Top 50 LB Elijah Melendez includes Penn State among top schools
One of the top linebacker prospects in the country announced Thursday that Penn State is among his top eight schools. Elijah Melendez, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker from Kissimmee, Fla., posted Thursday that in addition to the Nittany Lions, he’s also focused on Alabama, Georgia, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and USC.
Back in October, Melendez attended Penn State’s loss to Ohio State in Columbus. While driving back to New Jersey, which is where his father lives, he made a quick decision to visit Penn State when he noticed he was about to pass the university.
“We were driving home from Ohio State and saw the Penn State exit sign,” Melendez said. “The school was only a couple miles away, so I asked him if it was cool if we could visit real quick and I text their coaches. They told us to come through and that’s really how it all went down.”
After just a few hours at Penn State, it instantly made the Nittany Lions a program he’s seriously considering.
“I got to tour the whole facility, the whole campus, the school part, everything. They showed me around the whole school and I got to meet with pretty much all of their coaches, including the head coach,” Melendez said. “So, it was really a full visit. The only thing we didn’t do was a photo shoot. I was probably there for two-and-a-half hours.
“But that first visit was really all about getting to know them. That made me really want to come back because they’re all really cool and really good coaches. They had just offered me at the time, and I’m not sure they knew how good I was until after that visit and they watched my film more because after that, we’ve been building a relationship over the phone really well and I’ve moved up towards the top of their board now. So, it’s all happened pretty fast, but I really like being around their coaches and the university.”
But that was only the start of it. About a month later, Melendez returned to State College to watch Penn State’s game against Michigan.
“It was just crazy. Their fan base was really electric,” Melendez said. “Their student section was just crazy. Coach [Alan] Zemaitis told me that this place is different. Every coach says that, but this really was different. It was a great time.”
In addition to Penn State and Ohio State, Melendez also traveled to Michigan at the end of November for its showdown against the Buckeyes. Despite having multiple SEC schools after him, he’s consistently said that the three Big Ten powerhouses are right in the mix.
“Right now, Penn State is really high on my list,” Melendez said in November. “These visits were really good visits. I definitely will take an official visit there, but I want to make another trip, too. I want to go four times because I have to get my mom up there to see the place. Also, one of my coaches, I want him to come up, too, because he helps with my recruitment.
“The main schools right now that I’m really considering are Miami, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.”
On3 currently ranks Melendez at No. 48 nationally. He’s the ninth-ranked linebacker and sixth overall in Florida for the 2025 class.
