Arizona is continuing to welcome more newcomers to campus as the summer gets ready to officially begin and of course the summer is a big time for recruiting. It is an intriguing time all around with the NBA Draft set to take place this week as well. Here is all the latest when it comes to the Wildcats in this week’s War Room.
Football
The summer is officially getting ready to begin this week and that means even more newcomers getting to campus for the Wildcats. It is an interesting and important time for Rich Rodriguez and his program. Progress is needed this season and that means this might just be the most important summer the team has had yet under Rodriguez. He said before spring ball ended he expected a better summer than the team has had the last couple years and it continues this week as more players get acclimated to things. There is going to be a lot of turnover heading into the new season and plenty of new faces.
* Last week we touched on a handful of the freshmen on campus and we will discuss some more this week as we continue our look at the group. There are some members of the 2017 class still finishing up high school but most if not all should be on campus by July and more made their way to Tucson over the weekend. Here is a look at the next group of incoming players and how things could shake out as they begin their college careers.
- Kurtis Brown: There will be no grey shirt or any other delay in the process for the defensive tackle from Bakersfield, California who arrived to campus over the weekend. Arizona needs help up front and although he is coming off a knee injury that took the end of his senior season everything is a full go with Brown heading into his freshman season. Now that doesn’t mean he will end up on the field and a redshirt season is a full possibility but health wise things are headed in the right direction. Spending so much time away from the game this summer will be an important one for him to get back on track and ready for camp. He’s got good size and a bright future, so it will be interesting to see how he looks come August.
- Brian Casteel: The California-based receiver was one of the prospects who came to Tucson with the first wave of recruits to arrive earlier this month so he is already starting the transition process to the college level. Casteel is someone who doesn’t get talked about as much in the grand scheme of the class because he isn’t necessarily a burner or does he have great outside receiver size. However, he does have talent and he fits the mold of players that have had success under Rodriguez at UA. He can make plays downfield and his size lets him be more physical if he plays in the slot. Much like we felt DeVaughn Cooper had a shot to be an impact player right away we feel the same about Casteel. Because there are still some things to figure out with the receiver group it wouldn’t be shocking to see him play himself onto the two-deep depth chart at some point this season like Cooper did before an injury forced him into a redshirt season.
- K’Hari Lane: The Georgia-based quarterback made a late decision earlier in the year, but he’s now on campus and is starting to live out that dream of playing college football. The Red Rifle doesn’t look like your prototypical college quarterback, but he will bring plenty of arm strength and passing ability to the group this season. Getting him in some better shape will be first up on the list of to-dos for the Wildcats, but he will be one of the players battling it out for the third spot on the depth chart. Picking up the offense will be key as he makes the transition from high school to college and that is one reason he is likely headed for a redshirt year, but the picture will become much more clear when we see him in camp later this summer.
- Kylan Wilborn: The Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame standout is now out on campus making his way over one state over the weekend to his new home. Arizona wants to improve its pass rush and that is where the hybrid linebacker/defensive end will fit in. Arizona’s coaching staff under the guidance of Vince Amey and Brian Knorr is tweaking and searching for the right combination of players up front to make the pass rush more effective. Wilborn will be one of the players in the mix there because of his size and ability to play multiple positions. There will be plenty of competition at those spots now that everyone will be on campus and that competition for the stud position and other spots on the field will be an intriguing one to watch.
- Lucas Havrisik: Arizona wanted more help and competition for Josh Pollack on special teams and so it decided to move forward with bringing in another piece there. Havrisik will likely come in as a kickoff specialist first but Rodriguez wants to see some more competition when it comes to field goals as well. The issue Arizona ran into last season was that Pollack was simply being asked to do too much. It impacted the entire special teams unit and Arizona doesn’t want that again. Havrisik will be able to help that and with a more dedicated special teams coordinator now with Knorr on board the hope is things start to pick up with a unit that has not been good in recent seasons. Rodriguez harps on field position quite a bit and Arizona is hopeful Havrisik’s big leg and ability to consistently get touchbacks will help in that area right away.
Football recruiting
It is an interesting time for Arizona on the recruiting trail. You get the sense it is time to take a big breath and get to evaluating some more once camp season is over. New offers have continued to go out and a new commitment came across last week, but the summer always brings with it some more activity. It has gone both ways for UA in recent years. UA has traditionally filled most of its class over the summer months and at times that has been good and at others it has not been good. Last year that meant seeing a number of early pledges go in other directions come February, so the staff has been a little slower to push for commitments at this stage. The offers have been flying out, but there has been a bit more patience from the staff in letting things develop before loading up. Now it’s still very possible the same happens again this summer, but it will be something to watch closely as UA doesn’t want to have a repeat of what happened with the 2017 class and the rush of decommitments when all was said and done.
* Someone UA moved on early and essentially wrapped up as soon as it offered last month was Florida-based safety Armani Adams who gave the program his commitment last week. The three-star recruit from St. Petersburg said his connection with safeties coach Jahmile Addae and the rest of UA’s staff made it an easy decision even though he was never able to see Tucson or UA in person. The rangy safety prospect has the skill set to fit in well on the back end of UA’s defense and he is someone the staff is excited about.
"It was the best fit for me," he said after announcing his choice. "The connection I had with the coaches it was basically an everyday conversation, normal conversations not even about football. That's first what made me most attracted to the school. They just have an unbelievable school."
Addae has been putting in work on the recruiting trail in this class in particular with commitments from Adams along with two Las-Vegas based pledges Adam Plant Jr. and Jaden Mitchell. The relationship the UA safeties coach built with Adams paid off in the early commitment and knowing it was a Power Five school helped as well.
"Oh he was a huge part," Adams said of his future coach. "He's from the same area where I'm from so that's pretty big also. He knew the same places I knew. Our relationship is the best as far as all the other coaches by far. We have normal conversations about everything – sports, life, anything – we just have normal conversations. And we just talk."
Adams said he is still building that relationship and since there hasn’t been much football talk between the two he isn’t exactly sure at what spot he will fit into the defense. He does believe the staff wants him at one of the safety positions, but wherever he ends up the three-star commit believes he has the skill to make an impact at the next level.
"My awareness for knowing what's going to happen before the play," Adams said about what he thinks stands out to Addae and college programs about his skill set and game. "And my ability to do multiple things while I'm playing. Whenever I'm on the field I feel like I'm the fastest person out there so I don't really think anybody is going to get caught on me or get behind me.
And then my physicality and my hands. I feel like I'm the best when I'm on the field so I play like I'm the best. ... I think those are a few things, including my IQ, that coaches look at."
Football
The summer is officially getting ready to begin this week and that means even more newcomers getting to campus for the Wildcats. It is an interesting and important time for Rich Rodriguez and his program. Progress is needed this season and that means this might just be the most important summer the team has had yet under Rodriguez. He said before spring ball ended he expected a better summer than the team has had the last couple years and it continues this week as more players get acclimated to things. There is going to be a lot of turnover heading into the new season and plenty of new faces.
* Last week we touched on a handful of the freshmen on campus and we will discuss some more this week as we continue our look at the group. There are some members of the 2017 class still finishing up high school but most if not all should be on campus by July and more made their way to Tucson over the weekend. Here is a look at the next group of incoming players and how things could shake out as they begin their college careers.
- Kurtis Brown: There will be no grey shirt or any other delay in the process for the defensive tackle from Bakersfield, California who arrived to campus over the weekend. Arizona needs help up front and although he is coming off a knee injury that took the end of his senior season everything is a full go with Brown heading into his freshman season. Now that doesn’t mean he will end up on the field and a redshirt season is a full possibility but health wise things are headed in the right direction. Spending so much time away from the game this summer will be an important one for him to get back on track and ready for camp. He’s got good size and a bright future, so it will be interesting to see how he looks come August.
- Brian Casteel: The California-based receiver was one of the prospects who came to Tucson with the first wave of recruits to arrive earlier this month so he is already starting the transition process to the college level. Casteel is someone who doesn’t get talked about as much in the grand scheme of the class because he isn’t necessarily a burner or does he have great outside receiver size. However, he does have talent and he fits the mold of players that have had success under Rodriguez at UA. He can make plays downfield and his size lets him be more physical if he plays in the slot. Much like we felt DeVaughn Cooper had a shot to be an impact player right away we feel the same about Casteel. Because there are still some things to figure out with the receiver group it wouldn’t be shocking to see him play himself onto the two-deep depth chart at some point this season like Cooper did before an injury forced him into a redshirt season.
- K’Hari Lane: The Georgia-based quarterback made a late decision earlier in the year, but he’s now on campus and is starting to live out that dream of playing college football. The Red Rifle doesn’t look like your prototypical college quarterback, but he will bring plenty of arm strength and passing ability to the group this season. Getting him in some better shape will be first up on the list of to-dos for the Wildcats, but he will be one of the players battling it out for the third spot on the depth chart. Picking up the offense will be key as he makes the transition from high school to college and that is one reason he is likely headed for a redshirt year, but the picture will become much more clear when we see him in camp later this summer.
- Kylan Wilborn: The Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame standout is now out on campus making his way over one state over the weekend to his new home. Arizona wants to improve its pass rush and that is where the hybrid linebacker/defensive end will fit in. Arizona’s coaching staff under the guidance of Vince Amey and Brian Knorr is tweaking and searching for the right combination of players up front to make the pass rush more effective. Wilborn will be one of the players in the mix there because of his size and ability to play multiple positions. There will be plenty of competition at those spots now that everyone will be on campus and that competition for the stud position and other spots on the field will be an intriguing one to watch.
- Lucas Havrisik: Arizona wanted more help and competition for Josh Pollack on special teams and so it decided to move forward with bringing in another piece there. Havrisik will likely come in as a kickoff specialist first but Rodriguez wants to see some more competition when it comes to field goals as well. The issue Arizona ran into last season was that Pollack was simply being asked to do too much. It impacted the entire special teams unit and Arizona doesn’t want that again. Havrisik will be able to help that and with a more dedicated special teams coordinator now with Knorr on board the hope is things start to pick up with a unit that has not been good in recent seasons. Rodriguez harps on field position quite a bit and Arizona is hopeful Havrisik’s big leg and ability to consistently get touchbacks will help in that area right away.
Football recruiting
It is an interesting time for Arizona on the recruiting trail. You get the sense it is time to take a big breath and get to evaluating some more once camp season is over. New offers have continued to go out and a new commitment came across last week, but the summer always brings with it some more activity. It has gone both ways for UA in recent years. UA has traditionally filled most of its class over the summer months and at times that has been good and at others it has not been good. Last year that meant seeing a number of early pledges go in other directions come February, so the staff has been a little slower to push for commitments at this stage. The offers have been flying out, but there has been a bit more patience from the staff in letting things develop before loading up. Now it’s still very possible the same happens again this summer, but it will be something to watch closely as UA doesn’t want to have a repeat of what happened with the 2017 class and the rush of decommitments when all was said and done.
* Someone UA moved on early and essentially wrapped up as soon as it offered last month was Florida-based safety Armani Adams who gave the program his commitment last week. The three-star recruit from St. Petersburg said his connection with safeties coach Jahmile Addae and the rest of UA’s staff made it an easy decision even though he was never able to see Tucson or UA in person. The rangy safety prospect has the skill set to fit in well on the back end of UA’s defense and he is someone the staff is excited about.
"It was the best fit for me," he said after announcing his choice. "The connection I had with the coaches it was basically an everyday conversation, normal conversations not even about football. That's first what made me most attracted to the school. They just have an unbelievable school."
Addae has been putting in work on the recruiting trail in this class in particular with commitments from Adams along with two Las-Vegas based pledges Adam Plant Jr. and Jaden Mitchell. The relationship the UA safeties coach built with Adams paid off in the early commitment and knowing it was a Power Five school helped as well.
"Oh he was a huge part," Adams said of his future coach. "He's from the same area where I'm from so that's pretty big also. He knew the same places I knew. Our relationship is the best as far as all the other coaches by far. We have normal conversations about everything – sports, life, anything – we just have normal conversations. And we just talk."
Adams said he is still building that relationship and since there hasn’t been much football talk between the two he isn’t exactly sure at what spot he will fit into the defense. He does believe the staff wants him at one of the safety positions, but wherever he ends up the three-star commit believes he has the skill to make an impact at the next level.
"My awareness for knowing what's going to happen before the play," Adams said about what he thinks stands out to Addae and college programs about his skill set and game. "And my ability to do multiple things while I'm playing. Whenever I'm on the field I feel like I'm the fastest person out there so I don't really think anybody is going to get caught on me or get behind me.
And then my physicality and my hands. I feel like I'm the best when I'm on the field so I play like I'm the best. ... I think those are a few things, including my IQ, that coaches look at."
