The recruiting process is falling into familiar territory for in-state offensive lineman Elijah Paige. He is going to have options to leave home. Arizona was the first program to offer the high three-star recruit, but since that time he has continued see new schools enter the mix giving him the opportunity to play in a number of places around the country.
Ultimately, the Phoenix-Pinnacle lineman will have to decide whether or not he will have to leave home. For now, he continues to get to know the schools that have offered while seeing others begin to enter the mix.
In just the last three weeks he has added offers from USC, Oregon, Cal, Penn State, Northwestern and Michigan State. Paige, who is currently rated as the sixth-best recruit in Arizona by Rivals.com, knew he was on the radar for Power Five programs, but he has also been surprised by the surge of interest from around the country.
"Oh, it's been great," he said of the process so far. "I haven't taken many visits yet, but some great offers have been coming through and I'm very grateful for that. I can't wait to take visits to all those schools.
"This is all big surprise. I thought one day I'd get recruited, but I never thought it'd be to this extent. I'm just taking it slow as they come, not letting it get to my head and just continuing to work because I know it's just the beginning."
Arizona State, UCLA, Stanford, Utah, Colorado, Miami, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kansas and BYU are the other programs that have jumped in with offers for the junior offensive tackle up to this point.
While Paige continues to stack offers, the one he received from the Wildcats way back in early February holds a lot of weight. Arizona didn't wait for other programs to decide to offer the junior lineman while he was still a sophomore.
The early attention from Jedd Fisch's staff has helped Paige build a connection with the in-state program, especially offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Brennan Carroll.