![](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/presto\/2021\/07\/20\/PDTF\/61f58400-abe6-4151-95ff-14cfbe037b2c-07202021_macmediaday-17.jpg?crop=2399,1350,x0,y0&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Baltimore Ravens are grieving the tragic loss of 17-year-old high school standout\u00a0Elijah Berman, who passed away following a devastating traffic accident in Ohio on June 24. Berman, a senior at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School in Dayton and a recent Eastern Michigan commit, was widely regarded as one of the most instinctive young defenders in the Midwest \u2014 and a name firmly on Baltimore\u2019s 2026 radar.\u201cThis one hits deep,\u201d a Ravens scouting assistant shared anonymously. \u201cWe were tracking Elijah closely. He had the mindset, the toughness, the football IQ \u2014 all of it. He wasn\u2019t just a future Raven in our eyes, he was someone who could\u2019ve become a locker-room cornerstone.\u201dAt 6\u20192\u201d, 220 pounds, Berman was a hybrid linebacker-safety who racked up explosive numbers in his junior and senior campaigns. But beyond the stats was a leader, a mentor, and a young man committed to giving everything to the game and the people around him.The accident, which occurred near I\u201175 in Franklin, Ohio, took place just days after Elijah made national headlines for accepting a scholarship offer to Eastern Michigan \u2014 the first major step in a journey he\u2019d worked his entire life to earn. That journey was cut tragically short.\u201cElijah embodied the exact type of player and person we value in Baltimore \u2014 driven, selfless, and fearless,\u201d a team rep stated. \u201cOur hearts are with his family, his teammates, and the entire Dayton football community.\u201dThough he never donned the purple and black, Berman had already captured the spirit of Ravens football. His ability to diagnose plays, his sideline-to-sideline motor, and his humility made him not only a future pro but a future difference-maker.Fans, players, and coaches from across the country have joined in honoring his legacy, and inside the Ravens facility, Elijah\u2019s name is spoken with solemn respect \u2014 not for what he achieved, but for what he could have become.From Baltimore to Dayton, from rookies to legends, we mourn the loss of a Raven we never got to meet \u2014 but will never forget.Rest in peace, Elijah Berman. You were one of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Baltimore Ravens are grieving the tragic loss of 17-year-old high school standout\u00a0Elijah Berman, who passed away following a devastating traffic accident in Ohio on June 24…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n