After more than two months of waiting, the school at which five-star cornerback Elias Ricks will man the secondary has been brought to light.
Ricks, the No. 7 player in the newly-released Chosen 25, will be taking his talents to Florida.
Specifically, to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida), he announced on Twitter.
From a western national powerhouse to an eastern, Ricks will help the Ascenders try to knock his former school Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) off the top spot in the Super 25.
At IMG, Ricks will play cornerback opposite four-star Ohio State commit Lejond Cavazos.
It’s a big get for the Ascenders, who were ranked No. 8 in the Way-Too-Early preseason rankings. With players like Ricks, Cavazos and five-star defensive end JC Latham, the defensive looks like it’ll be near impossible to get through.
Ricks left Mater Dei so he would be able to fulfill early graduation requirements and enroll at LSU after the fall semester, according to 247Sports.
Mater Dei would not accept his dual enrollment credits and requires 270 credits instead of the usual 230, according to 247Sports. The outlet noted that most of those extra classes are religious.
Reclassifying would have also been a difficult option for Ricks. He would have needed summer classes and then wouldn’t have arrived to LSU until about two weeks before reporting day for the season, according to 247Sports.
Now, Ricks can learn from an entirely new animal in IMG as he keeps his lessons from Mater Dei that made him an ALL-USA First Team Defensive player last season.
Then, it’s off to LSU. Ricks has remained a firm commitment to the program, though he did say he is planning to visit USC, Ohio State, Alabama and one other school he has yet to determine.
