Four-star Portland linebacker Eli’Jah Winston’s older brother, La’Mar, was the top-ranked player in Oregon in the class of 2016. LaMar committed to the in-state Ducks, where he played sparingly as a true freshman last season.
4-star LB Eli’Jah Winston’s brother is at Oregon, but don’t overlook LSU and UCLA
He might or might not follow his family to the Ducks.
Eli’Jah’s considering following his brother’s footsteps, but he doesn’t sound close to a college decision yet. He doesn’t have a top-five list, but he said if he did, Oregon, LSU, and UCLA would be included. A firm leader, though? Not so much, at this point.
“I don’t really know,” Winston told SB Nation’s Bud Elliott at Nike’s regional Opening recruiting camp in Los Angeles on Sunday. “I don’t know, to be honest. UCLA would be there right now, but anything could happen in the recruiting process. That’s why I wanna say I don’t know right now, because anything’s possible.”
Winston is the No. 6 player in Oregon and the No. 15 outside linebacker in the 2018 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He plays at Portland’s Central Catholic, the same school La’Mar played for. Recruiting rankings for that class will change a lot over the next year, but Winston should be in high demand.
He took an unofficial trip to UCLA on Saturday and called it a “wonderful visit.” He met Bruin linebackers coach Scott White, who’d previously recruited La’Mar.
“I got to see the whole campus,” Winston said. “The campus is huge, huge. It’s a great campus.”
Winston said La’Mar would like him to land with him at Oregon, but the older brother is giving the younger brother his unconditional support.
“He’s not on me,” Eli’Jah said. “He’s more like accepting whatever decision I make. He’s always been a role model like that, so he’s not looking at me just to bring me to Oregon. He’s looking at me so I can go to whatever place best fits me.”
