Four-star DL Elijah Golden excited about ‘dream school’ offer from Michigan

Michigan holds two commitments from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy this cycle and recently dipped back into the national powerhouse, extending an offer to Elijah Golden.

The four-star 2026 defensive lineman was extremely excited when he got the news and said this scholarship held special meaning.

“It was very exciting to get the offer,” Golden said. “That was my dream school growing up. I like everything about Michigan — the colors, the coaching staff and the team. That offer meant a lot to me.”

Michigan Director of Recruiting Sam Popper put the offer on the table for Golden, who is looking to build a relationship with new defensive line coach Lou Esposito moving forward.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to (Esposito) too much yet,” Golden said. “(Sam) Popper gave me the offer, and he had a long talk with me about how the system works there. I’m looking forward to talking more with the defensive line coach, so we can build that relationship.”

Golden, a native of Virginia, paid close attention to Michigan last season and was impressed with the Wolverines’ run to the national championship as well as their play on the defensive side of the ball.

“I was pretty impressed,” Golden said. “They blew everybody out of the water. They went 14-0, so that was really impressive. I really liked the way the defense played. I’m 6-foot-4, 270 pounds right now, so I could see myself fitting in somewhere in the interior.”

The next step for Golden is making his first-ever visit to Michigan, which he hopes will take place at some point in the near future.

“I definitely want to visit for a game or in the spring,” Golden said. “I want to meet the coaches and the staff. I want to see what the student life is like and how everything works up there. I just want to see everything.”

Along with Michigan, Golden holds offers from Florida, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Ohio State, South Carolina and others.

Golden is ranked as the No. 15 defensive lineman and No. 169 overall recruit nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 30 overall prospect in the state of Florida for next cycle.

North Carolina has the early lead on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 30.8 percent chance of landing him. Notre Dame is in second place with a 26.9 percent chance of landing him.

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