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.
He said he declined an opportunity to attend NU in 2017 as a partial qualifier, a scenario in which he would lose a year of eligibility but be able to play in 2018 if he met academic requirements.