Outside of a hit to the football team and the NBA Draft, it's been a relatively quiet week.
Basketball:
* A poster on the Premium Hoops Suitehttp://arizona.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=974&fid=961&style=2 asked for a list of the first rounders selected in the 2010 NBA Draft and where they were rated by Rivals.com in high school.
Here's that list:
1. Washington - John Wall (PG) Kentucky (#1, 2009)
2. Philadelphia - Evan Turner (SG) Ohio State (#49, 2007)
3. New Jersey - Derrick Favors (PF) Georgia Tech (#3, 2009)
4. Minnesota - Wesley Johnson (SF) Syracuse (NR, 2006)
5. Sacramento - DeMarcus Cousins (C) Kentucky (#2, 2009)
6. Golden State - Ekpe Udoh (PF) Baylor (NR, 2006)
7. Detroit - Greg Monroe (PF) Georgetown (#8, 2008)
8. LA Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu (SF) Wake Forest (#7, 2008)
9. Utah - Gordon Hayward (SF) Butler (NR, 2008)
10. Indiana - Paul George (SF) Fresno State (NR, 2008)
11. New Orleans - Cole Aldrich (C) Kansas (#30, 2007)
12. Memphis - Xavier Henry (SG) Kansas (#8, 2009)
13. Toronto - Ed Davis (PF) UNC (#8, 2008)
14. Houston - Patrick Patterson (PF) Kentucky (#17, 2007)
15. Milwaukee - Larry Sanders (PF) Virginia Commonwealth (NR, 2007)
16. Minnesota - Luke Babbitt (SF) Nevada (#31, 2008)
17. Chicago - Kevin Seraphin (PF) France (NA, International)
18. Oklahoma City - Eric Bledsoe (PG) Kentucky (#23, 2009)
19. Boston - Avery Bradley (SG) Texas (#4, 2009)
20. San Antonio - James Anderson (SG) Oklahoma State (#32, 2007)
21. Oklahoma City - Craig Brackins (PF) Iowa State (#20, 2007)
22. Portland - Elliot Williams (SG) Memphis (#16, 2008)
23. Minnesota - Trevor Booker (PF) Clemson (NR, 2006)
24. Atlanta - Damion James (SF) Texas (#17, 2006)
25. Memphis - Dominique Jones (SG) South Florida (NR, 2007)
26. Oklahoma City - Quincy Pondexter (SF) Washington (#48, 2006)
27. New Jersey - Jordan Crawford (SG) Xavier (NR, 2007)
28. Memphis - Greivis Vasquez (SG) Maryland (#46, 2006)
29. Orlando - Daniel Orton (C) Kentucky (#22, 2009)
30. Washington - Lazar Hayward (SF) Marquette (#73, 2006)
Breaking down the list:
- 14 out of 30 were five-star prospects (1-25)
- 8 were not ranked by Rivals
- 7 were four-star prospects (26-100)
- 1 was international
Former UA recruits who got drafted:
1. Washington - John Wall (PG) Kentucky: Both Josh Pastner and Reggie Geary spent time working on Wall. UA was never a serious option but Arizona tried.
16. Minnesota - Luke Babbitt (SF) Nevada: A top target of Arizona's in 2008, Babbitt chose Ohio State over UA, UCLA and Gonzaga before decommitting and staying close to home at Nevada. We've heard UA was his second choice both times.
19. Boston - Avery Bradley (SG) Texas: Abdul Gaddy's high school and AAU teammate, UA was one of the first schools on Bradley and at one point was in good shape. However, Gaddy committed and the parents of the two decided it would be best for both of them to not play together, so Arizona let it go.
21. Oklahoma City - Craig Brackins (PF) Iowa State: Arizona kind of blew this one the first time around, as Brackins played for Brewster Academy and if UA perused him would have had as good of a chance as anyone. When Brackins was struggling to qualify to Iowa State, his teammate Emmanuel Negedu committed to UA and Brackins was considering trying to get out of his LOI to go to Arizona but it never materialized.
24. Atlanta - Damion James (SF): We followed James around for a summer, as he was teammates with Nic Wise on the Houston Hoops. Arizona had a chance but he committed to Oklahoma. After Kelvin Sampson left for Indiana, James got out of his LOI and set up an official visit to UA, but committed to Texas before he got to Tucson.
26. Oklahoma City - Quincy Pondexter (SF) Washington: Quincy's father played basketball for Lute Olson at Long Beach State and Quincy grew up as an Arizona fan. He badly wanted to commit to UA, but Arizona only had room for one small forward in the 2006 class and used the scholarship offer on Chase Budinger.
37. Milwaukee - Darrington Hobson (SF) New Mexico: An AAU teammate of Brandon Jennings and Alex Jacobson on the SoCal All-Stars, Hobson favored Arizona but had some attitude problems that caused Olson to stop recruiting him after initially offering. He didn't qualify anyway and went to junior college before choosing New Mexico.
39. New York - Landry Fields (SF) Stanford: Olson offered Fields in the spring of 2006 and he told UA if he didn't qualify for Stanford he's end up at UA. As soon as he qualified, he committed to Stanford.
40. Indiana - Lance Stephenson (SF) Cincinnati: Arizona talked with Stephenson a little bit when the new staff arrived to Tucson but at the end of the day, there was too much baggage for the UA to get serious with him.
47. Milwaukee - Tiny Gallon (PF) Oklahoma: Gallon played for the Houston Hoops and is very close to the Pastner family. When Josh was at UA, Gallon wanted to come to Arizona but he was overweight in high school and it scared Olson off.
50. Dallas - Solomon Alabi (C) Florida State: Alabi officially visited Arizona, but his school has some strong ties to Florida State. He officially visited UA, Virginia and FSU before choosing the Seminoles.
51. Oklahoma City - Magnum Rolle (PF) Louisiana Tech: Arizona was in on Rolle early but he had questionable academics and it was tough for UA to get serious with him.
54. Los Angeles Clippers - Willie Warren (SG) Oklahoma: Warren was friends with Brandon Jennings and UA tried to package them together in 2008. However, Arizona got a late start and UA never got closer than Warren's top five.
* Nic Wise went undrafted but is expected to join an NBA team's Summer League squad and go from there.
* It's been a slow week for basketball news, as Arizona is really just buying time until the summer Evaluation Period begins in July. While the staff has seriously recruited several players over the past 11 months, a good percentage of the targets haven't been fully evaluated.
Following July, the UA staff will have a great feel for all of its 2011 recruits and know how to proceed accordingly.
* Arizona is currently running its Team Camp at McKale Center, which features a number of local high school basketball teams. There aren't many UA recruits in attendance besides Torren Jones of Chandler Basha and Demetris Morant of Marana Mountain View.
* Derrick Williams is currently in Chicago as part of the college roster at the Amare Stoudemire Skills Academy. He'll work out for the next couple days with a number of other selected college players who are a part of the Stoudemire and Deron Williams Skills Academies. He'll be the only UA player attending.
UA commit Sidiki Johnson will be at the Stoudemire camp, which runs through Saturday, as a player.
* With unofficial visits not allowed to college campuses during the month of July, UA has until Wednesday to get anyone in Tucson. If not, unofficials are allowed again in August. Official visits can begin when 2011 recruits start their senior years of high school.
* 6-foot-6 180-pound Queens (N.Y.) Forest Hills 2011 small forward Maurice Harkless decommitted from UConn and Arizona has begun recruiting him. He's not a priority guy right now, but someone UA will evaluate in July.
* Arizona's top option for a 2011 point guard is Nick Johnson, but with the way Jahii Carson continues to play over the spring, he's become a much more serious target as well.
Another intriguing reason for Carson is the fact that there's the possibility of 2012 five-star center Isaiah Austin following him wherever he goes. Austin told us that he's seriously considering UA just because of Carson's interest in the Wildcats.
"They're high up there because Jahii is looking into them and you never know, I might follow him," Austin said. "It's a big factor. I've known (Jahii) for three or four years now and we've become best friends. We're out of state but we always keep in contact. For us to play together is a big deal; that's why we play together in the summer."
* 2011 San Diego Lincoln shooting guard Norman Powell is becoming one of the most highly recruited players on the West Coast and UA is one of the schools trying to land him.
"About four weeks ago they started talking to my coach," Powell said of UA. "They asked me if I was interested in them and I am. They have a lot of point guards that come out of there. It's a solid program, it's a basketball school and I like their team. I'm highly interested in them; I like them."
* 2012 forward Brandon Ashley is a priority for UA and says that Arizona is one of the main schools involved in his recruitment.
"It's a nice school," Ashley said. "All the coaches are real cool, I like the team, and it's a good school.
"I talk to Sean Miller and the entire coaching staff," Ashley said. "They say they're trying to work me in like they did Derrick Brown at Xavier, that type of playing style."
Football:
* One of Arizona's projected 2010 starters was kicked off the team early this week. Delashaun Dean was arrested early on June 19 by the Tucson Police Department for Misconduct Involving Weapons.
That led to Mike Stoops dismissing Dean from the team, although the UA head coach announced that he was "suspended indefinitely." Regardless, Dean is no longer on Arizona and we've heard he's looking for D2 options to transfer to.
Other than the Dean incident, it's been an otherwise smooth off-season for Arizona. Since spring, the only other player to leave the program was redshirt freshman linebacker Cordarius Golston, who didn't make it academically and is now in junior college.
* There's been one football commitment since last week, so here's where the recruiting breakdown stands:
Total Scholarships: 25 (15 left to give)
Offense: 12 (8 left to give)
Quarterback: 2 (1 Left, Daxx Garman committed)
Offensive Line: 5 (4 Left, Jacob Arzouman committed)
Running Back: 2 (0 Left, Ka’Deem Carey, Jared Baker committed)
Wide Receiver: 2 (2 Left)
Tight End: 1 (1 Left)
Defense: 12 (6 left to give)
Defensive End: 3 (2 Left, Joseph Carter committed)
Defensive Tackle 2 (2 Left)
Linebacker: 3 (0 Left, Jabral Johnson, Hank Hobson, Rob Hankins committed)
Defensive Back: 4 (2 Left, Kerry Swarn, Tra’Mayne Bondurant committed)
Special Teams: 1 (1 left to give)
Punter: 1 (1 Left)
Arizona is filled at running back and linebacker, so all offers out to players at those positions no longer stand.
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* Arizona landed a big commitment from linebacker Rob Hankinshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Rob-Hankins-87898.
"I've been sleeping on it every night for the past couple of weeks and the recruiting process really started to wear on me a lot," Hankins said. "I just didn't have the energy to keep up with it anymore.
"I really knew where I wanted to go to school and that was Arizona; that was just where my gut told me to go and it's where I feel most comfortable. I love the coaches, I love the players, I love the kids that go there. I like the school and the football program is about to blow up. I just feel really comfortable there and that's what it came down to."
Hankins is considered to be a major commitment due to the fact that he was recruited nationally. As soon as he made the decision to come to Arizona, people speculated about other schools because of the caliber of player he is. However, Hankins is confident that Arizona is the place for him and that does not seem to be a worry.
* 6-foot-4, 255-pound Wilmington (Calif.) Los Angeles Harbor Community College defensive end Austin Flynnhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Austin-Flynn-110957 believes he could be close to an offer.
"I heard Arizona is going to offer," Flynn tells BeaverBlitz.com. "My coaches told me they were going to offer. New Mexico also said they would offer me.”
Flynn plans to take all of his visits before making a decision, which will give Arizona more time to evaluate him. It will be interesting to see if Arizona does indeed go forward with an offer before that, or if it uses the season to evaluate him more.
* Arizona has recently offered 6-foot-2, 190-pound San Mateo (Calif.) College wide receiver Rahsaan Vaughnhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Rahsaan-Vaughn-115093.
“Right now I'm just taking my time,” he tells UteZone.com, “I'm focusing more on my season for this year, but they are all good offers, so I've got a nice group to choose from.
"It's not that I want to take a lot of time, but I still have one more season left and I don't want to get too much ahead of myself when I need to take care of my team. I don't have a set time of when I want to choose, but I need to focus right now on what's important."
Vaughn is going to take his time making a decision, but already knows what he will be looking for in a school.
"I'm actually looking for things that remind me of my current school,” he said. “Things that put me on top of my educational game, a family type football team. Coaches staying on you and making sure your grades are taken care of. Somewhere I can graduate, I can't forget that part.”
* Arizona has its work cut out for it even though it made the final five for Chandler (Ariz.) signal caller Brett Hundleyhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Brett-Hundley-100950.
"I don't have a timeline, but I know what I want to do,“ he tells AggieYell.com. “I want to take my officials as soon as possible. After I am done with all of them I will probably commit within a week or two. I may narrow it down again, but if not they will be to those top five schools."
In addition, Hundley knows exactly what he will be looking at throughout the process.
"The first thing I look at is the coaches," he said. "I think that is a big thing. You are going to be around those coaches your whole football career. That is why I take unofficials, just to see what they are like.
“I want to get down there when the teams are practicing and see how they coach and stuff like that. The coaches, to me, are huge in my decision."
* 6-foot-4, 275-pound Crystal Lake (Ill.) South offensive lineman Jake Bernsteinhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=105406 is getting closer to a decision.
“I'm looking at getting my decision made before the start of doubles this summer (early August),” he tells EdgyTim.com. “I'm really starting to narrow some things down and looking harder at my options and I'm hoping to get it all sorted out soon."
Arizona is still in decent shape for Bernstein, although it looks as if it could be somewhat difficult to get him out of the Big Ten.
* Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro offensive lineman Cyrus Hobbihttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Cyrus-Hobbi-99039 continues to consider all schools recruiting him.
"A school's distance from home isn't going to be much of a factor for me," Hobbi tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "I was born in New York and moved here about 10 years ago. It would be cool for my family to be able to come see me play but, truthfully, I'd like to see someplace new. They (family) can always watch me on TV.
"More important to me will be academics. I want to go to a good school with a good alumni base. My goal is to get to the NFL but I want to prepare for if that goal doesn't become reality. I want to play for a coaching staff that I'm cool with. Weather will play a little bit of a factor. I'm not real big on a ton of heat - I sweat real easily. I'd like the weather to be a bit more mild - not super hot or cold."
Arizona is a long shot for Hobbi, but continues to work. If he stay in-state, it will likely be Arizona State but even that scenario may be becoming more unlikely.
This post was edited on 6/25 2:05 AM by Josh Gershon
Basketball:
* A poster on the Premium Hoops Suitehttp://arizona.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=974&fid=961&style=2 asked for a list of the first rounders selected in the 2010 NBA Draft and where they were rated by Rivals.com in high school.
Here's that list:
1. Washington - John Wall (PG) Kentucky (#1, 2009)
2. Philadelphia - Evan Turner (SG) Ohio State (#49, 2007)
3. New Jersey - Derrick Favors (PF) Georgia Tech (#3, 2009)
4. Minnesota - Wesley Johnson (SF) Syracuse (NR, 2006)
5. Sacramento - DeMarcus Cousins (C) Kentucky (#2, 2009)
6. Golden State - Ekpe Udoh (PF) Baylor (NR, 2006)
7. Detroit - Greg Monroe (PF) Georgetown (#8, 2008)
8. LA Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu (SF) Wake Forest (#7, 2008)
9. Utah - Gordon Hayward (SF) Butler (NR, 2008)
10. Indiana - Paul George (SF) Fresno State (NR, 2008)
11. New Orleans - Cole Aldrich (C) Kansas (#30, 2007)
12. Memphis - Xavier Henry (SG) Kansas (#8, 2009)
13. Toronto - Ed Davis (PF) UNC (#8, 2008)
14. Houston - Patrick Patterson (PF) Kentucky (#17, 2007)
15. Milwaukee - Larry Sanders (PF) Virginia Commonwealth (NR, 2007)
16. Minnesota - Luke Babbitt (SF) Nevada (#31, 2008)
17. Chicago - Kevin Seraphin (PF) France (NA, International)
18. Oklahoma City - Eric Bledsoe (PG) Kentucky (#23, 2009)
19. Boston - Avery Bradley (SG) Texas (#4, 2009)
20. San Antonio - James Anderson (SG) Oklahoma State (#32, 2007)
21. Oklahoma City - Craig Brackins (PF) Iowa State (#20, 2007)
22. Portland - Elliot Williams (SG) Memphis (#16, 2008)
23. Minnesota - Trevor Booker (PF) Clemson (NR, 2006)
24. Atlanta - Damion James (SF) Texas (#17, 2006)
25. Memphis - Dominique Jones (SG) South Florida (NR, 2007)
26. Oklahoma City - Quincy Pondexter (SF) Washington (#48, 2006)
27. New Jersey - Jordan Crawford (SG) Xavier (NR, 2007)
28. Memphis - Greivis Vasquez (SG) Maryland (#46, 2006)
29. Orlando - Daniel Orton (C) Kentucky (#22, 2009)
30. Washington - Lazar Hayward (SF) Marquette (#73, 2006)
Breaking down the list:
- 14 out of 30 were five-star prospects (1-25)
- 8 were not ranked by Rivals
- 7 were four-star prospects (26-100)
- 1 was international
Former UA recruits who got drafted:
1. Washington - John Wall (PG) Kentucky: Both Josh Pastner and Reggie Geary spent time working on Wall. UA was never a serious option but Arizona tried.
16. Minnesota - Luke Babbitt (SF) Nevada: A top target of Arizona's in 2008, Babbitt chose Ohio State over UA, UCLA and Gonzaga before decommitting and staying close to home at Nevada. We've heard UA was his second choice both times.
19. Boston - Avery Bradley (SG) Texas: Abdul Gaddy's high school and AAU teammate, UA was one of the first schools on Bradley and at one point was in good shape. However, Gaddy committed and the parents of the two decided it would be best for both of them to not play together, so Arizona let it go.
21. Oklahoma City - Craig Brackins (PF) Iowa State: Arizona kind of blew this one the first time around, as Brackins played for Brewster Academy and if UA perused him would have had as good of a chance as anyone. When Brackins was struggling to qualify to Iowa State, his teammate Emmanuel Negedu committed to UA and Brackins was considering trying to get out of his LOI to go to Arizona but it never materialized.
24. Atlanta - Damion James (SF): We followed James around for a summer, as he was teammates with Nic Wise on the Houston Hoops. Arizona had a chance but he committed to Oklahoma. After Kelvin Sampson left for Indiana, James got out of his LOI and set up an official visit to UA, but committed to Texas before he got to Tucson.
26. Oklahoma City - Quincy Pondexter (SF) Washington: Quincy's father played basketball for Lute Olson at Long Beach State and Quincy grew up as an Arizona fan. He badly wanted to commit to UA, but Arizona only had room for one small forward in the 2006 class and used the scholarship offer on Chase Budinger.
37. Milwaukee - Darrington Hobson (SF) New Mexico: An AAU teammate of Brandon Jennings and Alex Jacobson on the SoCal All-Stars, Hobson favored Arizona but had some attitude problems that caused Olson to stop recruiting him after initially offering. He didn't qualify anyway and went to junior college before choosing New Mexico.
39. New York - Landry Fields (SF) Stanford: Olson offered Fields in the spring of 2006 and he told UA if he didn't qualify for Stanford he's end up at UA. As soon as he qualified, he committed to Stanford.
40. Indiana - Lance Stephenson (SF) Cincinnati: Arizona talked with Stephenson a little bit when the new staff arrived to Tucson but at the end of the day, there was too much baggage for the UA to get serious with him.
47. Milwaukee - Tiny Gallon (PF) Oklahoma: Gallon played for the Houston Hoops and is very close to the Pastner family. When Josh was at UA, Gallon wanted to come to Arizona but he was overweight in high school and it scared Olson off.
50. Dallas - Solomon Alabi (C) Florida State: Alabi officially visited Arizona, but his school has some strong ties to Florida State. He officially visited UA, Virginia and FSU before choosing the Seminoles.
51. Oklahoma City - Magnum Rolle (PF) Louisiana Tech: Arizona was in on Rolle early but he had questionable academics and it was tough for UA to get serious with him.
54. Los Angeles Clippers - Willie Warren (SG) Oklahoma: Warren was friends with Brandon Jennings and UA tried to package them together in 2008. However, Arizona got a late start and UA never got closer than Warren's top five.
* Nic Wise went undrafted but is expected to join an NBA team's Summer League squad and go from there.
* It's been a slow week for basketball news, as Arizona is really just buying time until the summer Evaluation Period begins in July. While the staff has seriously recruited several players over the past 11 months, a good percentage of the targets haven't been fully evaluated.
Following July, the UA staff will have a great feel for all of its 2011 recruits and know how to proceed accordingly.
* Arizona is currently running its Team Camp at McKale Center, which features a number of local high school basketball teams. There aren't many UA recruits in attendance besides Torren Jones of Chandler Basha and Demetris Morant of Marana Mountain View.
* Derrick Williams is currently in Chicago as part of the college roster at the Amare Stoudemire Skills Academy. He'll work out for the next couple days with a number of other selected college players who are a part of the Stoudemire and Deron Williams Skills Academies. He'll be the only UA player attending.
UA commit Sidiki Johnson will be at the Stoudemire camp, which runs through Saturday, as a player.
* With unofficial visits not allowed to college campuses during the month of July, UA has until Wednesday to get anyone in Tucson. If not, unofficials are allowed again in August. Official visits can begin when 2011 recruits start their senior years of high school.
* 6-foot-6 180-pound Queens (N.Y.) Forest Hills 2011 small forward Maurice Harkless decommitted from UConn and Arizona has begun recruiting him. He's not a priority guy right now, but someone UA will evaluate in July.
* Arizona's top option for a 2011 point guard is Nick Johnson, but with the way Jahii Carson continues to play over the spring, he's become a much more serious target as well.
Another intriguing reason for Carson is the fact that there's the possibility of 2012 five-star center Isaiah Austin following him wherever he goes. Austin told us that he's seriously considering UA just because of Carson's interest in the Wildcats.
"They're high up there because Jahii is looking into them and you never know, I might follow him," Austin said. "It's a big factor. I've known (Jahii) for three or four years now and we've become best friends. We're out of state but we always keep in contact. For us to play together is a big deal; that's why we play together in the summer."
* 2011 San Diego Lincoln shooting guard Norman Powell is becoming one of the most highly recruited players on the West Coast and UA is one of the schools trying to land him.
"About four weeks ago they started talking to my coach," Powell said of UA. "They asked me if I was interested in them and I am. They have a lot of point guards that come out of there. It's a solid program, it's a basketball school and I like their team. I'm highly interested in them; I like them."
* 2012 forward Brandon Ashley is a priority for UA and says that Arizona is one of the main schools involved in his recruitment.
"It's a nice school," Ashley said. "All the coaches are real cool, I like the team, and it's a good school.
"I talk to Sean Miller and the entire coaching staff," Ashley said. "They say they're trying to work me in like they did Derrick Brown at Xavier, that type of playing style."
Football:
* One of Arizona's projected 2010 starters was kicked off the team early this week. Delashaun Dean was arrested early on June 19 by the Tucson Police Department for Misconduct Involving Weapons.
That led to Mike Stoops dismissing Dean from the team, although the UA head coach announced that he was "suspended indefinitely." Regardless, Dean is no longer on Arizona and we've heard he's looking for D2 options to transfer to.
Other than the Dean incident, it's been an otherwise smooth off-season for Arizona. Since spring, the only other player to leave the program was redshirt freshman linebacker Cordarius Golston, who didn't make it academically and is now in junior college.
* There's been one football commitment since last week, so here's where the recruiting breakdown stands:
Total Scholarships: 25 (15 left to give)
Offense: 12 (8 left to give)
Quarterback: 2 (1 Left, Daxx Garman committed)
Offensive Line: 5 (4 Left, Jacob Arzouman committed)
Running Back: 2 (0 Left, Ka’Deem Carey, Jared Baker committed)
Wide Receiver: 2 (2 Left)
Tight End: 1 (1 Left)
Defense: 12 (6 left to give)
Defensive End: 3 (2 Left, Joseph Carter committed)
Defensive Tackle 2 (2 Left)
Linebacker: 3 (0 Left, Jabral Johnson, Hank Hobson, Rob Hankins committed)
Defensive Back: 4 (2 Left, Kerry Swarn, Tra’Mayne Bondurant committed)
Special Teams: 1 (1 left to give)
Punter: 1 (1 Left)
Arizona is filled at running back and linebacker, so all offers out to players at those positions no longer stand.
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* Arizona landed a big commitment from linebacker Rob Hankinshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Rob-Hankins-87898.
"I've been sleeping on it every night for the past couple of weeks and the recruiting process really started to wear on me a lot," Hankins said. "I just didn't have the energy to keep up with it anymore.
"I really knew where I wanted to go to school and that was Arizona; that was just where my gut told me to go and it's where I feel most comfortable. I love the coaches, I love the players, I love the kids that go there. I like the school and the football program is about to blow up. I just feel really comfortable there and that's what it came down to."
Hankins is considered to be a major commitment due to the fact that he was recruited nationally. As soon as he made the decision to come to Arizona, people speculated about other schools because of the caliber of player he is. However, Hankins is confident that Arizona is the place for him and that does not seem to be a worry.
* 6-foot-4, 255-pound Wilmington (Calif.) Los Angeles Harbor Community College defensive end Austin Flynnhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Austin-Flynn-110957 believes he could be close to an offer.
"I heard Arizona is going to offer," Flynn tells BeaverBlitz.com. "My coaches told me they were going to offer. New Mexico also said they would offer me.”
Flynn plans to take all of his visits before making a decision, which will give Arizona more time to evaluate him. It will be interesting to see if Arizona does indeed go forward with an offer before that, or if it uses the season to evaluate him more.
* Arizona has recently offered 6-foot-2, 190-pound San Mateo (Calif.) College wide receiver Rahsaan Vaughnhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Rahsaan-Vaughn-115093.
“Right now I'm just taking my time,” he tells UteZone.com, “I'm focusing more on my season for this year, but they are all good offers, so I've got a nice group to choose from.
"It's not that I want to take a lot of time, but I still have one more season left and I don't want to get too much ahead of myself when I need to take care of my team. I don't have a set time of when I want to choose, but I need to focus right now on what's important."
Vaughn is going to take his time making a decision, but already knows what he will be looking for in a school.
"I'm actually looking for things that remind me of my current school,” he said. “Things that put me on top of my educational game, a family type football team. Coaches staying on you and making sure your grades are taken care of. Somewhere I can graduate, I can't forget that part.”
* Arizona has its work cut out for it even though it made the final five for Chandler (Ariz.) signal caller Brett Hundleyhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Brett-Hundley-100950.
"I don't have a timeline, but I know what I want to do,“ he tells AggieYell.com. “I want to take my officials as soon as possible. After I am done with all of them I will probably commit within a week or two. I may narrow it down again, but if not they will be to those top five schools."
In addition, Hundley knows exactly what he will be looking at throughout the process.
"The first thing I look at is the coaches," he said. "I think that is a big thing. You are going to be around those coaches your whole football career. That is why I take unofficials, just to see what they are like.
“I want to get down there when the teams are practicing and see how they coach and stuff like that. The coaches, to me, are huge in my decision."
* 6-foot-4, 275-pound Crystal Lake (Ill.) South offensive lineman Jake Bernsteinhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=105406 is getting closer to a decision.
“I'm looking at getting my decision made before the start of doubles this summer (early August),” he tells EdgyTim.com. “I'm really starting to narrow some things down and looking harder at my options and I'm hoping to get it all sorted out soon."
Arizona is still in decent shape for Bernstein, although it looks as if it could be somewhat difficult to get him out of the Big Ten.
* Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro offensive lineman Cyrus Hobbihttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Cyrus-Hobbi-99039 continues to consider all schools recruiting him.
"A school's distance from home isn't going to be much of a factor for me," Hobbi tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "I was born in New York and moved here about 10 years ago. It would be cool for my family to be able to come see me play but, truthfully, I'd like to see someplace new. They (family) can always watch me on TV.
"More important to me will be academics. I want to go to a good school with a good alumni base. My goal is to get to the NFL but I want to prepare for if that goal doesn't become reality. I want to play for a coaching staff that I'm cool with. Weather will play a little bit of a factor. I'm not real big on a ton of heat - I sweat real easily. I'd like the weather to be a bit more mild - not super hot or cold."
Arizona is a long shot for Hobbi, but continues to work. If he stay in-state, it will likely be Arizona State but even that scenario may be becoming more unlikely.
This post was edited on 6/25 2:05 AM by Josh Gershon
