Arizona continues to look for options in the 2018 class, but as always the summer brings new commitments and for the Wildcats there are some targets now off the board. There were over 100 commitments to Power Five programs in the last week as the summer tends to bring plenty of new pledges across the board. As we all know by now that doesn't mean the end of a recruitment so that doesn't shut the door on UA looking at those prospects, but it does present another hurdle for the staff to get over in getting them to Tucson.
Here is a look at who is now committed and what the chances are UA could eventually sway them in a different direction.
JR Justice - athlete (San Diego, California/San Diego State)
The high three-star athlete recruit had been down to three schools, but today he decided to pull the trigger even though he recently just cut down that list. Justice went with the local school San Diego State over Arizona and USC where he will get the chance to play receiver and stay close to home. When I recently chatted with him he made it clear that staying near home was huge for him and proved to be the truth. I would imagine this is one the Wildcats keep pursuing as Rod Smith built a strong relationship with the versatile receiver and defensive back.
Cam McDonald - tight end (Long Beach, California/USC)
The Long Beach Poly tight end just recently trimmed his list down and Arizona was one of the schools that made the cut. However, with USC hosting camps and more chances to chat with the staff McDonald made a decision that is not unexpected. Poly has a tradition of sending its players to USC and that is one reason it was substantial that the Wildcats were able to pull Josh Brown in the 2017 class from the school. Still from Juju Smith-Schuster to Jack Jones and others the Poly-USC connection is strong and McDonald joined it on Sunday with his pledge. It's hard to imagine him not ending up there, but I wouldn't completely close the door on Arizona recruiting him moving forward. Marcel Yates has a good relationship there and I wouldn't be surprised to see UA at least get him out on a trip and see where things go from there. It was on the list for a reason so there is a good amount of interest there.
Ben Wilson - inside linebacker (Sumner, Washington/TCU)
I mentioned before not to get your hopes up about the inside linebacker from the Seattle area. Wilson has always been a little bit different as a recruit and even though he had opportunities to play all along the West Coast and in the Pac-12 he opted for a different route and a change of scenery. Wilson will play his college football in Texas with the Horned Frogs. Arizona had not been in the mix when Wilson recently cut down his list and I wouldn't expect the Wildcats to be much of a player moving forward as he goes through his recruitment. It sounds like this one might very well be done as it is.
Mayan Ahanotu - defensive end (Tampa, Florida/Minnesota)
Someone I would expect Arizona to at least continue to keep tabs on is the Tampa standout defensive end. He is just a two-star recruit but Ahanotu has good size at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds and he had an impressive and lengthy offer list before making his decision last week to join the Golden Gophers. Cal, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt were some of the other schools the defensive end passed on to pick Minnesota. His dad is a Cal alum so there are some ties to the West so it will be interesting to see if UA continues to pursue him. His recruitment will be one to at least keep an eye on as things move forward.
Andy Koch - defensive end (Corona, California/Oregon State)
The Roosevelt standout defensive end had his options and Arizona became one of the schools to offer in the spring, but there never seemed to be much traction with the 6-foot-6 recruit. Last week he got his commitment out of the way picking the Beavers after having a chance to visit Corvallis. Oregon State was the only school to offer him at defensive end and that made a difference. Every other school involved wanted him on offense and that isn't what he wanted. If Arizona decides it wants him on the other side of the ball it could make a move but for now he sounds locked into his pledge with the Beavers.
Justin Dedich - center (Temecula, California/USC)
Arizona had been doing well with the four-star center recruit from Chaparral High in California. He has great technique and in a lot of ways is similar to Brett Neilon and last week he decided to follow the same path going with the Trojans. It will be interesting to see if he opens things up at all down the line, but the Wildcats had been in a good spot with Dedich throughout the process and Tucson was a place he was interested in visiting. For now I wouldn't say anything is expected with him and Arizona but it is at least something to continue to watch. At this stage he said he is not closing the door on other schools so the Wildcats still should have a chance to at least get him out for a trip.
Jemarcus Chatman - defensive end (Rome, Georgia/Tennessee)
It always seemed like a long shot for Arizona to land the Georgia-based standout and that proved to be the case with Chatman going with Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. Chatman was part of a trio of Georgia recruits to commit to the Volunteers but don't be surprised if it's his last. He said previously that he was 100 percent going to commit to Miami before picking LSU only to flip to Tennessee now. Chatman embodies 2018 recruiting so it will be interesting to see if Arizona or others continue to push. It might not be worth the headache, but Arizona would still have some work to do with him.
Here is a look at who is now committed and what the chances are UA could eventually sway them in a different direction.
JR Justice - athlete (San Diego, California/San Diego State)
The high three-star athlete recruit had been down to three schools, but today he decided to pull the trigger even though he recently just cut down that list. Justice went with the local school San Diego State over Arizona and USC where he will get the chance to play receiver and stay close to home. When I recently chatted with him he made it clear that staying near home was huge for him and proved to be the truth. I would imagine this is one the Wildcats keep pursuing as Rod Smith built a strong relationship with the versatile receiver and defensive back.
Cam McDonald - tight end (Long Beach, California/USC)
The Long Beach Poly tight end just recently trimmed his list down and Arizona was one of the schools that made the cut. However, with USC hosting camps and more chances to chat with the staff McDonald made a decision that is not unexpected. Poly has a tradition of sending its players to USC and that is one reason it was substantial that the Wildcats were able to pull Josh Brown in the 2017 class from the school. Still from Juju Smith-Schuster to Jack Jones and others the Poly-USC connection is strong and McDonald joined it on Sunday with his pledge. It's hard to imagine him not ending up there, but I wouldn't completely close the door on Arizona recruiting him moving forward. Marcel Yates has a good relationship there and I wouldn't be surprised to see UA at least get him out on a trip and see where things go from there. It was on the list for a reason so there is a good amount of interest there.
Ben Wilson - inside linebacker (Sumner, Washington/TCU)
I mentioned before not to get your hopes up about the inside linebacker from the Seattle area. Wilson has always been a little bit different as a recruit and even though he had opportunities to play all along the West Coast and in the Pac-12 he opted for a different route and a change of scenery. Wilson will play his college football in Texas with the Horned Frogs. Arizona had not been in the mix when Wilson recently cut down his list and I wouldn't expect the Wildcats to be much of a player moving forward as he goes through his recruitment. It sounds like this one might very well be done as it is.
Mayan Ahanotu - defensive end (Tampa, Florida/Minnesota)
Someone I would expect Arizona to at least continue to keep tabs on is the Tampa standout defensive end. He is just a two-star recruit but Ahanotu has good size at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds and he had an impressive and lengthy offer list before making his decision last week to join the Golden Gophers. Cal, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt were some of the other schools the defensive end passed on to pick Minnesota. His dad is a Cal alum so there are some ties to the West so it will be interesting to see if UA continues to pursue him. His recruitment will be one to at least keep an eye on as things move forward.
Andy Koch - defensive end (Corona, California/Oregon State)
The Roosevelt standout defensive end had his options and Arizona became one of the schools to offer in the spring, but there never seemed to be much traction with the 6-foot-6 recruit. Last week he got his commitment out of the way picking the Beavers after having a chance to visit Corvallis. Oregon State was the only school to offer him at defensive end and that made a difference. Every other school involved wanted him on offense and that isn't what he wanted. If Arizona decides it wants him on the other side of the ball it could make a move but for now he sounds locked into his pledge with the Beavers.
Justin Dedich - center (Temecula, California/USC)
Arizona had been doing well with the four-star center recruit from Chaparral High in California. He has great technique and in a lot of ways is similar to Brett Neilon and last week he decided to follow the same path going with the Trojans. It will be interesting to see if he opens things up at all down the line, but the Wildcats had been in a good spot with Dedich throughout the process and Tucson was a place he was interested in visiting. For now I wouldn't say anything is expected with him and Arizona but it is at least something to continue to watch. At this stage he said he is not closing the door on other schools so the Wildcats still should have a chance to at least get him out for a trip.
Jemarcus Chatman - defensive end (Rome, Georgia/Tennessee)
It always seemed like a long shot for Arizona to land the Georgia-based standout and that proved to be the case with Chatman going with Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. Chatman was part of a trio of Georgia recruits to commit to the Volunteers but don't be surprised if it's his last. He said previously that he was 100 percent going to commit to Miami before picking LSU only to flip to Tennessee now. Chatman embodies 2018 recruiting so it will be interesting to see if Arizona or others continue to push. It might not be worth the headache, but Arizona would still have some work to do with him.
