Arizona made a few offensive line offers on Tuesday and all three prospects are listed at 6-foot-5 or taller with the biggest player of the group being Kansas offensive lineman Harlan Obioha who checks in at 7 feet tall.
Here's a quick look at each of the prospects.
Other notable offers: Iowa State, Colorado State, Akron, Arkansas State, South Dakota, Western Illinois
Rundown: The most intriguing offer of the day went to 7-foot lineman Harlan Obioha from small Hoxie, Kansas where the population is right around 1,200. There are only 179 students at his school so he plays 8-man football making it a bit of a tricky evaluation for college coaches, but his film is impressive even when you consider how massive he is and the advantage that gives him. He moves well for someone that big and naturally is able to easily push around players on both sides of the ball since he also plays defensive tackle.
He has plenty of programs interested but Arizona is the first Pac-12 program to become involved and the second Power Five school to take a chance with an offer after Iowa State. The Cyclones have put themselves in a good spot with him simply by being a Power Five school, so Arizona should also move up quickly in his recruitment.
He is certainly a unique prospect considering his size, but Arizona likes what it has seen and decided to make the offer on Tuesday. He also plays basketball but right now the focus is going to remain on what he can do as a football player at the next level.
“They want me as a tackle,” he previously told Cyclone Report. “They really like my feet and how I move for a big man. They actually liked my basketball skills, because I showcased my feet closing out. He said that they are short on offensive tackles this year and that I could potentially play at a young age.”
Other notable offers: Colorado, Stanford, Utah, Baylor, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Rundown: The 6-foot-7 prospect from Highland Park High School in Dallas has the most impressive offers list of the trio of offensive linemen offered on Tuesday by Arizona. He has nearly 30 offers at this point in the process with a big portion of his list being Power Five schools. UA is the fourth Pac-12 school to offer him with Stanford, Utah and Colorado being the other three.
He is another recruit with good size for the position and his film is impressive especially his ability to finish blocks.
Northwestern has been the early favorite, but it is still early in the process and Arizona should have a good chance of being able to move up his list now that the program has offered. He was only able to visit Texas Tech before the recruiting dead period went into place, so the plan is to take more trips when prospects are allowed to do so once again.
"Definitely, there is a ton more contact from coaches than I'm used to," he previously told Red Raider Sports. "These coaches love football obviously, and right now they cannot be with the players and can only talk over the phone. I have been talking a lot about spring football with coaches, playing Madden online with some coaches and things like that."
Other notable offers: Colorado, Louisville, Indiana, SMU, Colorado State, North Texas, Air Force, Army, Navy, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth
Rundown: The 6-foot-5 offensive lineman comes from Strake Jesuit, which is coached by Klay Kubiak who is the son of NFL coach Gary Kubiak. It is also the school where UA running back Michael Wiley played as a high schooler. There is a strong connection for the Wildcats to the high school and the program. UA is just the second Pac-12 school to offer Merril and the fourth Power Five program to do so although he does have 30 offers to choose from overall. He has played tackle at the high school level but has the versatility to play other positions along the line as well.
"I think I can be a valuable option for a team. I take coaching like no one else," he recently told The HillTopics. "I'll run through a brick wall for whoever coaches me. Plus, I'm pretty aggressive on field. I play pissed off, and I take care of business. I know that's something valuable, especially at O-line. I have a pretty good grasp of what's being done on both offense and defense."
He also trains with NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews so he has a good foundation as an offensive lineman as he prepares to head off to the next level in 2021. He has remained open about the process and the Wildcats should have a solid chance in his recruitment as it seems likely that he will eventually leave Texas to play his college football.
Here's a quick look at each of the prospects.
Other notable offers: Iowa State, Colorado State, Akron, Arkansas State, South Dakota, Western Illinois
Rundown: The most intriguing offer of the day went to 7-foot lineman Harlan Obioha from small Hoxie, Kansas where the population is right around 1,200. There are only 179 students at his school so he plays 8-man football making it a bit of a tricky evaluation for college coaches, but his film is impressive even when you consider how massive he is and the advantage that gives him. He moves well for someone that big and naturally is able to easily push around players on both sides of the ball since he also plays defensive tackle.
He has plenty of programs interested but Arizona is the first Pac-12 program to become involved and the second Power Five school to take a chance with an offer after Iowa State. The Cyclones have put themselves in a good spot with him simply by being a Power Five school, so Arizona should also move up quickly in his recruitment.
He is certainly a unique prospect considering his size, but Arizona likes what it has seen and decided to make the offer on Tuesday. He also plays basketball but right now the focus is going to remain on what he can do as a football player at the next level.
“They want me as a tackle,” he previously told Cyclone Report. “They really like my feet and how I move for a big man. They actually liked my basketball skills, because I showcased my feet closing out. He said that they are short on offensive tackles this year and that I could potentially play at a young age.”
Other notable offers: Colorado, Stanford, Utah, Baylor, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Rundown: The 6-foot-7 prospect from Highland Park High School in Dallas has the most impressive offers list of the trio of offensive linemen offered on Tuesday by Arizona. He has nearly 30 offers at this point in the process with a big portion of his list being Power Five schools. UA is the fourth Pac-12 school to offer him with Stanford, Utah and Colorado being the other three.
He is another recruit with good size for the position and his film is impressive especially his ability to finish blocks.
Northwestern has been the early favorite, but it is still early in the process and Arizona should have a good chance of being able to move up his list now that the program has offered. He was only able to visit Texas Tech before the recruiting dead period went into place, so the plan is to take more trips when prospects are allowed to do so once again.
"Definitely, there is a ton more contact from coaches than I'm used to," he previously told Red Raider Sports. "These coaches love football obviously, and right now they cannot be with the players and can only talk over the phone. I have been talking a lot about spring football with coaches, playing Madden online with some coaches and things like that."
Other notable offers: Colorado, Louisville, Indiana, SMU, Colorado State, North Texas, Air Force, Army, Navy, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth
Rundown: The 6-foot-5 offensive lineman comes from Strake Jesuit, which is coached by Klay Kubiak who is the son of NFL coach Gary Kubiak. It is also the school where UA running back Michael Wiley played as a high schooler. There is a strong connection for the Wildcats to the high school and the program. UA is just the second Pac-12 school to offer Merril and the fourth Power Five program to do so although he does have 30 offers to choose from overall. He has played tackle at the high school level but has the versatility to play other positions along the line as well.
"I think I can be a valuable option for a team. I take coaching like no one else," he recently told The HillTopics. "I'll run through a brick wall for whoever coaches me. Plus, I'm pretty aggressive on field. I play pissed off, and I take care of business. I know that's something valuable, especially at O-line. I have a pretty good grasp of what's being done on both offense and defense."
He also trains with NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews so he has a good foundation as an offensive lineman as he prepares to head off to the next level in 2021. He has remained open about the process and the Wildcats should have a solid chance in his recruitment as it seems likely that he will eventually leave Texas to play his college football.
