Now that the spring has started up that means football recruits are in the midst of taking visits and getting back to work with 7v7 season and offseason workouts. GOAZCATS.com spent the weekend in California watching various Arizona targets on Saturday and meeting with several more on Sunday during the Tom Lemming photo shoot at UCLA.
Because we were able to gather so much info on various prospects this week’s War Room will be solely focused on football recruiting with much more on each prospect we saw and spoke with over the weekend plus some more from the Rivals Camp Series stop in Georgia where there were other recruits talking about the Wildcats.
* We’ll start at the top with five-star cornerback Darnay Holmes from Calabasas, California. The talented corner, who currently ranks No. 15 overall in the Rivals100, visited Arizona recently with the rest of his Proway 7v7 team but it was just one of many visits he has been on to Tucson. Holmes had an opportunity to meet with the UA staff some more and get to know the new defensive coaches more as well. UCLA continues to be out front with Holmes, but he also continues to go back to wanting to play with this brother whenever the topic of Arizona comes up.
The Wildcats are going to have to continue to work, but he said Sunday that UA is a realistic option for him still as he works toward his decision in late June.
“It was nice to meet the new defensive staff,” Holmes said of his latest visit to Tucson a couple weeks ago. “Coach Donté (Williams) is a great guy and he definitely knows what he’s talking about. He’s going to get a lot of great corners coming in at Arizona. He’s going to be one of the top recruiters in California now. For him to be at Arizona and not where he used to be at.
“It’s a higher name and a higher brand for him.”
Ever since the process started Holmes has always had a big interest in playing with his brother and that continues to be the big pull for him to Tucson. Adding the new staff members that he has grown to like doesn’t hurt either, but playing on the same team as his brother is what is making UA a legitimate option at this point.
“I’ve only played with my brother a few times in my life, so that’s definitely something I’m considering,” he said.”
Getting to the NFL is key for players like Holmes who know they will have a great shot to do so. At the corner position specifically Arizona now has someone in Williams who can point to his success in doing that at a school like San Jose State and that is really starting to connect him with some of the higher-end prospects.
* Another such prospect is Rancho Cucamonga, California cornerback Thomas Graham. The Rivals100, four-star prospect is currently committed to USC but that is really only in name. Graham is about as soft of a commit as a recruit can be and that has meant taking trips all over the place including most recently Notre Dame and Arizona. The Wildcats hosted Graham for two days almost two weeks ago and the trip certainly left an impression on him.
Again, the NFL is where Graham is thinking but also on the academic side as well and those two areas were important for Arizona to make a connection with him on during the trip. He felt comfortable with both facets of his decision at UA and that means he will be seeing Tucson again soon. The four-star recruit will be back at Arizona on May 7 for Arizona’s junior day and he is already starting to think of a game he wants to see once the season arrives - either unofficially or potentially on an official visit.
Because he is a midyear early enrollee Graham wants to make sure he knows all his options well and Arizona has put itself in a great position that it would not have been in at the end of last season before making the new hires.
Here is our full video interview with Graham who prior to going on camera called his trip to UA an “eye opening experience.”
* Continuing with the theme of cornerbacks Arizona had an important visitor on campus over the weekend with three-star recruit Elijah Blades making his way from Pasadena to Tucson for a trip. Blades has been to Arizona in the past and was at the game when the Wildcats knocked off Arizona State in the 2014 season to win the Pac-12 South. He was part of the stampede of fans who rushed the field after that win and that moment is something that has stuck with him through today.
Arizona went into the weekend as one of the favorites to land the 6-foot-3 cornerback prospect, but it ended the weekend as the clear-cut No. 1 favorite with Florida now running behind the Wildcats. Blades’ sister lives in Phoenix and so there is a family connection to the state already plus Arizona has done a good job of making him feel like a priority in a lot of ways. The difference this time around as he visited UA was the attention that he received from Rich Rodriguez. That absolutely stuck with him as he left Tucson and it has helped the Wildcats get into the position they want to be in heading into the rest of the spring.
GOAZCATS.com was the first outlet to chat with Blades fresh off his visit Sunday as he flew in from Phoenix at 5 a.m. to get to the photo shoot on UCLA’s campus and here is our interview with the three-star cornerback.
* While some of Southern California’s top prospects were at the photo shoot on Sunday four-star tight end Hunter Bryant from Washington was at the IMG West Regional 7v7 event winning the entire tournament. The Rivals250 recruit put on a show Saturday with numerous big catches as his team went undefeated. Arizona is going to have an uphill battle working to get Bryant in the fold, he picked up a big UCLA offer last week while on campus for a visit, but the Wildcats have some connections through players such as Marcus Griffin that are giving the big-time tight end some things to think about.
The Wildcats’ staff has really made an impact on him early and while he is still trying to learn more about the program Arizona is in the very least making an impact on how he is viewing things right now with his recruitment.
We spoke with the big tight end recruit after his big day on Saturday and here is what he had to say about his recruitment and where things stand with Arizona at this stage in the process.
* Another four-star prospect named Hunter who we spoke with over the weekend was UCLA defensive end commit Hunter Echols from Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral. The versatile defensive player has not been shy about his desire to take visits and still remain a recruit and go through the process as though he is uncommitted still. Arizona was one of the places he visited a couple weeks ago and it was a visit that left an impression on him.
The idea of being able to be a cornerstone to a defense that is rebuilding and trying to raise its talent level has certainly appealed to him and has him at least thinking about the possibilities at Arizona. Echols really enjoyed his visit to Tucson and while it is still early in the process the Wildcats were able to get what they needed out of that trip.
Echols is going to take a ton of visits before he ultimately decides where he wants to play his college football, but for now Arizona has itself in the discussion and has made some good strides since first offering him earlier in the cycle.
Here is our conversation about his trip to Arizona and what impressed him out in Tucson.
* One Cathedral prospect Arizona might very well have a shot at even more so than Echols at this point is safety prospect Rhedi Short. The three-star recruit is also committed to UCLA, but he too is looking at his options and went on the same trip to Arizona as Echols. Short was careful with his words when we spoke with him on Sunday, but it is clear that Arizona made an impression on him as well.
"I liked it a lot,” Short said of his trip out to Tucson. “They showed a lot of love really. Everybody seemed cool on the coaching staff, and I really liked that a lot."
Short has been a little more quiet about his desire to see other schools and see what other campuses have to offer, but he said the interest in seeing Arizona came from a general intrigue and interest in what the program was about.
“Me and Hunter just wanted to go check it out because we haven’t really been to too many other schools,” he said. “That was our first unofficial other than UCLA. I really just wanted to go check out a different school.”
As Arizona’s new staff gets its feet wet with the next batch of prospects and recruiting to Tucson the idea of a clean slate and helping to build something new at Arizona has been the sell quite a bit and that thought is something that intrigues Short.
“Really they were just saying that with the new coaches and new coaching staff they’re looking for different kinds of players,” he said. “They want to be more physical and to find people who can play. That’s what it was really about.”
Because we were able to gather so much info on various prospects this week’s War Room will be solely focused on football recruiting with much more on each prospect we saw and spoke with over the weekend plus some more from the Rivals Camp Series stop in Georgia where there were other recruits talking about the Wildcats.
* We’ll start at the top with five-star cornerback Darnay Holmes from Calabasas, California. The talented corner, who currently ranks No. 15 overall in the Rivals100, visited Arizona recently with the rest of his Proway 7v7 team but it was just one of many visits he has been on to Tucson. Holmes had an opportunity to meet with the UA staff some more and get to know the new defensive coaches more as well. UCLA continues to be out front with Holmes, but he also continues to go back to wanting to play with this brother whenever the topic of Arizona comes up.
The Wildcats are going to have to continue to work, but he said Sunday that UA is a realistic option for him still as he works toward his decision in late June.
“It was nice to meet the new defensive staff,” Holmes said of his latest visit to Tucson a couple weeks ago. “Coach Donté (Williams) is a great guy and he definitely knows what he’s talking about. He’s going to get a lot of great corners coming in at Arizona. He’s going to be one of the top recruiters in California now. For him to be at Arizona and not where he used to be at.
“It’s a higher name and a higher brand for him.”
Ever since the process started Holmes has always had a big interest in playing with his brother and that continues to be the big pull for him to Tucson. Adding the new staff members that he has grown to like doesn’t hurt either, but playing on the same team as his brother is what is making UA a legitimate option at this point.
“I’ve only played with my brother a few times in my life, so that’s definitely something I’m considering,” he said.”
Getting to the NFL is key for players like Holmes who know they will have a great shot to do so. At the corner position specifically Arizona now has someone in Williams who can point to his success in doing that at a school like San Jose State and that is really starting to connect him with some of the higher-end prospects.
* Another such prospect is Rancho Cucamonga, California cornerback Thomas Graham. The Rivals100, four-star prospect is currently committed to USC but that is really only in name. Graham is about as soft of a commit as a recruit can be and that has meant taking trips all over the place including most recently Notre Dame and Arizona. The Wildcats hosted Graham for two days almost two weeks ago and the trip certainly left an impression on him.
Again, the NFL is where Graham is thinking but also on the academic side as well and those two areas were important for Arizona to make a connection with him on during the trip. He felt comfortable with both facets of his decision at UA and that means he will be seeing Tucson again soon. The four-star recruit will be back at Arizona on May 7 for Arizona’s junior day and he is already starting to think of a game he wants to see once the season arrives - either unofficially or potentially on an official visit.
Because he is a midyear early enrollee Graham wants to make sure he knows all his options well and Arizona has put itself in a great position that it would not have been in at the end of last season before making the new hires.
Here is our full video interview with Graham who prior to going on camera called his trip to UA an “eye opening experience.”
* Continuing with the theme of cornerbacks Arizona had an important visitor on campus over the weekend with three-star recruit Elijah Blades making his way from Pasadena to Tucson for a trip. Blades has been to Arizona in the past and was at the game when the Wildcats knocked off Arizona State in the 2014 season to win the Pac-12 South. He was part of the stampede of fans who rushed the field after that win and that moment is something that has stuck with him through today.
Arizona went into the weekend as one of the favorites to land the 6-foot-3 cornerback prospect, but it ended the weekend as the clear-cut No. 1 favorite with Florida now running behind the Wildcats. Blades’ sister lives in Phoenix and so there is a family connection to the state already plus Arizona has done a good job of making him feel like a priority in a lot of ways. The difference this time around as he visited UA was the attention that he received from Rich Rodriguez. That absolutely stuck with him as he left Tucson and it has helped the Wildcats get into the position they want to be in heading into the rest of the spring.
GOAZCATS.com was the first outlet to chat with Blades fresh off his visit Sunday as he flew in from Phoenix at 5 a.m. to get to the photo shoot on UCLA’s campus and here is our interview with the three-star cornerback.
* While some of Southern California’s top prospects were at the photo shoot on Sunday four-star tight end Hunter Bryant from Washington was at the IMG West Regional 7v7 event winning the entire tournament. The Rivals250 recruit put on a show Saturday with numerous big catches as his team went undefeated. Arizona is going to have an uphill battle working to get Bryant in the fold, he picked up a big UCLA offer last week while on campus for a visit, but the Wildcats have some connections through players such as Marcus Griffin that are giving the big-time tight end some things to think about.
The Wildcats’ staff has really made an impact on him early and while he is still trying to learn more about the program Arizona is in the very least making an impact on how he is viewing things right now with his recruitment.
We spoke with the big tight end recruit after his big day on Saturday and here is what he had to say about his recruitment and where things stand with Arizona at this stage in the process.
* Another four-star prospect named Hunter who we spoke with over the weekend was UCLA defensive end commit Hunter Echols from Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral. The versatile defensive player has not been shy about his desire to take visits and still remain a recruit and go through the process as though he is uncommitted still. Arizona was one of the places he visited a couple weeks ago and it was a visit that left an impression on him.
The idea of being able to be a cornerstone to a defense that is rebuilding and trying to raise its talent level has certainly appealed to him and has him at least thinking about the possibilities at Arizona. Echols really enjoyed his visit to Tucson and while it is still early in the process the Wildcats were able to get what they needed out of that trip.
Echols is going to take a ton of visits before he ultimately decides where he wants to play his college football, but for now Arizona has itself in the discussion and has made some good strides since first offering him earlier in the cycle.
Here is our conversation about his trip to Arizona and what impressed him out in Tucson.
* One Cathedral prospect Arizona might very well have a shot at even more so than Echols at this point is safety prospect Rhedi Short. The three-star recruit is also committed to UCLA, but he too is looking at his options and went on the same trip to Arizona as Echols. Short was careful with his words when we spoke with him on Sunday, but it is clear that Arizona made an impression on him as well.
"I liked it a lot,” Short said of his trip out to Tucson. “They showed a lot of love really. Everybody seemed cool on the coaching staff, and I really liked that a lot."
Short has been a little more quiet about his desire to see other schools and see what other campuses have to offer, but he said the interest in seeing Arizona came from a general intrigue and interest in what the program was about.
“Me and Hunter just wanted to go check it out because we haven’t really been to too many other schools,” he said. “That was our first unofficial other than UCLA. I really just wanted to go check out a different school.”
As Arizona’s new staff gets its feet wet with the next batch of prospects and recruiting to Tucson the idea of a clean slate and helping to build something new at Arizona has been the sell quite a bit and that thought is something that intrigues Short.
“Really they were just saying that with the new coaches and new coaching staff they’re looking for different kinds of players,” he said. “They want to be more physical and to find people who can play. That’s what it was really about.”
