It’s been an insane week covering the coaching search and in reality, we could probably have a War Room a day, just breaking down the last 24 hours. We’ll start this week’s War Room doing exactly that.
Basketball:
* The big news on Thursday was that Tim Floyd rejected his offer to be UA head coach. This was a surprise, given Jim Livengood’s initial confidence that he was going to get the deal done - on Monday and Tuesday, he told multiple people the coach would be announced in the next 48-72 hours - but not a complete shock at the same time.
Here’s why: On Tuesday evening, information led us to get a good idea of who the next coach would be, and through the process of elimination (contacting sources close to both Arizona and coaches on the board), we were able to narrow it down to two candidates - Floyd and someone else.
We contacted a source extremely close to Floyd, who said, “He might be talking to Arizona, but he’s not going to accept the job.”
With that, we wrote that Floyd was off the list late early Wednesday morning and assumed that the other candidate was the one who Livengood was going to hire. At approximately 9:00am Wednesday morning, sources told us that there may be activity with Floyd, and that there was a strong possibility he would be flying into town via private jet that afternoon.
As a result, we assumed the information coming from Floyd’s camp was not 100% accurate and that he was not eliminated entirely. Jason Scheer headed to the airport at approximately 2:00pm, saw Floyd get off the private jet with Livengood, and it became obvious that he was the coaching candidate Livengood was confident about.
Floyd headed home on Wednesday evening at approximately 7:00pm and by Thursday morning, sources indicated that Floyd was not coming to Arizona.
Maybe Floyd gave Arizona reason to believe that he was going to accept - again, Livengood was at one time confident that he would - but it is interesting that Floyd told people close to him that he was not going to take the UA job.
Sources told us Thursday that Floyd had indicated he wasn’t really that interested in the job before flying to Tucson, but that’s not confirmed from UA’s end. It does make sense though, and it sounds like the Floyd source was right from the beginning.
So that’s why we took Floyd off the board, why we put him back on, and why we stressed that the deal was definitely not done, even though several media outlets were reporting it was.
With that said, I am surprised he didn’t go to Memphis. I had him penned for that job a month ago when it became clear that John Calipari was very serious about leaving his school.
The good news is that there are other candidates on the board.
*The first candidate, and the main one worth talking about, is Xavier head coach Sean Miller. Miller, 40, has to be considered one of the best coaches in the country at his age or younger.
He’s been at Xavier for five years and has compiled a 120-47 record, three straight A-10 championships and over the past four seasons has finished in the first, second, fourth and third rounds of the NCAA tournament, respectively. UA would be very fortunate to land Miller as he’s definitely a good coach.
I know Arizona and Miller have had contact as early as this past Monday and he has shown interest in the job, albeit how much depends on who you ask. I believe that his interest has increased in each passing day.
Sources close to Miller have said that he’s intrigued, which is interesting because just last week, he said he wasn’t interested at all. In fact, many people speculate that he’s waiting for Pittsburgh or to be a head coach in the ACC.
I do believe that Miller is in fact very interested in the job. I remain concerned, however, about a couple possible reasons for him changing his tune about Arizona though.
Next week, according to published reports, Miller is set to meet with his athletic director, where they’re supposed to undergo contract negotiations. Well, obviously Miller will have more leverage if he has a job offer for much more money than the $1 million a year he makes right now.
On top of that, one of Miller’s mentors is ASU head coach Herb Sendek. That hurts for two reasons. One, they’re close and probably don’t want to compete against each other in that fashion.
Two, you can guarantee that Miller has or will call Sendek regarding the job and get his advice on the program and he’d probably tell him it’s decimated with talent and is a rebuilding job. Maybe that’s not a big deal to him, but considering how good his team should be at Xavier next season, it might be.
Despite all that, I do think that Arizona feels confident that it is progressing its talks with Miller. However, as we’ve all learned in the past 24 hours, nothing is set until the coach is at the podium.
* Some recruiting notes on Miller: He has two 2010 commitments in four-star power forward Jordan Latham and three-star power forward J.D. Weatherspoon.
He has an assistant named Book Richardson who has big time recruiting ties, and at one time was the director of the New York Gauchos AAU program.
Miller has never signed anyone west of Oklahoma, so should UA get him, it might be good for him to hire someone with West Coast ties.
* Another candidate who could find himself in play soon is Jeff Capel. UA hasn’t shown Capel a ton of interest to date, which is funny considering other media outlets reported Wednesday that he was a done deal.
Regardless, I think Capel might have some interest in the job. How much remains to be seen because there hasn’t been much (if any) contact between the two parties. Just a name to keep in mind going forward.
* Arizona could also opt to get involved with Mark Few, another candidate who has been rumored to be in consideration. In reality, UA has never really gone after Few, although you’d think he has some place in Livengood’s target list, even if it’s much further down from the top.
* Another name that shouldn’t be entirely ruled out: Lon Kruger. I know he says he hasn’t had contact between UA, but a source close to him says that is definitely not accurate, even if talks were through an intermediary. Livengood could choose to go in that direction if it got to that point.
* I saw at least three members of the national media mention Randy Bennett of St. Mary’s on Thursday. What’s that tell me? Bennett is making sure he’s reaching out to the media to build support for his candidacy. That’s usually how those things work.
* Reggie Theus has never really been in play but UA could opt to go in that direction, should things fall through with other candidates.
* Scott Drew’s Baylor team is now done with the N.I.T., and he’s also someone that Livengood could pursue, although there hasn’t been reason to believe that UA has shown much interest to date.
* The rallying cry on the GOAZCATS.com premium message boards for Josh Pastner has been picked up by some ex-members of the program, who are trying to build support for the ex-UA and current Kentucky assistant.
It’s still a very farfetched scenario. Livengood is trying to hit a homerun and he probably sees Pastner as a sacrifice bunt. With that said, Pastner doesn’t win the press conference, but he’d have many more supporters than some candidates still on the board.
* Off the board is Mark Fox, who is headed from Nevada to Georgia. Fox was definitely on Arizona’s radar, but I don’t think anyone will be too upset that he’s no longer in play.
* There was some speculation that UA could get involved with Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl and Butler’s Brad Stevens. They both signed extensions with their schools on Thursday, so they’re out.
* All in all, I’d say that Miller is definitely the #1 target out of this list. However, if Livengood has learned anything during the coaching search, it’s to always have a backup close by.
* The new coach, whoever it is, will definitely have some work to do inside the program, as there are players who are seriously considering transferring.
On top of that, we all know Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger are gone - they’re both signing with the same agent - and Nic Wise is not only planning on putting his name in the draft, but I would suspect he’ll also entertain offers from overseas and other D-I programs for a transfer.
Keeping Wise will be key, as well as at least a couple of the current players thinking of transferring. Some are very replaceable, some you’d rather hold on to.
* The next coach will have a couple of decisions to make. One, do you make a huge push to land Pastner, naming him associate head coach (essentially the only way he comes back)? Two, do you keep assistant Reggie Geary, who wants nothing more than to stay in Tucson?
UA fans would obviously love one or both to be on next year’s staff, so it will be interesting to see what the new coach will decide.
* Garland Judkins, who ended the 2008-09 season suspended from the team, confirmed to Rahsaan Gethers on Thursday that he will definitely be back for next season.
“I’ll be back next year,” said Judkins. “We’re all in the dark about what is going on with the coaching search but it really doesn’t matter. As long as we all go out there next season and get wins than it doesn’t matter.”
Arizona can probably use all the warm bodies it can get for next year, so it’s safe to assume the new coach will keep Judkins around.
Football:
The spring game is tomorrow so I feel horrible not having any team football news, but the truth is that I didn’t go to either of the two spring practices this week because of all the basketball coaching search news and have devoted every waking minute over the past week to basketball.
I’ll try and have extra football team news next week to make up for it. (JG)
We’ll go right into Scheer’s recruiting updates:
* 6-foot-4, 200-pound Bellwood (Ill.) Proviso West wide receiver Julius Shelby is starting to get more attention, but has yet to receive an offer. Arizona has been recruiting him for quite a while and he definitely has interest in the Wildcats. He plans on going to numerous camps this summer, but going to Arizona’s is a bit of an obstacle. When we talked to Shelby, he mentioned that distance would likely stop him from coming to the camp, but certainly would not hurt his interest in the UA.
* 6-foot-3, 190-pound Phoenix Paradise Valley quarterback Kevin Spain is definitely one to keep an eye on. He has been high on the Wildcats for quite some time and the UA seems to be the leader. He will likely go to Arizona’s camp this summer in an attempt to get an offer. Arizona likes him, but wants to see him up close and see how other chips fall before actually going forward with an offer.
* Arizona plans on taking four receivers or so in the upcoming class and one to keep an eye on is 5-foot-11, 160-pound Las Vegas Valley’s Garic Wharton. Wharton is a very good track athlete and is considered to be a burner on the field. He has yet to get an offer, but has maintained consistent contact with the Arizona coaching staff.
* This past Saturday, Arizona had a scrimmage and there were plenty of visitors. One of the biggest ones was 6-foot-4, 260-pound Prague (Okla.) offensive lineman Denton Simek. Arizona was one of the first schools to recruit Simek and since then, he has received double digit offers. We had an opportunity to talk to him recently and although he did not tell us of a favorite, the UA seems to be right in the thick of things. He will visit Big 12 schools over the summer and has plans to take as much time as he needs. Simek is very high on the Wildcats’ coaching staff and admitted that he liked what he saw on his visit, so we expect Arizona to be right there in the end.
* 6-foot-3, 205-pound San Diego Point Loma defensive end Will McDonough will be attending Arizona’s camp this summer. While he will likely be a linebacker on the next level, he is a two-time all-league selection and has a knack for getting to the quarterback. He told Rivals.com, "Academics is definitely a big thing. I would like to play for a college team that has a lot of football tradition. In addition, he mentioned that he would possibly like to go out of state. “Location is not going to be a very big deal for me,” he told Rivals.com. “I would like to go away from California when I go to college." McDonough does not have an offer, but he will certainly be looking to gain one this summer.
* 6-foot-4, 195-pound Henderson (Nev.) athlete Anthony Norris has had some preliminary contact with Arizona. As of this point, he does not have an offer, but he can be added to the target list. As of now, he does not have plans to visit the UA, but that could change in the future. For now, however, he is just one to watch out for.
* 6-foot-3, 220-pound Newport Beach (Calif.) Newport Harbor athlete Cecil Whiteside has an offer from Arizona in addition to five others and even more that are showing interest in him. He does not claim a favorite, but the thought is that there is a good chance he stays in the Pac-10. In fact, it could be a while before we know what schools he is focusing on, as he recently told HuskersIllustrated.com, "I'm just kind of taking things slow right now and focusing on track. I'm trying to make the Junior National Team. That is all decided at a meet on June 26. Until then, football is kind of secondary."
* 6-foot-3, 240-pound Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive end Ian Bobak has received recruiting attention from Arizona and he is definitely high on the Wildcats. Bobak knows current Wildcat Keola Antolin well enough to the point where an offer from the UA might be hard to turn down. There is a good chance that Bobak is at camp this summer, because he missed his junior year due to injury. If he is able to prove himself, the Wildcats could go forward with an offer that makes them the favorite.
* 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back Jordon James is receiving attention from schools throughout the country, but that does not mean that he is leaving the west. From what we hear, he is impressed with the Florida offer and would have the same feelings about an offer from Notre Dame. At the end of the day, however, Colorado, UCLA, Arizona, and others are going to make an impression on him as well. The benefit with those schools is that they are closer to home and James seems to be somebody that would indeed like to find a school that not only fits him, but is not too far away.
* 6-foot-1, 215-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian linebacker Zac Stout is still wide open in his recruitment. He likes Arizona, but BYU, Washington, Oregon State, UCLA, and Cal are in the picture. Stout is LDS, but it is unknown if he is committed to going on his mission. Either way, Arizona is recruiting him hard and seems to be right in the picture.
* His 6-foot-4, 264-pound teammate, offensive lineman Erik Kohler is in the same boat. We hear that there is a pretty good chance Kohler stays in state, but Arizona is still in the picture. UCLA and Cal seem to be the two schools he is looking hardest at and while the UA is doing just fine in his recruitment, it may have an uphill battle head.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Downers Grove (Ill.) South quarterback Chandler Whitmer was in town this past week. He told us that he enjoyed his visit and spent time with 2009 commit Adam Hall. Arizona remains in great shape for Whitmer, especially considering that he favors the Wildcats and Stanford. While Stanford is obviously competition, we have heard plenty of reasons to feel confident that Arizona is pretty close to being his leader. There is a good chance that Whitmer will see other schools before deciding, but Arizona is currently in good position.
This post was edited on 4/3 2:26 AM by Josh Gershon
Basketball:
* The big news on Thursday was that Tim Floyd rejected his offer to be UA head coach. This was a surprise, given Jim Livengood’s initial confidence that he was going to get the deal done - on Monday and Tuesday, he told multiple people the coach would be announced in the next 48-72 hours - but not a complete shock at the same time.
Here’s why: On Tuesday evening, information led us to get a good idea of who the next coach would be, and through the process of elimination (contacting sources close to both Arizona and coaches on the board), we were able to narrow it down to two candidates - Floyd and someone else.
We contacted a source extremely close to Floyd, who said, “He might be talking to Arizona, but he’s not going to accept the job.”
With that, we wrote that Floyd was off the list late early Wednesday morning and assumed that the other candidate was the one who Livengood was going to hire. At approximately 9:00am Wednesday morning, sources told us that there may be activity with Floyd, and that there was a strong possibility he would be flying into town via private jet that afternoon.
As a result, we assumed the information coming from Floyd’s camp was not 100% accurate and that he was not eliminated entirely. Jason Scheer headed to the airport at approximately 2:00pm, saw Floyd get off the private jet with Livengood, and it became obvious that he was the coaching candidate Livengood was confident about.
Floyd headed home on Wednesday evening at approximately 7:00pm and by Thursday morning, sources indicated that Floyd was not coming to Arizona.
Maybe Floyd gave Arizona reason to believe that he was going to accept - again, Livengood was at one time confident that he would - but it is interesting that Floyd told people close to him that he was not going to take the UA job.
Sources told us Thursday that Floyd had indicated he wasn’t really that interested in the job before flying to Tucson, but that’s not confirmed from UA’s end. It does make sense though, and it sounds like the Floyd source was right from the beginning.
So that’s why we took Floyd off the board, why we put him back on, and why we stressed that the deal was definitely not done, even though several media outlets were reporting it was.
With that said, I am surprised he didn’t go to Memphis. I had him penned for that job a month ago when it became clear that John Calipari was very serious about leaving his school.
The good news is that there are other candidates on the board.
*The first candidate, and the main one worth talking about, is Xavier head coach Sean Miller. Miller, 40, has to be considered one of the best coaches in the country at his age or younger.
He’s been at Xavier for five years and has compiled a 120-47 record, three straight A-10 championships and over the past four seasons has finished in the first, second, fourth and third rounds of the NCAA tournament, respectively. UA would be very fortunate to land Miller as he’s definitely a good coach.
I know Arizona and Miller have had contact as early as this past Monday and he has shown interest in the job, albeit how much depends on who you ask. I believe that his interest has increased in each passing day.
Sources close to Miller have said that he’s intrigued, which is interesting because just last week, he said he wasn’t interested at all. In fact, many people speculate that he’s waiting for Pittsburgh or to be a head coach in the ACC.
I do believe that Miller is in fact very interested in the job. I remain concerned, however, about a couple possible reasons for him changing his tune about Arizona though.
Next week, according to published reports, Miller is set to meet with his athletic director, where they’re supposed to undergo contract negotiations. Well, obviously Miller will have more leverage if he has a job offer for much more money than the $1 million a year he makes right now.
On top of that, one of Miller’s mentors is ASU head coach Herb Sendek. That hurts for two reasons. One, they’re close and probably don’t want to compete against each other in that fashion.
Two, you can guarantee that Miller has or will call Sendek regarding the job and get his advice on the program and he’d probably tell him it’s decimated with talent and is a rebuilding job. Maybe that’s not a big deal to him, but considering how good his team should be at Xavier next season, it might be.
Despite all that, I do think that Arizona feels confident that it is progressing its talks with Miller. However, as we’ve all learned in the past 24 hours, nothing is set until the coach is at the podium.
* Some recruiting notes on Miller: He has two 2010 commitments in four-star power forward Jordan Latham and three-star power forward J.D. Weatherspoon.
He has an assistant named Book Richardson who has big time recruiting ties, and at one time was the director of the New York Gauchos AAU program.
Miller has never signed anyone west of Oklahoma, so should UA get him, it might be good for him to hire someone with West Coast ties.
* Another candidate who could find himself in play soon is Jeff Capel. UA hasn’t shown Capel a ton of interest to date, which is funny considering other media outlets reported Wednesday that he was a done deal.
Regardless, I think Capel might have some interest in the job. How much remains to be seen because there hasn’t been much (if any) contact between the two parties. Just a name to keep in mind going forward.
* Arizona could also opt to get involved with Mark Few, another candidate who has been rumored to be in consideration. In reality, UA has never really gone after Few, although you’d think he has some place in Livengood’s target list, even if it’s much further down from the top.
* Another name that shouldn’t be entirely ruled out: Lon Kruger. I know he says he hasn’t had contact between UA, but a source close to him says that is definitely not accurate, even if talks were through an intermediary. Livengood could choose to go in that direction if it got to that point.
* I saw at least three members of the national media mention Randy Bennett of St. Mary’s on Thursday. What’s that tell me? Bennett is making sure he’s reaching out to the media to build support for his candidacy. That’s usually how those things work.
* Reggie Theus has never really been in play but UA could opt to go in that direction, should things fall through with other candidates.
* Scott Drew’s Baylor team is now done with the N.I.T., and he’s also someone that Livengood could pursue, although there hasn’t been reason to believe that UA has shown much interest to date.
* The rallying cry on the GOAZCATS.com premium message boards for Josh Pastner has been picked up by some ex-members of the program, who are trying to build support for the ex-UA and current Kentucky assistant.
It’s still a very farfetched scenario. Livengood is trying to hit a homerun and he probably sees Pastner as a sacrifice bunt. With that said, Pastner doesn’t win the press conference, but he’d have many more supporters than some candidates still on the board.
* Off the board is Mark Fox, who is headed from Nevada to Georgia. Fox was definitely on Arizona’s radar, but I don’t think anyone will be too upset that he’s no longer in play.
* There was some speculation that UA could get involved with Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl and Butler’s Brad Stevens. They both signed extensions with their schools on Thursday, so they’re out.
* All in all, I’d say that Miller is definitely the #1 target out of this list. However, if Livengood has learned anything during the coaching search, it’s to always have a backup close by.
* The new coach, whoever it is, will definitely have some work to do inside the program, as there are players who are seriously considering transferring.
On top of that, we all know Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger are gone - they’re both signing with the same agent - and Nic Wise is not only planning on putting his name in the draft, but I would suspect he’ll also entertain offers from overseas and other D-I programs for a transfer.
Keeping Wise will be key, as well as at least a couple of the current players thinking of transferring. Some are very replaceable, some you’d rather hold on to.
* The next coach will have a couple of decisions to make. One, do you make a huge push to land Pastner, naming him associate head coach (essentially the only way he comes back)? Two, do you keep assistant Reggie Geary, who wants nothing more than to stay in Tucson?
UA fans would obviously love one or both to be on next year’s staff, so it will be interesting to see what the new coach will decide.
* Garland Judkins, who ended the 2008-09 season suspended from the team, confirmed to Rahsaan Gethers on Thursday that he will definitely be back for next season.
“I’ll be back next year,” said Judkins. “We’re all in the dark about what is going on with the coaching search but it really doesn’t matter. As long as we all go out there next season and get wins than it doesn’t matter.”
Arizona can probably use all the warm bodies it can get for next year, so it’s safe to assume the new coach will keep Judkins around.
Football:
The spring game is tomorrow so I feel horrible not having any team football news, but the truth is that I didn’t go to either of the two spring practices this week because of all the basketball coaching search news and have devoted every waking minute over the past week to basketball.
I’ll try and have extra football team news next week to make up for it. (JG)
We’ll go right into Scheer’s recruiting updates:
* 6-foot-4, 200-pound Bellwood (Ill.) Proviso West wide receiver Julius Shelby is starting to get more attention, but has yet to receive an offer. Arizona has been recruiting him for quite a while and he definitely has interest in the Wildcats. He plans on going to numerous camps this summer, but going to Arizona’s is a bit of an obstacle. When we talked to Shelby, he mentioned that distance would likely stop him from coming to the camp, but certainly would not hurt his interest in the UA.
* 6-foot-3, 190-pound Phoenix Paradise Valley quarterback Kevin Spain is definitely one to keep an eye on. He has been high on the Wildcats for quite some time and the UA seems to be the leader. He will likely go to Arizona’s camp this summer in an attempt to get an offer. Arizona likes him, but wants to see him up close and see how other chips fall before actually going forward with an offer.
* Arizona plans on taking four receivers or so in the upcoming class and one to keep an eye on is 5-foot-11, 160-pound Las Vegas Valley’s Garic Wharton. Wharton is a very good track athlete and is considered to be a burner on the field. He has yet to get an offer, but has maintained consistent contact with the Arizona coaching staff.
* This past Saturday, Arizona had a scrimmage and there were plenty of visitors. One of the biggest ones was 6-foot-4, 260-pound Prague (Okla.) offensive lineman Denton Simek. Arizona was one of the first schools to recruit Simek and since then, he has received double digit offers. We had an opportunity to talk to him recently and although he did not tell us of a favorite, the UA seems to be right in the thick of things. He will visit Big 12 schools over the summer and has plans to take as much time as he needs. Simek is very high on the Wildcats’ coaching staff and admitted that he liked what he saw on his visit, so we expect Arizona to be right there in the end.
* 6-foot-3, 205-pound San Diego Point Loma defensive end Will McDonough will be attending Arizona’s camp this summer. While he will likely be a linebacker on the next level, he is a two-time all-league selection and has a knack for getting to the quarterback. He told Rivals.com, "Academics is definitely a big thing. I would like to play for a college team that has a lot of football tradition. In addition, he mentioned that he would possibly like to go out of state. “Location is not going to be a very big deal for me,” he told Rivals.com. “I would like to go away from California when I go to college." McDonough does not have an offer, but he will certainly be looking to gain one this summer.
* 6-foot-4, 195-pound Henderson (Nev.) athlete Anthony Norris has had some preliminary contact with Arizona. As of this point, he does not have an offer, but he can be added to the target list. As of now, he does not have plans to visit the UA, but that could change in the future. For now, however, he is just one to watch out for.
* 6-foot-3, 220-pound Newport Beach (Calif.) Newport Harbor athlete Cecil Whiteside has an offer from Arizona in addition to five others and even more that are showing interest in him. He does not claim a favorite, but the thought is that there is a good chance he stays in the Pac-10. In fact, it could be a while before we know what schools he is focusing on, as he recently told HuskersIllustrated.com, "I'm just kind of taking things slow right now and focusing on track. I'm trying to make the Junior National Team. That is all decided at a meet on June 26. Until then, football is kind of secondary."
* 6-foot-3, 240-pound Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive end Ian Bobak has received recruiting attention from Arizona and he is definitely high on the Wildcats. Bobak knows current Wildcat Keola Antolin well enough to the point where an offer from the UA might be hard to turn down. There is a good chance that Bobak is at camp this summer, because he missed his junior year due to injury. If he is able to prove himself, the Wildcats could go forward with an offer that makes them the favorite.
* 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back Jordon James is receiving attention from schools throughout the country, but that does not mean that he is leaving the west. From what we hear, he is impressed with the Florida offer and would have the same feelings about an offer from Notre Dame. At the end of the day, however, Colorado, UCLA, Arizona, and others are going to make an impression on him as well. The benefit with those schools is that they are closer to home and James seems to be somebody that would indeed like to find a school that not only fits him, but is not too far away.
* 6-foot-1, 215-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian linebacker Zac Stout is still wide open in his recruitment. He likes Arizona, but BYU, Washington, Oregon State, UCLA, and Cal are in the picture. Stout is LDS, but it is unknown if he is committed to going on his mission. Either way, Arizona is recruiting him hard and seems to be right in the picture.
* His 6-foot-4, 264-pound teammate, offensive lineman Erik Kohler is in the same boat. We hear that there is a pretty good chance Kohler stays in state, but Arizona is still in the picture. UCLA and Cal seem to be the two schools he is looking hardest at and while the UA is doing just fine in his recruitment, it may have an uphill battle head.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Downers Grove (Ill.) South quarterback Chandler Whitmer was in town this past week. He told us that he enjoyed his visit and spent time with 2009 commit Adam Hall. Arizona remains in great shape for Whitmer, especially considering that he favors the Wildcats and Stanford. While Stanford is obviously competition, we have heard plenty of reasons to feel confident that Arizona is pretty close to being his leader. There is a good chance that Whitmer will see other schools before deciding, but Arizona is currently in good position.
This post was edited on 4/3 2:26 AM by Josh Gershon
