Arizona continues to make its way through the spring recruiting season under the current conditions and the Wildcats have already landed on a few lists of some of their targets in the 2021 class. Many prospects are already starting the process of trimming their lists and cutting some options at this point in the year despite all the restrictions currently in place that are preventing in-person contact.
One recruit who just cut his list to 10 schools – although he left open the possibility for changes – is three-star outside linebacker Patrick Hisatake from Clackamas High School in Clackamas, Oregon.
Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland, UCLA, Utah, Cal, Arizona State, Kansas, Boise State and UCF made the recent top 10 for Hisatake who is originally from Hawaii.
Tuesday afternoon, however, a new team was added to the list as the 6-foot-5 linebacker/athlete prospect made a spot for Arizona to move into the group. The Wildcats offered Hisatake less than two weeks ago but outside linebacker coach Andy Buh has made progress in the recruitment and now the Wildcats are going to be in play with the three-star prospect as he moves the process forward.
UA will certainly still have its work cut out for it as the process plays out, but being added to the list after it had already been released is a positive step for Buh and the Wildcats. Getting to the visit portion of the recruitment will be key as getting Hisatake out for an official visit – whenever in-person trips are once again allowed – will not be easy and there will be some quality competition for Arizona's staff.
“I’m just waiting to see if any other schools come in,” Hisatake told Adam Gorney of Rivals.com before his offer from UA came in. “I planned one with Arizona State for the end of the year and I’m still talking to other coaches about planning other visits.”
The big linebacker was someone I was actually able to see in action last month when he made it out to California for the Rivals Camp Series stop in Los Angeles. He is going to have to work on improving his speed and ability to play in coverage if he wants to stick at linebacker, but he has really good size and could find a good fit for his skill set at the next level. When watching his junior film it is clear his biggest strength is getting to the quarterback and playing in pass-rush situations and that is something that UA wants to continue to have across the board with its defensive front.
One recruit who just cut his list to 10 schools – although he left open the possibility for changes – is three-star outside linebacker Patrick Hisatake from Clackamas High School in Clackamas, Oregon.
Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland, UCLA, Utah, Cal, Arizona State, Kansas, Boise State and UCF made the recent top 10 for Hisatake who is originally from Hawaii.
Tuesday afternoon, however, a new team was added to the list as the 6-foot-5 linebacker/athlete prospect made a spot for Arizona to move into the group. The Wildcats offered Hisatake less than two weeks ago but outside linebacker coach Andy Buh has made progress in the recruitment and now the Wildcats are going to be in play with the three-star prospect as he moves the process forward.
UA will certainly still have its work cut out for it as the process plays out, but being added to the list after it had already been released is a positive step for Buh and the Wildcats. Getting to the visit portion of the recruitment will be key as getting Hisatake out for an official visit – whenever in-person trips are once again allowed – will not be easy and there will be some quality competition for Arizona's staff.
“I’m just waiting to see if any other schools come in,” Hisatake told Adam Gorney of Rivals.com before his offer from UA came in. “I planned one with Arizona State for the end of the year and I’m still talking to other coaches about planning other visits.”
The big linebacker was someone I was actually able to see in action last month when he made it out to California for the Rivals Camp Series stop in Los Angeles. He is going to have to work on improving his speed and ability to play in coverage if he wants to stick at linebacker, but he has really good size and could find a good fit for his skill set at the next level. When watching his junior film it is clear his biggest strength is getting to the quarterback and playing in pass-rush situations and that is something that UA wants to continue to have across the board with its defensive front.
