With Fall Camp beginning, I’d imagine the team football part of War Room will start picking up next week. Here’s today’s War Room…
Basketball:
* Arizona will get an unofficial visit from power forward James Johnson on Aug. 15. He’ll then take an official visit to UA later in the fall. Arizona remains right there for him, but other schools seriously involved are Virginia, California and Oklahoma.
Dozens of others are trying to work their way in the mix, but the Wildcats should be one of the few schools Johnson decides from at the end of the day.
* Five-star center Adreian Payne has narrowed down his school list to Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, West Virginia and Arizona. His coach, Art Winston, says that he’ll take all of his visits before making a decision.
"The plan right now is to visit all five schools," said Winston. "We will probably discuss it a little more once he gets back in town. He leaves tomorrow morning for Portland, Ore., for the Nike Global Challenge. I know coming up on September 9, they can have in-home visits.
"We need to sit down and see what some good days are for him to have most of the coaches come in and sit down with him and his family,”
* Arizona continues to pursue Keala King, but a number of other schools are also calling. He tells Rivals.com that UA, ASU, Cal, Kentucky, Oregon and Stanford stand out, and that he’d like to possibly go on all of his officials.
“That's what I plan to do," King said. "I gotta make a big decision so I want to take my time with it. It's a big decision. It's about picking a school that I love and that is the best for me. I think those are the things that matter and also a school good in my major, business administration, because you know basketball doesn't last forever."
* Point guard Trevor Releford says that two schools are recruiting him the hardest.
"Minnesota, and probably Arizona are showing me the most interest now," Releford told Rivals.com. "There are other schools too but I really can't think off the top of my head of who else has called a lot."
Releford is also a standout football player, so taking official visits will be difficult for him in the fall. He’s yet to line up any visits, but UA will be in the picture.
* Point guard Vander Blue plans on taking official visits, with Florida, Arizona, UCLA and Tennessee all set to receive one. He told Rivals.com that he’ll likely wait until after his trips before making a decision.
"I talked with my mentor and we agreed that I shouldn't make a decision after any one of these visits," Blue said. "The plan is to take at least these four visits, if not all five, and then make a decision a week or so after all the visits.
"I know everything I need to know about Wisconsin because it is in my hometown. They are still a possibility, but I won't know until I get on some of these other campuses and have something to compare them to.
"I like all the schools I want to visit. I just need to see the campus and spend time with the coaches and players to know how I really feel. I do like Arizona, and I love [Florida] coach [Billy] Donovan."
* UA is pursuing New York forward Jayvaughn Pinkston, and he told Rivals.com that he would visit Arizona, but was unlikely to end up at UA due to the heat in Tucson.
That said, he is a legitimate target for the Wildcats and we expect the UA staff to stay on him.
* Arizona is well involved with five-star forward Dominique Ferguson, but he still isn’t ready to name leaders to Rivals.com.
"Everybody is in it still," Ferguson said. "It's been a big year for me, and I have been so busy I'm really not setting a time for a decision or where I'll decide to visit. Whatever schools look best to me, and feel like a good fit will determine where I visit. I will probably take some unofficials before my official visits, but I really don't know where they will be."
* In the next couple of weeks, many of UA’s recruits will begin high school, which means they can start taking official visits. I would expect to start hearing dates on those visits very soon.
* I did a long interview with new basketball strength coach Chris Rounds. I’ll put up the interview on Monday but here are some notes on what he said:
- Of the freshmen, Derrick Williams and Momo Jones are the most physically ready to play.
- There’s been no problems with Nic Wise’s knee so far. Talking to others familiar with Rounds’ program, I’ve heard that his training does a great job of preventing injuries. Xavier players stayed pretty much injury-free under him.
- He expects Kyryl Natyazhko to play at about 250-260 pounds this year, which is around where he’s at now. However, an ankle injury that Kyryl suffered after his senior season got him a little out of shape so Rounds is working on getting his body fat a little lower before the season.
- He said that Momo is almost “built to play football” and is very strong in the lower body. Rounds really likes his mental approach to getting better.
- Rounds was surprised at how much all of the players have taken to his system and that they’re all working hard to get where they need to be.
* I’ve now watched three pickup games and I’m starting to get a better feel for the incoming freshmen. Right now, it seems clear that Derrick Williams and Momo Jones are ahead of the pack, but all five freshmen should be contributors throughout their careers.
In other words, none of the freshmen look out of place at all. They all have work to do whether it be on skills, conditioning, whatever, but they all have the athleticism and talent to be good contributors at the Pac-10 level.
What’s good is that they all bring something different to the table, and they all play hard defensively in pickup games, which is rare for freshmen.
I don’t know what role each player will have as freshmen - they’ll all play at least some - but it’s a group of guys that will be the core of a very good team as soon as they become upperclassmen.
Football:
* Expect Donald Horton to play both defensive tackle and defensive end this year. He could play end for first and second downs and then move to tackle on third.
* There’s no early word on the QB battle between Matt Scott and Nick Foles. Many believe that Scott will ultimately win out, but the coaches are giving both even reps and talking as if it’s a completely even competition.
* There’s growing belief that redshirt freshman Greg Nwoko will have a role on the offense this year, perhaps as a third down back. He looked good in spring and there’s a lot of optimism about his future. (JG)
Jason Scheer’s weekly recruiting update:
Arizona received two commits this week and the coaching staff continues to address the team’s biggest needs through recruiting.
* 6-foot-3, 230-pound Sierra (Calif.) Community College linebacker Paul Vassallo gave his verbal to Arizona on Wednesday. As we stated numerous times, we had a feeling Vassallo would commit unless the visit went terribly wrong and he did just that.
"It was a great trip," he said. "I was treated really well and I love it out there. It surpassed my expectations for sure. I didn't try to set myself up for anything but getting to see everything firsthand was awesome. "
One of the biggest reasons why Vassallo chose the UA is because he feels he will have an opportunity to come in and play right away. If his play at Sierra translates well to the next level, we see little reason why he would not be right.
* If you have not noticed, Arizona is going big with the offensive tackle position and 6-foot-8, 270-pound Owasso (Okla.) lineman Trent Spurgeon continued that trend, as he chose the UA over Texas Tech.
"It was the best school for me," Spurgeon said. "I thought the coaches could take me anywhere I wanted to go in football. I thought I had the best relationship with them. I like the city, the school and the team."
From what we understand, Tech was in very good shape early on in the recruitment, but Spurgeon’s unofficial visit to Arizona for elite camp had a huge impact. UA did a great job recruiting Spurgeon and although he will likely redshirt his freshman year, the four-star player is expected to make a big impact down the road.
* Arizona is going to keep trying to get more involved with 5-foot-9, 184-pound Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall cornerback Toney Hurd Jr.. He is easily one of the more recruited players in the country, but has yet to name any type of favorite.
He tells OStateIllustrated.com, "I haven't narrowed anything down but as far as new schools every school that has offered me I'm taking into consideration. Right now I don't have any favorites, you know, nobody is on top and nobody is below anyone so everybody is on the same level. I'm just taking the recruiting process day by day.”
It is a long shot for the Wildcats to land him, but as long as he is open, it makes sense for the coaching staff to continue to increase his interest in the UA.
* 6-foot-2, 270-pound Arlington (Texas) Bowie defensive tackle Diamonte Wheeler looks as if he is going to take a visit to Arizona.
He tells HuskersIllustrated.com, "I don't have any official visits set, but I'm looking for some in our schedule. I'm probably going to go to Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Iowa State."
It will be difficult to get Wheeler out of the Big 12, but obviously getting him on campus is a big step. Nebraska and Oklahoma State are going after him very hard, but the Wildcats seem to be making an impression as well, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
* 6-foot-1, 220-pound Lumberton (Texas) linebacker Anthony Beard is going to take his time with the recruiting process.
He tells BuffStampede.com, "Missouri was also one of my favorites because I had been talking to them a lot but lately they haven't shown as much interest. Colorado and Arizona have really been keeping in touch. Texas Tech and Baylor have, as well, even though they haven't offered me. They contact me via e-mail almost every day.”
The general thought is that Colorado and Missouri are the two schools to beat because of the level of interest they have shown and the need for linebackers. Beard was injured last season and thus wants to play out his recruitment in order to try and get more offers. Still, it would be surprising if the UA was not right there in the end.”
* It is difficult to get a good feel for what 6-foot-2, 290-pound Chicago St. Rita defensive tackle Bruce Gaston Jr. is thinking. Gaston speaks highly of every school recruiting him and says that Arizona has as good of a chance as any.
"I would prefer to stay close, but Arizona is an exception," he said. "It is a great school and Bill Bedenbaugh and I have a good relationship. We talk when we can and we exchange emails as well."
Gaston wants to cut his list down to five schools by the end of the summer, which will show where Arizona stands. Notre Dame and Illinois are thought to be the leaders, but there is plenty of time remaining in this recruitment.
* Another week, another Jordon James update. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back scheduled Washington as his fourth visit and is deciding between Cal and Tennessee for the last.
He tells Rivals.com, "I went to Arizona in November of last year with my dad and coach. We saw them play Arizona State and the game was so exciting. The crowd was going crazy over that big rivalry. It was exciting and that's what I liked about it and plus, I'm really comfortable with the staff there.”
UCLA, Arizona, and Notre Dame are thought to be the schools to beat, but at this point it is hard to tell if he is favoring any one school. At the very least, Arizona fans can take solace in the fact that James has always liked the UA.
* 6-foot-3, 315-pound Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Tesoro offensive lineman Silvarius Ajawara favors UCLA and Arizona.
He took an unofficial visit to Arizona last weekend and tells Rivals.com, "It's a nice campus, the coaches, I'm kind of close with Coach Bill Bedenbaugh, the offensive line coach, and coach Garret Chachere, the one who has been recruiting me because he does California. Arizona is definitely a nice place. It's definitely a place I could see myself going."
The Bruins may have a slight lead at this point, but it is nothing that the Wildcats can’t recover from. We see both of these schools being the favorite throughout Ajawara’s recruitment, although obviously things can change.
* 6-foot-3, 192-pound Corona (Calif.) Eleanor Roosevelt wide receiver Austin Hill is starting to narrow down his official visits and Arizona looks to be in good shape.
He tells HuskersIllustrated, "I want to set visits up to Arizona and Utah too. I've been looking a lot at Arizona's roster and they are really looking for receivers. It may be a good chance for me to come in and play as a freshman. They're looking pretty strong.”
Arizona is going after Hill hard and would love to land both him and Tyler Slavin. At this point, that definitely looks like a possibility, as Hill acknowledges that the Wildcats are recruiting him the hardest as of late.
* Arizona lost out on 6-foot-6, 260-pound Prague (Okla.) offensive lineman Denton Simek when he committed to Texas Tech in somewhat of a surprise. Arizona and Nebraska were thought to be doing well for him but Mike Leach worked his magic and got Simek. With Spurgeon’s decision and the way Ajawara’s recruitment is shaping up, this is not a huge loss for the UA.
This post was edited on 8/7 5:31 AM by Josh Gershon
Basketball:
* Arizona will get an unofficial visit from power forward James Johnson on Aug. 15. He’ll then take an official visit to UA later in the fall. Arizona remains right there for him, but other schools seriously involved are Virginia, California and Oklahoma.
Dozens of others are trying to work their way in the mix, but the Wildcats should be one of the few schools Johnson decides from at the end of the day.
* Five-star center Adreian Payne has narrowed down his school list to Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, West Virginia and Arizona. His coach, Art Winston, says that he’ll take all of his visits before making a decision.
"The plan right now is to visit all five schools," said Winston. "We will probably discuss it a little more once he gets back in town. He leaves tomorrow morning for Portland, Ore., for the Nike Global Challenge. I know coming up on September 9, they can have in-home visits.
"We need to sit down and see what some good days are for him to have most of the coaches come in and sit down with him and his family,”
* Arizona continues to pursue Keala King, but a number of other schools are also calling. He tells Rivals.com that UA, ASU, Cal, Kentucky, Oregon and Stanford stand out, and that he’d like to possibly go on all of his officials.
“That's what I plan to do," King said. "I gotta make a big decision so I want to take my time with it. It's a big decision. It's about picking a school that I love and that is the best for me. I think those are the things that matter and also a school good in my major, business administration, because you know basketball doesn't last forever."
* Point guard Trevor Releford says that two schools are recruiting him the hardest.
"Minnesota, and probably Arizona are showing me the most interest now," Releford told Rivals.com. "There are other schools too but I really can't think off the top of my head of who else has called a lot."
Releford is also a standout football player, so taking official visits will be difficult for him in the fall. He’s yet to line up any visits, but UA will be in the picture.
* Point guard Vander Blue plans on taking official visits, with Florida, Arizona, UCLA and Tennessee all set to receive one. He told Rivals.com that he’ll likely wait until after his trips before making a decision.
"I talked with my mentor and we agreed that I shouldn't make a decision after any one of these visits," Blue said. "The plan is to take at least these four visits, if not all five, and then make a decision a week or so after all the visits.
"I know everything I need to know about Wisconsin because it is in my hometown. They are still a possibility, but I won't know until I get on some of these other campuses and have something to compare them to.
"I like all the schools I want to visit. I just need to see the campus and spend time with the coaches and players to know how I really feel. I do like Arizona, and I love [Florida] coach [Billy] Donovan."
* UA is pursuing New York forward Jayvaughn Pinkston, and he told Rivals.com that he would visit Arizona, but was unlikely to end up at UA due to the heat in Tucson.
That said, he is a legitimate target for the Wildcats and we expect the UA staff to stay on him.
* Arizona is well involved with five-star forward Dominique Ferguson, but he still isn’t ready to name leaders to Rivals.com.
"Everybody is in it still," Ferguson said. "It's been a big year for me, and I have been so busy I'm really not setting a time for a decision or where I'll decide to visit. Whatever schools look best to me, and feel like a good fit will determine where I visit. I will probably take some unofficials before my official visits, but I really don't know where they will be."
* In the next couple of weeks, many of UA’s recruits will begin high school, which means they can start taking official visits. I would expect to start hearing dates on those visits very soon.
* I did a long interview with new basketball strength coach Chris Rounds. I’ll put up the interview on Monday but here are some notes on what he said:
- Of the freshmen, Derrick Williams and Momo Jones are the most physically ready to play.
- There’s been no problems with Nic Wise’s knee so far. Talking to others familiar with Rounds’ program, I’ve heard that his training does a great job of preventing injuries. Xavier players stayed pretty much injury-free under him.
- He expects Kyryl Natyazhko to play at about 250-260 pounds this year, which is around where he’s at now. However, an ankle injury that Kyryl suffered after his senior season got him a little out of shape so Rounds is working on getting his body fat a little lower before the season.
- He said that Momo is almost “built to play football” and is very strong in the lower body. Rounds really likes his mental approach to getting better.
- Rounds was surprised at how much all of the players have taken to his system and that they’re all working hard to get where they need to be.
* I’ve now watched three pickup games and I’m starting to get a better feel for the incoming freshmen. Right now, it seems clear that Derrick Williams and Momo Jones are ahead of the pack, but all five freshmen should be contributors throughout their careers.
In other words, none of the freshmen look out of place at all. They all have work to do whether it be on skills, conditioning, whatever, but they all have the athleticism and talent to be good contributors at the Pac-10 level.
What’s good is that they all bring something different to the table, and they all play hard defensively in pickup games, which is rare for freshmen.
I don’t know what role each player will have as freshmen - they’ll all play at least some - but it’s a group of guys that will be the core of a very good team as soon as they become upperclassmen.
Football:
* Expect Donald Horton to play both defensive tackle and defensive end this year. He could play end for first and second downs and then move to tackle on third.
* There’s no early word on the QB battle between Matt Scott and Nick Foles. Many believe that Scott will ultimately win out, but the coaches are giving both even reps and talking as if it’s a completely even competition.
* There’s growing belief that redshirt freshman Greg Nwoko will have a role on the offense this year, perhaps as a third down back. He looked good in spring and there’s a lot of optimism about his future. (JG)
Jason Scheer’s weekly recruiting update:
Arizona received two commits this week and the coaching staff continues to address the team’s biggest needs through recruiting.
* 6-foot-3, 230-pound Sierra (Calif.) Community College linebacker Paul Vassallo gave his verbal to Arizona on Wednesday. As we stated numerous times, we had a feeling Vassallo would commit unless the visit went terribly wrong and he did just that.
"It was a great trip," he said. "I was treated really well and I love it out there. It surpassed my expectations for sure. I didn't try to set myself up for anything but getting to see everything firsthand was awesome. "
One of the biggest reasons why Vassallo chose the UA is because he feels he will have an opportunity to come in and play right away. If his play at Sierra translates well to the next level, we see little reason why he would not be right.
* If you have not noticed, Arizona is going big with the offensive tackle position and 6-foot-8, 270-pound Owasso (Okla.) lineman Trent Spurgeon continued that trend, as he chose the UA over Texas Tech.
"It was the best school for me," Spurgeon said. "I thought the coaches could take me anywhere I wanted to go in football. I thought I had the best relationship with them. I like the city, the school and the team."
From what we understand, Tech was in very good shape early on in the recruitment, but Spurgeon’s unofficial visit to Arizona for elite camp had a huge impact. UA did a great job recruiting Spurgeon and although he will likely redshirt his freshman year, the four-star player is expected to make a big impact down the road.
* Arizona is going to keep trying to get more involved with 5-foot-9, 184-pound Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall cornerback Toney Hurd Jr.. He is easily one of the more recruited players in the country, but has yet to name any type of favorite.
He tells OStateIllustrated.com, "I haven't narrowed anything down but as far as new schools every school that has offered me I'm taking into consideration. Right now I don't have any favorites, you know, nobody is on top and nobody is below anyone so everybody is on the same level. I'm just taking the recruiting process day by day.”
It is a long shot for the Wildcats to land him, but as long as he is open, it makes sense for the coaching staff to continue to increase his interest in the UA.
* 6-foot-2, 270-pound Arlington (Texas) Bowie defensive tackle Diamonte Wheeler looks as if he is going to take a visit to Arizona.
He tells HuskersIllustrated.com, "I don't have any official visits set, but I'm looking for some in our schedule. I'm probably going to go to Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Iowa State."
It will be difficult to get Wheeler out of the Big 12, but obviously getting him on campus is a big step. Nebraska and Oklahoma State are going after him very hard, but the Wildcats seem to be making an impression as well, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
* 6-foot-1, 220-pound Lumberton (Texas) linebacker Anthony Beard is going to take his time with the recruiting process.
He tells BuffStampede.com, "Missouri was also one of my favorites because I had been talking to them a lot but lately they haven't shown as much interest. Colorado and Arizona have really been keeping in touch. Texas Tech and Baylor have, as well, even though they haven't offered me. They contact me via e-mail almost every day.”
The general thought is that Colorado and Missouri are the two schools to beat because of the level of interest they have shown and the need for linebackers. Beard was injured last season and thus wants to play out his recruitment in order to try and get more offers. Still, it would be surprising if the UA was not right there in the end.”
* It is difficult to get a good feel for what 6-foot-2, 290-pound Chicago St. Rita defensive tackle Bruce Gaston Jr. is thinking. Gaston speaks highly of every school recruiting him and says that Arizona has as good of a chance as any.
"I would prefer to stay close, but Arizona is an exception," he said. "It is a great school and Bill Bedenbaugh and I have a good relationship. We talk when we can and we exchange emails as well."
Gaston wants to cut his list down to five schools by the end of the summer, which will show where Arizona stands. Notre Dame and Illinois are thought to be the leaders, but there is plenty of time remaining in this recruitment.
* Another week, another Jordon James update. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back scheduled Washington as his fourth visit and is deciding between Cal and Tennessee for the last.
He tells Rivals.com, "I went to Arizona in November of last year with my dad and coach. We saw them play Arizona State and the game was so exciting. The crowd was going crazy over that big rivalry. It was exciting and that's what I liked about it and plus, I'm really comfortable with the staff there.”
UCLA, Arizona, and Notre Dame are thought to be the schools to beat, but at this point it is hard to tell if he is favoring any one school. At the very least, Arizona fans can take solace in the fact that James has always liked the UA.
* 6-foot-3, 315-pound Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Tesoro offensive lineman Silvarius Ajawara favors UCLA and Arizona.
He took an unofficial visit to Arizona last weekend and tells Rivals.com, "It's a nice campus, the coaches, I'm kind of close with Coach Bill Bedenbaugh, the offensive line coach, and coach Garret Chachere, the one who has been recruiting me because he does California. Arizona is definitely a nice place. It's definitely a place I could see myself going."
The Bruins may have a slight lead at this point, but it is nothing that the Wildcats can’t recover from. We see both of these schools being the favorite throughout Ajawara’s recruitment, although obviously things can change.
* 6-foot-3, 192-pound Corona (Calif.) Eleanor Roosevelt wide receiver Austin Hill is starting to narrow down his official visits and Arizona looks to be in good shape.
He tells HuskersIllustrated, "I want to set visits up to Arizona and Utah too. I've been looking a lot at Arizona's roster and they are really looking for receivers. It may be a good chance for me to come in and play as a freshman. They're looking pretty strong.”
Arizona is going after Hill hard and would love to land both him and Tyler Slavin. At this point, that definitely looks like a possibility, as Hill acknowledges that the Wildcats are recruiting him the hardest as of late.
* Arizona lost out on 6-foot-6, 260-pound Prague (Okla.) offensive lineman Denton Simek when he committed to Texas Tech in somewhat of a surprise. Arizona and Nebraska were thought to be doing well for him but Mike Leach worked his magic and got Simek. With Spurgeon’s decision and the way Ajawara’s recruitment is shaping up, this is not a huge loss for the UA.
This post was edited on 8/7 5:31 AM by Josh Gershon
