Blue Chip Imaging Hit Its Mark With Elijah Shumate

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep is home to plenty of top talented each year and one of the school's best cornerbacks in recent memory is only a rising junior.

Shumate wants to visit three schools.

Elijah Shumate has all the tools to be a lockdown college corner and that's a scary thought, as he still has two more years to develop before he starts playing college football. It's even more impressive when you consider that most schools will probably be looking at him as a safety. His coaches moved him to corner to show off his cover skills.

Lots of schools have verbally offered him -- 11 to be exact -- and plenty of others are sure to get involved as they find out more.

Shumate attended a Boston College camp with his teammates back in June and he said that trip went well. Most schools found out about him at the National Underclassmen Combine, where he did very well for himself.

North Carolina, Arizona, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Georgia and Rutgers are some of the more recent schools to verbally offer him.

"(The offers) are based pretty much on the National Underclassmen Combine," Shumate said. "They like my cover abilities, my size and my speed. Plus my coaches have been in contact with a lot of schools telling them about me."

While Shumate won't come out and say he has favorites, it's clear that a few schools are on his mind.

"I'm open but I have three schools that I'm very interested in and I want to visit," he said. "Miami, Pittsburgh and North Carolina. I like those schools a lot.

"I like Miami because that's been my school since I was like four years old. I was born and raised on the Miami Hurricanes, watching them. My favorite player was Sean Taylor. That's my idol. They've shown interest. My coach went up there and he was talking to their coaches. He said I'm number two on their board so most likely they'll be offering soon.

"Pitt is a really good school and a lot of players I know went to Pitt. T.J. Clemmings and my quarterback Gary Nova. They've shown a lot of interest in me and they treat me real good. The coaches talk a real good game and they want me to visit. Everyone that's visited talks about how nice it is.

"With North Carolina, I've got family down there. My uncle and I have been in contact with some of the coaches. He's said it's a real good school and he said they've been talking about me big up there. I just want to see how it is and meet a lot of the players just to see how it is."

Shumate cannot receive written offers for a while, but he's already thinking about when he would like to make his decision. He does not think he will let the recruiting process drag on beyond the end of his junior season.

Last fall for Don Bosco he carried the ball 77 times for 900 yards and 15 touchdowns while recording 46 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks.