Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Wildcats had a busy weekend in recruiting. There were quite a few visitors on campus and the coaching staff has been invading various camps and will be hosting many of their own. In the span of four days, Arizona landed four commitments, one from an ultra-athletic linebacker, two from some well-rounded wide receivers and another from a hybrid lineman.
Now the class has 15 commits and can be found within the top 15 of every recruiting service website. It should be noted that this ranking is weighted heavily on the amount of commitments, as most schools barely have five, but Arizona has always done well early. When all is said and done I still believe that the Wildcats will not fall below 27th in the nation, likely falling around 22nd in the rankings.
Things might not slow down for U of A. There are about nine guys I feel good about Arizona landing, but guys are going to have to act fast to get their spot. While it’s nice to have early commitments, this could lead to possible decommitments down the road, or the staff needing to back off of a recruit like they did with Sean Riley, Tyliek Raynor and Jabari Watson in the last recruiting cycle. At this point it might be fair to say that the staff is looking to add around 30 players in this class, depending on how the scholarship numbers turn out
Offensive lineman visits
3-star offensive tackle Tucker Robertson was on campus for a quick 12 hour trip but he is extremely high on Arizona. He is one of the most genuine recruits I’ve ever talked to and would be a great locker room leader. I expect him to commit to the Wildcats no later than July.
Arizona will have another offensive lineman on campus this weekend in 3-star OG Cody Shear. He’s been extremely interested in this year’s recruiting class and has been updating me throughout his own recruiting process. While there’s still some uncertainty with his commitment, I feel fairly confident that he will commit to Arizona on July 5th, if not after his upcoming visit.
Future commitments
On to the future commitments. Tucker Robertson and Cody Shear seem to be the guys who round out the offensive line search. As for the future receivers, the two that I project for Arizona are Warren Jackson and Maurice Bell. There are plenty of guys who are interested but it’s going to be a matter of time before the class fills up. I think that will leave Chris Brooks on the outside looking in, but there could be open scholarships depending on how the class finally shapes up. I honestly think Bruce Judson is going to end up at Arizona based on a few people I’ve spoken to. Bryan Thompson to Oregon is one that I feel mildly safe to call as well.
And then the big fish is Joseph Lewis. I like the chances of Greg Johnson remaining committed despite taking official visits in the fall. That is going to be huge in trying to reel in Lewis and I think this could end up being a great thing. At this point I believe Arizona would take three receivers, maybe four with either Brooks or Judson.
3-star safety Scott Young is another guy who I feel could be close to ending his process. I’d be pretty shocked if he ended up anywhere else, although he has had some more schools come in contact.
I am projecting Arizona to land two more 4-star guys, both on defense; linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia and defensive back Elijah Blades. The former has Arizona State and Nebraska in the mix, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about those two. I don’t think the four linebacker commitments scare off Slade-Matuatia. As for Blades, it’s Florida and Utah, but I’m calling Arizona now.
I think Arizona misses out on Thomas Graham but I think they can afford another corner in this class and I like 3-star Malik Hausman to fill that role.
Odua Isibor and Jalen Harris are two intriguing in-state options at defensive end. I think Arizona misses on Isibor but Harris has family ties with Sean Harris, former member of the Desert Swarm defense. Jalen has picked up a load of offers but Arizona is still in good shape.
There’s another defensive end in Robert Porcher, who is another guy to watch out for. He’ll be visiting campus with 3-star linebacker Nick Smith and Bruce Judson this summer, which is a trio that could become a package deal for Arizona, but I don’t find it likely. I think Smith keeps his talents on the east coast and Porcher is still an interesting prospect. But as I said above, I feel like Judson heads to the Pac-12.
Future Camps
Continuing on with Joseph Lewis, Arizona will be holding two huge satellite camps. One will be at Augustus Hawkins and the other will be Centennial. These are two extremely big football programs that have provided power five schools with talent all across the country. Chacho Ulloa and JJ Taylor are two big recruits Arizona already secured from Centennial. From Hawkins, Joseph Lewis.
There are quite a few Hawkins prospects that are available for Arizona and it wouldn’t be surprising if there were multiple offers handed out at that camp, as well as Centennial.