Elijah Blades, a tall and athletic cornerback from Pasadena, California, thrilled Nebraska football fans when he announced he would attend NU.
As Husker head coach Mike Riley on Feb. 1 unveiled his program's scholarship class of 2017, he identified Blades as "one more real competitive guy to look at for winning games this fall."
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Blades, a consensus four-star recruit, told HuskerOnline.com late Monday night that he failed to qualify academically to attend Nebraska and will head to the junior college in Yuma, Arizona.
Arizona Western head coach Tom Minnick, whose team finished 11-1 last season, told the Journal Star he's thrilled to have Blades in the fold.