The regular signing period has arrived! It should be a quiet day for Arizona with all but one of its current commits signed. Defensive back Charles Yates has yet to sign with the program, but he is the only one that list. With four-star linebacker Leviticus Su'a already being announced, there is not much in the way new NLIs coming in for the Wildcats. There's always the chance for some surprises, but at this point the class is mostly complete. The team is still in play for more transfers, including receiver Gary Bryant Jr., so there is still more work to be done. However, Signing Day should be a quiet one for Jedd Fisch and his staff. If anything does change we will be sure to keep you posted throughout the day.

Fisch is holding a press conference today to discuss the class, and we will have full coverage of that.


NATIONAL SIGNING DAY LINKS

🔎 Recruit search

🔒 2023 Arizona commitment list

📈 2023 Rivals.com team recruiting rankings

📊 2023 Pac-12 recruiting rankings

NLI TRACKER

OL Raymond Pulido [STATUS: Signed]
QB Brayden Dorman [STATUS: Signed]
LB Leviticus Su'a [STATUS: Signed]
DE Julian Savaiinaea [STATUS: Signed]
OL Elijha Payne [STATUS: Signed]
S Canyon Moses [STATUS: Signed]
S Gavin Hunter [STATUS: Signed]
S Arian Parish [STATUS: Signed]
WR Jackson Holman [STATUS: Signed]
S Genesis Smith [STATUS: Signed]
CB Emmanuel Karnley [STATUS: Signed]
WR Malachi Riley [STATUS: Signed]
WR Carlos Wilson [STATUS: Signed]
OL Rhino Tapaatoutai [STATUS: Signed]
DE Dominic Lolesio [STATUS: Signed]
RB Brandon Johnson [STATUS: Signed]
DE Tristan Davis [STATUS: Signed]
LB Taye Brown [STATUS: Signed]
OL Tylen Gonzalez [STATUS: Signed]
LB Kamuela Kaaihue [STATUS: Signed]
DL Nicholas Fernandez [STATUS: Signed]
TE Dorian Thomas [STATUS: Signed]
DL Keanu Mailoto [STATUS: Signed]
CB Charles Yates [STATUS: Not Signed]

Since the the NCAA Transfer Portal is expected to keep Arizona busy throughout the offseason, I thought I'd open up a new thread to track all the potential transfers into and out of the program in the coming months. Arizona has already started to pursue some options, and this is expected to be a busy week with players deciding to enter the portal. There will undoubtedly be names to watch for Arizona, and I will do my best to keep tabs on all of them.

Kayden Lyles (Sr., OL | Wisconsin)

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Here's a new one to track. Wisconsin senior offensive lineman Kayden Lyles is leaving the program and has decided to enter the portal today. The fifth-year player from Madison has ties back to Arizona, and my expectation is that the Wildcats will be active in pursuing the former Rivals250 recruit. Though he is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Lyles began his high school career at Saguaro High in Scottsdale after moving with his family to the desert in middle school. He ultimately returned to Wisconsin before beginning his career with the Badgers as he played his senior season in Madison. However, there is enough of a connection for Arizona to pursue him. He generated some NFL buzz ahead of the season and was on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy that goes to the best lineman in college football. However, he was beat out in camp by a redshirt sophomore and was not able to get on the field the last two games. Lyles has had an injury history with his knees and hips, but he has been healthy this year. Overall he has played in 34 games in his career and made 16 starts with almost half of those starts coming on defense. He began his college career as a defensive end before making the move back to offense in recent years. He had been the starting center for a time last season before a season-ending knee injury took him down. I personally don't think there's going to be a strong enough connection to Arizona for the Wildcats to pull him away from the Midwest, but the staff is already working to make a move with Lyles. He's going to have some solid options, I believe, so he will not be easy for the Wildcats to bring back to Arizona. It is a different situation than someone like Noah Nelson who still calls Arizona home. Lyles only called Arizona home for a short time and as far as I know his family no longer has a home in the area. So, a bit of an uphill climb but he's absolutely someone Arizona has to pursue until he says no.

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Hey Guys, as defensive back Charles Yates is excepted to sign with Arizona today, I wanted to share by one-on-one interview with Yates that talks about him picking Arizona, what his role will look like with the program and more.

Story: https://arizona.rivals.com/news/defensive-back-charles-yates-is-ready-to-make-his-mark-on-arizona

Hey guys, wanted to jump in and make sure to put this on the boards as the Wildcats host the Oregon Schools this week starting with the Ducks on Thursday.

Here are my top three things to watch during the Wildcats' games this week:

I know it’s been a very hectic last 12 months and it’s a time when everyone gets to take a breath but I am wondering what we can expect as subscribers going forward?

I know Matt’s doing his recruiting for the west coast for rivals and is reporting on the many prospects to each school. He drops an article that relates to us and a podcast focused on recruiting or a program from time to time but I am wondering about the everyday things.

Baseball is still going strong and softball is still playing. Golf is also entering into its NCAA tournaments and football has its off season work outs.

Just curious what we should expect going toward? I will apologize in advance if this isn’t taken the right way as I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care

Current Utah running back commit Kobe Boykin and former USC athlete commit Jett White both visited Arizona today. The four-star prospects recently checked out of Orange High School and will now be playing at Los Alamitos in Southern California, a school that has several other high-level players and has continued stacking talent. White is likely to end up as a defensive back in college while Boykin is an impressive all-purpose back with a huge offer list. He's been committed to Utah for a while but has continued to take visits across the country.

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Arizona is back in action this afternoon as the sixth-ranked Wildcats look to sweep the Washington schools. Thursday night's game in Pullman was anything but a strong performance for Tommy Lloyd's group, and the Huskies certainly gave UA some problems in their last meeting back in Tucson. It's an important game for Arizona and we'll have updates throughout the day as it plays out in Seattle.

As always, we invite you to join the conversation for today's game, which will be nationally televised by FOX.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 6 Arizona (18-3, 7-3 Pac-12; last game: 63-58 win over Washington State) vs. Washington (13-9, 5-6 Pac-12; last game: 69-66 (OT) win over Arizona State)

When: 3:30 p.m. (MST)

Where: Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle, Washington

TV: Fox

All-time series: Arizona leads 56-31 (last matchup: Arizona won 70-67 on Jan. 5, 2023 in Tucson)

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Scottsdale-Desert Mountain edge rusher Nolan Clement is the next in-state player to turn down scholarship offers at other programs to walk-on at Arizona. NAU, Portland State and UC Davis had been some of the schools in the mix late. He visited UA earlier in the weekend and decided tonight that he would take the opportunity to play for the Wildcats. He's a solid player who had 73 tackles and set the school record with 18 sacks in 2022.

Jedd Fisch has been really good about finding the right types of walk-on players, and Clement is another impressive pickup in that regard. It also is Jedd playing chess as Clement and 2024 athlete Dylan Tapley are close, and Tapley is quickly becoming a coveted in-state prospect.

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Hey all, I have a very encouraging update to share about WR transfer target Gary Bryant Jr.'s Arizona visit last weekend.

I have a good relationship with his father, who just texted me this:

"I was absolutely blown away on everything they have to offer," Gary Bryant Sr. said. "I mean, we went to Miami and the facilities at Arizona are right there -- everything looked brand new, everything was well manicured, state of the art, the locker room was beautiful, the coaching staff, [NFL] pedigree. I told the coaches if they started sending out videos and showing people exactly who they are, more people [would] want to come who would never have thought that Arizona, Tucson had all this to offer. We were blown away."

Bryant would be a huge get for Arizona. I covered him as a recruit and watched him the last three years at USC. He got a slow start his freshman year due to injury and it being the shortened pandemic season, but he emerged as USC's No. 2 WR (behind first-round draft pick Drake London) as a sophomore with 44 catches for 579 yards and 7 touchdowns. Lincoln Riley then came in, brought in four wide receiver transfers and Bryant had a limited role the first two games this year (while mostly returning kicks). He and his family made the decision to redshirt after two games to protect his eligibility. He continued practicing with the Trojans all fall, even making the trip to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. Initially, the thought was he would stay and compete for a role next year, they decided it was time to move on and find a fuller opportunity to showcase himself. He's a natural downfield target who just glides down the field -- one of those guys who is moving faster than it looks like he is. I have a lot of confidence that he would put up a big statistical season if given steady targets.

Bryant graduates from USC this spring so that's why he didn't look to enroll elsewhere this semester. He's going to stay and get his degree and then relocate at the start of summer, but his father tells me they want to make the decision ASAP so he knows where he's going and can start learning the offense remotely.

And it sounds like the Wildcats are in great position to reel him in ...

"I think Arizona is [at] the top," Bryant Sr. said. "Georgia just called, but for me -- this is me speaking -- I think it's a beautiful fit at Arizona. Gary ... wants to find his new home, start the new chapter, this way he can focus on finishing [his degree] in the spring and he can start doing Zoom [meetings] and be ready to go."

Arizona will get a chance for some revenge as it heads up to Pullman to take on Washington State and avenge one of its three losses this season. This week marks the turn for teams across the league with the first opportunity to see teams for a second time on the conference schedule. It is another important weekend for the Wildcats after both Wazzu and UW gave Arizona all it could handle a few weeks ago.

We'll have updates throughout the night plus invite you to join the conversation of the late-night matchup up in the Pacific Northwest.

GAME INFO
Who: No. 6 Arizona (17-3, 6-3 Pac-12; last game: 58-52 win over UCLA) vs. Washington State (9-12, 4-6 Pac-12; last game: 58-55 loss to Colorado)
When: 9 p.m. (MST)
Where: Beasley Coliseum | Pullman, Washington
TV: FS1
All-time series: Arizona leads 66-17 (last matchup: Arizona loss, 74-61, on Jan. 7, 2023 in Tucson)

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Arizona has announced a couple new hires for the upcoming season. Austin Herink will serve in an operations role for the program and he comes over from Nebraska. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have a new second in line to Tyler Owens on the strength staff as Blair Vaughan is coming over from Army as the new associate head strength coach for the Wildcats. Vaughan is replacing Ben Hilgart, who left UA in December to take over the top job at Boise State.

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Tommy Lloyd and Azuolas Tubelis met with reporters Wednesday afternoon to discuss this week's games on the road against Washington State and Washington. Check out the full media sessions from after practice above.

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The final Rivals250 rankings for 2023 dropped today, and Arizona has now signed its first Rivals250 offensive lineman since 2014. Raymond Pulido dropped just one spot and will finish his high school career ranked as the No. 234 prospect in the class. Jordan Poland (No. 141) was the last Rivals250 offensive lineman to sign with the Wildcats. There were no other major moves with Arizona's other signees.

Arizona moves up 5 spots to #6. A nice climb after beating the LA Schools.

The Polynesian Bowl is set to take place this Friday and Arizona has some representatives on hand for the game as it did last year. Jedd Fisch and Brennan Carroll actually made their way out to Hawaii this week as well, so there is plenty of Wildcats representation in the islands.

Quarterback Brayden Dorman will get his opportunity to guide one of the teams and her's some shots of him from the week.

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Linebacker Kamu Kaaihue is also part of one of the teams, and he has received some positive reviews for his work during practice so far.

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Defensive lineman Julian Savaiinaea is also on hand in Honolulu this week, and below you can see some of the clips of him on the second day of practice in one-on-ones.

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Arizona lands a commitment from top-35 2024 point guard Jamari Phillips. A really big addition for the Wildcats in the next class. He had been presumed to be headed to UCLA for a long time. Arizona was able to get him out on an official visit this weekend and it works perfectly as he pulls the trigger on an early decision.

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High-priority junior from American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek makes the early call for Arizona. Michigan State, ASU, Colorado State and NAU are his other early offers. He's someone the staff really, really likes and had out at multiple games this season.

Much more here:

I have seen some tweets on recruits saying they are coming in for the game. Do we have a list as it sounds like a pretty big weekend

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Seems like we lead for this guy. Any relationship to Tony Finau the golfer?

It's a big one today in Tucson!

The biggest conference matchup at McKale this year is ready. Follow along for updates and join the conversation for today's early tipoff.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 11 Arizona (16-3, 5-3 Pac-12; last game: 81-66 win against USC) vs. No. 5 UCLA (17-2, 8-0 Pac-12; last game: 74-62 win over Arizona State)
When: 12 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center | Tucson, Arizona
TV: ESPN
All-time series: UCLA leads 51-44 (last matchup: Arizona won 84-76 on Mar. 12, 2022 in Las Vegas)

Here is the preview for today's Arizona vs. UCLA matchup in McKale.

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All done. Leviticus Su'a announced his commitment to Arizona tonight at the Polynesian Bowl. The four-star linebacker already signed with the Wildcats in December and kept it quiet until today. He's now been announced as a signee by the program. A perfect fit for what Arizona needs and Johnny Nansen's defense. Huge late pickup for Jedd Fisch, Nansen and the staff.

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Still checking to see if this is or isn't a PWO add, but Bakersfield College defensive lineman Armando Ramos IV is joining the Wildcats after committing today. Ramos is a Tucson native who played at Sahuaro High. I've seen some different numbers but he says he's 6-foot-2 and 285 pounds right now. Either way, the Wildcats still needed some more help along the defensive line and he gives the team added depth there.

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Catching you up on all the latest Arizona recruiting notes with less than a week to go until early signing day.

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