Why are some of our best d lineman leaving? One position we can’t afford to lose anyone!

After going 2-0 during opening week with to enormous blowout wins, Arizona moves from 19 to 18 in the latest AP poll.

Check out my article on Pelle Larsson’s progression in Saturday’s win vs Indiana in Las Vegas.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 10 Arizona vs No. 14 Indiana
When: 5:30 p.m MST
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: FOX
Odds: Arizona (-2.0) O/U 158


Hey everybody! I'm getting the game thread started early here, about five and a half hours until the 5:30 p.m. MST tip-off at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Game Notes:

• This will be the first time these two schools face each other
• Arizona has won in each of its last 10 neutral stadium games

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He has not yet announced it himself, but Taye Brown has committed to Arizona. He was one of the late-summer cactus commitment GIFs that went unaccounted for. Kansas State made a strong push for him and even brought him in for an official visit this season, but in the end the chance to play close to home wins out and the Wildcats have added their second commitment from Chandler-Hamilton in the 2023 class.

San Diego State, New Mexico State, Idaho and Air Force are some of the other schools that offered the big linebacker.

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2023 Corona (Calif.) Centennial receiver Malachi Riley is currently on an official visit to Arizona. He arrived last night since his team played Thursday and will be in town through Sunday. It's a big visit. He's been on campus a couple times previously — actually came on back-to-back weekends in the spring — and this is the first and potentially only official visit he's going to be taking. At this point it will be a big surprise if he doesn't end up committed to the Wildcats.

I've watched him a few times already throughout the year, and he fits the Dorian Singer type of mold for the Wildcats. He's someone who can stretch the field, but will be a player who can truly play any of the positions. He's got an impressive offer list that includes USC, Oregon, UCLA, Georgia, Michigan State, Auburn, Ole Miss and Washington among others. He has offers from around two dozen schools overall. Washington was making a push but Arizona has by far been the most active team in his recruitment.

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Hey guys I'll be updating you throughout Lloyd's press conference.

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Arizona has landed its third commitment of the week as Covina (Calif.) Charter Oak athlete Solomon Davis has made his decision public after picking UA while on his visit over the weekend. Davis is a versatile two-way athlete, but he will join the Wildcats as a defensive back. He likely will play a lot of nickel with UA, but could really play any of the positions in the secondary. He is a high-level athlete with a lot of talent and someone who will fit in nicely with what the Wildcats are trying to build in the secondary group. He is another prospect whose dad knows DeWayne Walker since the UA cornerbacks coach actually recruited the elder Davis back when he was in high school. So, that is another connection for the program.

I'll have more on this in a bit.

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In-state safety Genesis Smith (Chandler-Hamilton) visited Arizona last weekend and the Wildcats remain in strong position with him. UA is currently the favorite to land the 6-foot-2 safety prospect, and he didn't take a planned official visit to Washington this weekend signaling that his recruitment could all be pointed toward the Wildcats. He told me he wants to make a decision before his senior season, and if that is the case he will not be able to take any other official visits before that time. So, Arizona is going to remain in a good spot. He has been on campus a bunch of times, and his latest trip allowed him to get even more perspective about the school. He officially has a top four of Arizona, Washington, Iowa State and Oregon State, but UA is the only school he has officially visited of that group.

“It was extremely important to go out there and visit them. I’ve been visiting them for quite a while. I’ve been going since I think I was a sophomore just working to get the offer. When I finally did it was very exciting. Building a relationship with them has been a fun process getting to know them along the way and building a relationship.”

Smith has been one of the top priorities for the coaching staff this cycle.

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Arizona had just one player earn a spot on one of the two Pac-12 All-Conference teams today. Wide receiver Dorian Singer was named a member of the second-team offense as voted on by coaches from across the league. The Wildcats had six other players recognized with honorable mention nods including: WR Jacob Cowing, OL Jordan Morgan, OL Jonah Savaiinaea, QB Jayden de Laura, RB Michael Wiley, and K Tyler Loop.

Singer led the Wildcats with a career-high 1,105 receiving yards and was third on the team with six touchdown catches. He became the eighth Arizona player in program history to record 1,000 yards in a single season. Singer's 1,105 receiving yards are the fifth-most in Arizona single-season history. It is the first All-Pac-12 honor of his career.

He opted to enter the transfer portal on Monday and is not expected to make a return to the team as it stands now.

Here are the complete first and second teams.

On the same day Dorian Singer announced he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, Jacob Cowing announced he will be returning to Arizona despite some thought he could enter his name into the 2023 NFL Draft.

Cowing led the Pac-12 with 85 receptions and was No. 4 in the conference with 1,034 receiving yards. He also led all Power 5 pass catchers with 638 yards after the catch.

The transfer portal officially opens Monday and it's already been incredibly busy. We have you covered. Rivals has all the latest news on the biggest transfers, we're now ranking every entry into the portal and we also have a message board to talk about everything portal-related.

Please use these resources to find all the breaking news and everything else when it comes to the portal:

Site: https://portal.rivals.com/

Transfer Tracker & Ranking: https://n.rivals.com/transfer_tracker/2023

Message board: https://forums.rivals.com/forums/football-transfer-portal.46/

And please follow us on social for all the breaking news: @RivalsPortal

Here's my full rundown of Arizona's weekend visitors who will begin arriving on campus today. It is a smaller group but a meaningful one with UCLA transfer Tyler Manoa on campus in addition to 2023 receiver Trech Kekahuna taking an important visit as he gets closer to making a decision. Plus, two of the team's previous commits will be in town for their official visits as well. Hit the link for all the details.

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GAME INFO

Who: No. 4 Arizona vs Cal
When: 3 p.m MST
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Arizona
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Odds: Arizona (-23.5) O/U 144


Hey everybody! I'm getting the game thread started early here, about five hours until the 3 p.m MST tip-off at McKale Center.

Check out my recap of Arizona's first home conference win of the season against Cal.

Late Saturday afternoon linebacker Jerry Robert announced that he will be coming back to Arizona for another season and his third year in the program. With Roberts coming back to play one more year for the Wildcats, it marks his seventh season, that's right a seventh season.

Now, how is this possible? I was curious too. So, I reached out to find out, and this is what I was told by someone very close to the situation. Roberts received a redshirt during his freshman season at Bowling Green (2018), then he received a medical redshirt the next season (2019) making him a freshman again. He finished his time with the Falcons during the COVID-19 season which was a "free year" for the players.

That means when Roberts transferred to Arizona, he was technically a sophomore during the 2021 season when playing for Don Brown.

The 2022 season was looked at as Roberts' senior season from everyone. However, because of the redshirts and year of COVID-19, he was actually a junior with one more season of eligibility.

So, Roberts will be back for his seventh season in college and his third at Arizona and will look to help the team make a bowl game for the first time since the 2017 season.

I wanted to get a post started tracking the current players on Arizona's roster as players make their decision to stay, or enter the NFL draft.

And the first decision has been made with safety Christian Young entering the NFL draft and leaving behind one more year of eligibility.

I'm not sure what his draft stock will look like, but my guess is that Young will be either drafted in round 5-7, or he will become an undrafted free agent and sign with whatever team wants to take a chance on his athletic ability.

Here is a story I put together from the interviews after last Thursday's practice on redshirt senior Jerry Roberts and the leadership role he is taking on this season with a young group that includes Malik Reed and Ammon Allen.

Hey guys, just wanted to get your thoughts on the ASU hire.

...with Red & Blue symbols inserted as well..

He opted out of Bruins season in October, preserving the year.

Though he had been on D-line, they had been working him at Left Tackle.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 4 Arizona at Utah
When: 6:30 p.m MST
Where: John M. Huntsman Center | Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Odds: Arizona (-6.5) O/U 154.5


Hey everybody! I'm getting the game thread started early here, about six hours until the 6:30 p.m MST tip-off at John M. Huntsman Center.

Game Notes:

• This will be a familiar stadium to Pelle Larsson, who played his freshman season at John M. Huntsman Center as a Ute during the 2020-21 season. Larsson averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists throughout his single season in Salt Lake City.
• Huntsman Center is home to Kerr Kriisa's first career triple double, where he posted 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Wildcat win 97-77. He achieved that feat again this season, joining Andre Iguodala and Loren Woods as the only Wildcats to record multiple triple doubles.

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UCLA lineman Tyler Manoa is taking an official visit to Arizona this weekend. The fifth-year senior has been a reserve most of his career and the Bruins moved him over to offense for the 2022 season. It didn't go as well as hoped and he ended up not getting much of an opportunity to see the field. His plan is to move back over to defense, and the Wildcats are bringing him in for a visit. Obviously, he has a couple connections to the UA staff through Johnny Nansen and Jason Kaufusi, and there is a strong chance he ends up making the move to Tucson.

He's already graduated so he'll be eligible immediately and 2023 will be his final college season.

Jedd Fisch has signed a contract extension to remain Arizona's head coach through the 2027 season, pending ABOR approval.

"Amber and I, along with our family, are so grateful to President Robbins, Dave Heeke, and the entire University Leadership for their belief in our program and the direction we are heading," Fisch said in a press release from the school announcing the extension. "This new contract will allow us to continue to build and improve in all areas. This would not be possible without the incredible efforts of our players and coaches, to whom I am incredibly grateful. I am excited about the improvements our program has made, but we can't wait to get back on the recruiting trail and bring in more great players to take our program to greater heights. I want to thank Wildcat Nation for its support. Now it's time to fill the stadium! Bear Down and Go Cats."

Fisch's original contract was for five seasons and he was set to see an increase from $1.8 million to $2 milliion in base salary heading into 2023 (his contract renews in December). The details of his revised contract have yet been released.

"Jedd's success on the field, in recruiting and in the community have established a foundation of excellence for our football program moving forward," Arizona AD Dave Heeke said in a statement provided by the program. "The wholesale improvement of our program in all aspects has been accomplished in alignment with the mission of the University of Arizona, and this extension is our commitment to continue investing in our football program. I am excited to see what the future holds for Arizona Football under Jedd's excellent leadership."

Check out my article on Jade Loville's progression in her first year in Tucson