Alpharetta High offensive lineman Elias Cloy received a scholarship offer from Georgia Tech in early May. He was intrigued enough to spend an official visit on campus this past weekend. And that’s how he came to make his decision to commit to being a part of the Yellow Jackets’ 2023 signing class.
“I was just going to check it out, see how everything is, and it’s like a family environment over here,” Cloy said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “Like, you wouldn’t even think they are coaches. They’re just really cool people, and that’s what made me commit.”
Cloy spoke after attending a single-day camp at Tech, working with offensive and defensive linemen under the eyes of offensive line coach Brent Key and others. It was a quick return from his official visit, which concluded Sunday. Dining (“they fed us a lot,” he said, including a meal at Little Alley Steak) and a photo shoot in Jackets uniforms were particularly enjoyable parts of the itinerary for Cloy. He connected well with his host, offensive tackle Jordan Williams.
“I talked to coach (Geoff) Collins,” Cloy said. “Great guy, funny guy. Just loves the school.”
In Cloy, who is 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds and rated a three-star prospect by Rivals, Tech has a commitment from a prospect who is versatile and still developing.
He played last season at right tackle and is expecting to move to right guard this fall for his senior season. At the camp Monday, he did drills at left guard, also. Cloy said Key told him that he could play tackle, guard or center at Tech.
“It just depends on how everything goes,” Cloy said. “I’m going to listen to coach Key and do whatever he wants me to do.”
Cloy has developed that versatility despite having started playing football in eighth grade. He said it was in his freshman season at St. Francis School, when he started games at right tackle on the varsity, that he began to enjoy the game and realized he had the potential to play at the college level. (Cloy transferred to Alpharetta after his sophomore season at St. Francis.)
Cloy also has received offers from Louisville, Indiana and Maryland, among others, including Harvard and Lehigh.
“I might take more visits, but I’m not sure anything’s going to beat this,” he said.
He had no issues convincing his parents.
“(Tech’s coaches) really genuinely wanted him there,” Eric Cloy said. “They literally connected with us, and we felt, me and my wife, most comfortable if he chose Georgia Tech.”
When Elias texted his dad to inform him of his decision, “I started crying,” Eric said. “Because I knew this was the right place for him to come.”
Cloy was one of nine prospects to have committed to Tech as of Monday, including one of six who made his official visit this past weekend. He was not expecting the commitment flurry.
“But it’s good that they’re getting people from around here in Georgia,” he said. “A lot of us know each other. That can build chemistry.”
Cloy was influenced by Lassiter High lineman Ethan Mackenny, who made his commitment June 5 at the end of his official visit. The two are friends.
“He was trying to bring me in,” Cloy said. “I was like, ‘OK, let me take a visit real quick.’”
Cloy now has a target of his own – North Cobb Christian School offensive lineman Gabe Fortson, who also made his official visit to Tech this past weekend.
Cloy plans to enroll in January as an early enrollee.
“Feels great,” he said of being committed. “It’s like a lot of pressure off on that.”
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