field.
“I feel really good about the environment he’s stepping into with coach Edwards,” Doherty commented. “I think he will have a lot of success molding him as a young man. If Elijhah really sets his mind to it, he can be playing professionally. Shoot, in three years he can be in a different place (NFL).
“He’s a pleasant kid to be around, a very quiet kid. He had a lot of burden on him and he certainly led by example with his practice and play habits. He’s just one of the guys that’s low key until he crosses the playing lines and he turns into a different kid.”
The Folsom, Calif. standout who has already signed his letter of intent with the Sun Devils is Arizona State's 16th known commit in the 2020 class and 10th pledge from the state of California, and is set to graduate in the spring and arrive in Tempe in the summer.
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