Coming off the close loss to USC over the weekend the Wildcats have turned their attention to recruiting this week. That has meant getting out some new offers with of the recruits adding Arizona to their lists this week being playmakers on the perimeter. The Wildcats have not made it a secret that wide receiver will be a focus for the team every year and the 2022 class will be no exception. UA already has Kyion Grayes on board for the 2022 class, but he has continued to see new interest and is intent on taking visits before coming to a final decision. The reality is it is going to be difficult to keep him away from the likes of Ohio State or Oregon, so UA has to be prepared for Grayes to ultimately head to another school.
Because of that UA decided to offer a couple receivers this week and neither one is from the West Coast.
Because of that UA decided to offer a couple receivers this week and neither one is from the West Coast.
Notable offers: Indiana, Iowa Stae, Kansas, Kansas State
Rundown: Arizona has a direct tie into Missouri now with running backs coach AJ Steward on the staff. He is a St. Louis native and so you can expect the number of offers in the area to increase as they already have with Kyle DeVan's ties to the area. Earlier this week Steward decided to make an offer in the state as the Wildcats jumped into the recruitment of Kansas City-Winnetonka receiver Jason Essex giving him an option in the Pac-12. The 6-foot-3 wideout has already received offers and attention from schools in the Big Ten and Big 12, but UA decided it would give him an option to head west for college.
Essex is already rated as a high three-star recruit and put together an impressively productive junior season this fall with 51 catches for 811 yards to go with 12 touchdowns. He does play on defense but his future is at receiver where he is capable of stretching the field and he has been one of the top players in the region this year. For being as big as he is, Essex has good speed and is able to get behind the defense with relative ease. There is a smooth quality to his game that you like to see at a skill position like receiver. One thing that stands out about his film is how he is used by his high school team. It lines up with how Arizona likes to use its receivers. There are moments when he's lined up in the slot but he is also regularly used on the outside plus his team is not afraid to use him on toss plays as a runner out of the backfield.
Overall, he has the type of skill set that will translate well for the Arizona offense and it's clear to see why the Wildcats are interested in adding him. At this point it is still too early to pick any favorites, but I do believe Arizona will be a program to watch in this one. Steward has already done a good job of showcasing his recruiting abilities and I could see this being one recruitment that ends favorably for the Wildcats.
Notable offers: Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Houston, Memphis, UTSA
Rundown: Another wideout the Wildcats have offered this week is another highly-productive pass catcher in the junior class. Golden plays at Klein Cain in Texas and his team gets to face plenty of strong competition throughout the year. He had another strong showing over the weekend and Arizona decided it didn't want to wait any longer to make its move so it offered him Wednesday evening. He caught 50 passes for 799 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore and has continued to keep up his production.
"Golden is on the receiving end of a ton of short passes intended to get the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder the ball in space," Rivals.com South Central analyst Sam Spiegelman wrote this week after watching Golden play over the weekend. "He's dangerous after the catch and capable of picking up big chunks of yardage with some tough running. He's also elusive as a return specialist."
The three-star prospect is someone who can be used in a variety of ways and that is something that lines up with what the Wildcats are looking for right now. UA has a good hold in Texas under Kevin Sumlin and special teams coach Jeremy Springer will lead the recruitment for the Wildcats. As of now it is still too early for any favorites to be named, but expect the schools that are on his offer list early to make a good effort to land him and remain active throughout the process.
