The timing couldn’t have been better for former Texas A&M defensive back Elijah Blades to enroll at Florida after one of its presumed starters at cornerback in Jaydon Hill suffered a torn ACL this week. He joined the team Saturday for practice after he announced his commitment to the Gators last week. To discuss his decision to come to the Swamp, Blades hopped on the “Stadium and Gale” podcast.
This wasn’t the first time he attempted to team up with Florida. Blades was committed to the Gators under former coach Jim McElwain. He reopened his recruitment and wound up picking Nebraska. But he didn’t make it and was forced to go the Junior College route. After two years at Arizona Western Junior College, he signed with the Aggies. He played in 2019 but opted out of the 2020 season where he eventually entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and finally ended up at Florida.
“Growing up, I was a big Florida fan,” Blades said on “Stadium and Gale“. “Growing up, I used to watch Tim Tebow, after Tebow all the teams, so I can name really anybody. I was telling everybody ‘Florida is DBU,’ and I play DB.”
He added that the Gators offered him in high school and chose UF because it was his dream school. Blades said the plan was for him to come in and play early with former corners CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson, but he ultimately took a different route. The Pasadena, California product said he entered the transfer portal this offseason because he wanted to find a new home away from his home state.
“Where I come from, it’s just a lot of negativity and stuff you don’t want to be around,” Blades said. “[Southern California] to L.A., that really isn’t something that I need for my life because it’s close to home and just all that stuff is right there … I feel like that’s the biggest part for me, just getting away, just growing up [and] more maturity, everything really.”
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Coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham contacted him after he entered the portal. Blades elected to not pass up playing for his dream school again.
“They needed somebody to come in and step in now, they needed an older guy,” he said. “I feel like it’s the right decision, I’ve been wanting to come here. [Defensive coordinator Todd] Grantham has been wanting me here, I know Grantham, I’ve known [head coach Dan] Mullen since Juco. Honestly, I wasn’t really trying to go nowhere else.”
He’ll have an opportunity along with Jadarrius Perkins, Avery Helm and Jason Marshall to compete for a starting spot opposite of Kaiir Elam in fall camp.
Florida fans can listen to the rest of the interview on YouTube.
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