Notable offers: Washington State, Purdue, Boston College, Memphis, UCF, Hawaii, New Mexico, Toledo
Rundown: Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Arizona decided to offer a hybrid defensive end/linebacker on Wednesday as the Wildcats finally decided to pull the trigger on an offer for three-star prospect Ja'Marian Peterson after spending quite a bit of time evaluating him. He was actually one recruit who took a virtual visit with the Wildcats last week, so there is already some familiarity there.
Arizona has been active in Louisiana once again this year and while Baton Rouge was the city of focus in the 2020 recruiting cycle this year the focus is on New Orleans. UA already has a commitment from New Orleans safety/linebacker Kolbe Cage and the staff has offered several other players from the area. Cage knows Peterson so there is already a connection to the program and he is already actively recruiting the 6-foot-2 recruit to join him in Tucson.
The three-star prospect has an interesting offer list with nearly 30 schools total from all over the country. Washington State, Purdue and Boston College are the Power Five schools other than Arizona to offer him.
It sounds like the Arizona offer is going to be a significant one in his recruitment, so he will be someone to know as the process moves ahead. Because he is still getting new offers and has not been able to take visits yet the New Orleans native is not in a big rush to come to a final decision.
"As of now my decision time most likely will be Signing Day," he told UCFSports last week. "This summer hopefully, if it's allowed, I'd love to get some visits in."
Peterson previously released a top-10 list but since he has picked up more offers from other schools since announcing his leaders that list has become more fluid.
Prospects who have the ability to play more than one position will continue to be a priority in the class and Peterson certainly has the skill set to fit in as either a linebacker or defensive end in college. He mostly plays with his hand in the ground so being a full-time linebacker would be a change but he does have impressive pass rushing skills that could help all over the field.
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