AUSTIN, Texas — Jeff Ables has been coaching football for a long time. The Austin Bowie head coach knew early on he had something special in Elijah Higgins when he first met him a few years back.
“I just remember him coming up before his freshman year and I was like, 'Man, this is a big kid,'”Ables said.
That big kid had an instant impact on the Bulldogs program. As a sophomore, Higgins was a starting wide receiver and had some big catches during Bowie’s run to the third round of the playoffs.
“Good route runner, worked hard at it,” Ables recalled. “Great hands but probably the thing that stood out even more was that he was a smart young man, good student, great personality, very likable and very coachable.”
Higgins battled some injuries throughout his junior and senior seasons in high school but was still productive and earned scholarship offers from some of the top programs across the country. He eventually signed with Stanford in December of 2018.
“Very thankful for 17-, 18-year-old Elijah for making that decision to go to Stanford,” Higgins said. “It was definitely what I imagined it to be. I feel like I was prepared and knew what I was getting myself into.”
Higgins chose Stanford not simply for its football program, but the educational opportunities that the school could present and the chance to just be a normal student.
“Stanford is a school where people don’t really care much if you play a sport. You’re not on a pedestal at all and that’s kind of the reason I chose Stanford,” Higgins said. “Everybody there is exceptional at what they do and the thing that I can do is catch a ball well, run a route well. That doesn’t compare to anything.”
While many Stanford students have great success after college in the professional world, Higgins is exceptional on the football field. His production at receiver increased every year, and in 2022, he had 59 catches for over 700 yards and two touchdowns. His size and ability have made him an interesting draft prospect, one that NFL teams might view as a tight end at the next level and a chance for Higgins to show off a different set of skills.
“Definitely things I could see myself excelling in and things I haven’t seen myself do,” said Higgins of a move to tight end.” I’m excited to see what that version of myself looks like and I think it fits me a little better than the things I’ve been doing.”
Most projections have Higgins going somewhere in the draft from the fifth round and on. Wherever he ends up, he’ll bring the total package as a player and person, and it will fulfill a vision he’s had for a while.
“He’s got it all, you know. He’s got the size, the speed, great hands, he’s smart, he’s got good character. I mean, what else can you ask for?” Ables said.
“Being in this position is something I envisioned of myself doing,” said Higgins. “It’s not much of big deal to me to be honest, and I hate to say that because it feels like it sounds arrogant. I feel comfortable where I’m at, I feel like I should be here and I’m just excited to keep playing at the next level.”
He’ll find out where his future football home will be with the NFL Draft starting next Thursday and running through Saturday, April 29.