There is now less than a month until the start of the early signing period, and at this point the Wildcats continue to build this class on quality over quantity. It is still on track to be the best class in some time despite the loss of DE/LB Tristan Monday to Wisconsin this week. Arizona has sent out a few new recent offers in the 2022 class, and there is certainly a push to add at least a couple more recruits before the early signing period gets underway. At this point I still think the cap is ultimately somewhere around 18 high school commits when all is said and done in the next month, but I know a lot has happened since UA earned its last commitment.
So, I wanted to refresh everyone on where things stand with recruiting heading into a busy recruiting stretch, so here is a look at where Arizona is at this point in the process to reset the stage ahead of next month.
CURRENT 2022 CLASS BREAKDOWN
Offense: Noah Fifita (QB), AJ Jones (WR), Jonah Coleman (RB/WR), Keyan Burnett (TE), Tyler Powell (TE), Grayson Stovall (OL), Jonah Savaiinaea (OL)
Defense: Jermaine Wiggins Jr. (DT), Isaiah Johnson (DT), Russell Davis II (DE), Sterline Lane (DE), Tyler Martin (ILB), Jacob Manu (OLB), Tacario Davis (DB), Kyron Chambers (CB)
POSITIONS OF NEED
Based on the the numbers and prospects above the clear areas of need offensively are up front along the offensive line and then at receiver where the Wildcats would like to add at least one more piece to the group. Defensively, Arizona still wants to add some players to the linebacker group and could use another defensive lineman as well. It also wouldn't hurt to have another defensive back in the mix as well.
NOTABLE UNCOMMITTED REMAINING TARGETS
WR
Justius Lowe is a new name to know about as he was only recently offered by the Wildcats. However, like so many prospects Arizona has offered after the summer other schools have noticed him as well. Since receiving his offer from the Wildcats back on Nov. 7, he has received offers from Utah, Arizona State and Oregon. The offer from the Ducks is a big one for the Portland-area prospect and could ultimately end his recruitment. It is going to be a difficult task for UA to pull this one out, but the process is happening quickly for Lowe so that could work in UA's favor as he looks forward. His senior film has been impressive and he's only going to see his stock rise in the coming weeks. He added the Oregon offer after visiting Eugene over the weekend. Lowe is capable of playing on either side of the ball at the next level, so he could end up being a defensive back option as well.
Jason Thompson has been on the UA radar for a while now, but things have certainly cooled when it comes to his recruitment. He recently visited Harvard on a visit, and at this point it is looking like he will end up taking the Ivy League route. Arizona has not been as involved with the legacy receiver from California as it was earlier in the process.
OL
The son of former UCLA offensive line coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers coach Adrian Klemm was offered by Arizona a while back, and he is starting to see his recruitment really take off at this point. He recently added an offer from Kentucky and has several other options on the table across the country as well. Jalen Klemm is a bit of a late bloomer, but he is continuing to garner interest from many schools with UNLV and Rice also recently offering him. Arizona State, Kansas State, Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Washington State are some of the other schools that have offered the senior offensive lineman. His dad's time at UCLA didn't overlap with Jedd Fisch's time at the school, but there is somewhat of a connection through the Bruins. He visited Nebraska in the summer, but he's someone who could end up taking his time to make a decision meaning he might ultimately wait until February to sign. He didn't start playing football until about two years ago as he focused on playing baseball and basketball before that. Since making the move to football he has added a lot of weight and turned himself into a Power Five-level recruit. Things have been quiet with his recruitment up to this point, but he's someone to at least pay attention to moving forward.
Others: Tyler Knaak (Salt Lake City, Utah - Brighton)
Arizona's top high school offensive tackle target, Tyler Knaak, cut the Wildcats from his list this week despite UA being one of the first Power Five programs to get involved this fall. He has since seen his stock skyrocket with multiple Power Five offers. He now will be focused on USC, Utah, ASU, Oregon State and Virginia.
LB
Though he hasn't been officially offered at this stage, Florida linebacker Kobe McCloud is on Arizona's radar. The younger brother of current UA quarterback Jordan McCloud, the three-star recruit visited UA over the weekend for the Utah game giving him an up-close glimpse into the program. Now that UA has some extra room in its class at the linebacker position it only feels like a matter of time before things begin to pick up with the versatile linebacker prospect. He has natural athleticism and would be a nice fit for UA's defense. There are the obvious ties to the program through his brother, but he is currently committed to FIU. I'd pay attention to this recruitment and do believe it will pick up as National Signing Day approaches.
Others: Darrieon Craig (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - St. Thomas Aquinas), Micah Wing (Wilmington, Del. - Salesianum School)
A couple other linebacker recruits to at least know about include Craig and Wing. Both were offered early in the process but don't sound like serious UA targets at this stage. Craig is a bit undersized and things have been quiet with him for the most part while Wing is looking like he will stay on the East Coast with Rutgers being a big part of his recruitment at this stage.
DL
Arizona is starting to turn its attention to the defensive line once again especially with Monday now headed to Wisconsin. California defensive lineman Isaiah Ward is a new name to know about as the Wildcats have picked up their pursuit of the Colony High (Ontario, California) standout pass rusher. Ward is teammates with current UA receiver commit AJ Jones, but he has started to make a name for himself this season. He has great size at around 6-foot-6 and would fill a role as a hybrid player for the Wildcats. He is best coming off the edge as a pass rusher, but he has the athleticism to eventually play linebacker if needed. He could also add weight and move inside. The potential has plenty of programs in pursuit with an official visit to Utah coming up this weekend for the California-based target. ASU has been involved as well, but there will be an opening for the Wildcats to make a push for the impressive pass rusher.
Others: Devan Thompkins (Stockton, Calif. - Edison), Nikhil Webb-Walker (North Bridgton, Maine - Bridgton Academy)
Arizona jumped in early with Thompkins and Webb-Walker, but things have cooled off considerably as of late. Thompkins blew up quite a bit earlier in the season and it led to some notable offers from Power Five programs. USC, Utah, Washington, Arizona State, Michigan State, Oregon State and Missouri have all offered him. Many of those schools are going through coaching changes potentially opening the door for UA, so he will be one to watch especially with his connection to other Stockton targets for UA, including Coleman who is already committed.
So, I wanted to refresh everyone on where things stand with recruiting heading into a busy recruiting stretch, so here is a look at where Arizona is at this point in the process to reset the stage ahead of next month.
CURRENT 2022 CLASS BREAKDOWN
Offense: Noah Fifita (QB), AJ Jones (WR), Jonah Coleman (RB/WR), Keyan Burnett (TE), Tyler Powell (TE), Grayson Stovall (OL), Jonah Savaiinaea (OL)
Defense: Jermaine Wiggins Jr. (DT), Isaiah Johnson (DT), Russell Davis II (DE), Sterline Lane (DE), Tyler Martin (ILB), Jacob Manu (OLB), Tacario Davis (DB), Kyron Chambers (CB)
POSITIONS OF NEED
Based on the the numbers and prospects above the clear areas of need offensively are up front along the offensive line and then at receiver where the Wildcats would like to add at least one more piece to the group. Defensively, Arizona still wants to add some players to the linebacker group and could use another defensive lineman as well. It also wouldn't hurt to have another defensive back in the mix as well.
NOTABLE UNCOMMITTED REMAINING TARGETS
WR
Justius Lowe is a new name to know about as he was only recently offered by the Wildcats. However, like so many prospects Arizona has offered after the summer other schools have noticed him as well. Since receiving his offer from the Wildcats back on Nov. 7, he has received offers from Utah, Arizona State and Oregon. The offer from the Ducks is a big one for the Portland-area prospect and could ultimately end his recruitment. It is going to be a difficult task for UA to pull this one out, but the process is happening quickly for Lowe so that could work in UA's favor as he looks forward. His senior film has been impressive and he's only going to see his stock rise in the coming weeks. He added the Oregon offer after visiting Eugene over the weekend. Lowe is capable of playing on either side of the ball at the next level, so he could end up being a defensive back option as well.
Jason Thompson has been on the UA radar for a while now, but things have certainly cooled when it comes to his recruitment. He recently visited Harvard on a visit, and at this point it is looking like he will end up taking the Ivy League route. Arizona has not been as involved with the legacy receiver from California as it was earlier in the process.
OL
The son of former UCLA offensive line coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers coach Adrian Klemm was offered by Arizona a while back, and he is starting to see his recruitment really take off at this point. He recently added an offer from Kentucky and has several other options on the table across the country as well. Jalen Klemm is a bit of a late bloomer, but he is continuing to garner interest from many schools with UNLV and Rice also recently offering him. Arizona State, Kansas State, Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Washington State are some of the other schools that have offered the senior offensive lineman. His dad's time at UCLA didn't overlap with Jedd Fisch's time at the school, but there is somewhat of a connection through the Bruins. He visited Nebraska in the summer, but he's someone who could end up taking his time to make a decision meaning he might ultimately wait until February to sign. He didn't start playing football until about two years ago as he focused on playing baseball and basketball before that. Since making the move to football he has added a lot of weight and turned himself into a Power Five-level recruit. Things have been quiet with his recruitment up to this point, but he's someone to at least pay attention to moving forward.
Others: Tyler Knaak (Salt Lake City, Utah - Brighton)
Arizona's top high school offensive tackle target, Tyler Knaak, cut the Wildcats from his list this week despite UA being one of the first Power Five programs to get involved this fall. He has since seen his stock skyrocket with multiple Power Five offers. He now will be focused on USC, Utah, ASU, Oregon State and Virginia.
LB
Though he hasn't been officially offered at this stage, Florida linebacker Kobe McCloud is on Arizona's radar. The younger brother of current UA quarterback Jordan McCloud, the three-star recruit visited UA over the weekend for the Utah game giving him an up-close glimpse into the program. Now that UA has some extra room in its class at the linebacker position it only feels like a matter of time before things begin to pick up with the versatile linebacker prospect. He has natural athleticism and would be a nice fit for UA's defense. There are the obvious ties to the program through his brother, but he is currently committed to FIU. I'd pay attention to this recruitment and do believe it will pick up as National Signing Day approaches.
Others: Darrieon Craig (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - St. Thomas Aquinas), Micah Wing (Wilmington, Del. - Salesianum School)
A couple other linebacker recruits to at least know about include Craig and Wing. Both were offered early in the process but don't sound like serious UA targets at this stage. Craig is a bit undersized and things have been quiet with him for the most part while Wing is looking like he will stay on the East Coast with Rutgers being a big part of his recruitment at this stage.
DL
Arizona is starting to turn its attention to the defensive line once again especially with Monday now headed to Wisconsin. California defensive lineman Isaiah Ward is a new name to know about as the Wildcats have picked up their pursuit of the Colony High (Ontario, California) standout pass rusher. Ward is teammates with current UA receiver commit AJ Jones, but he has started to make a name for himself this season. He has great size at around 6-foot-6 and would fill a role as a hybrid player for the Wildcats. He is best coming off the edge as a pass rusher, but he has the athleticism to eventually play linebacker if needed. He could also add weight and move inside. The potential has plenty of programs in pursuit with an official visit to Utah coming up this weekend for the California-based target. ASU has been involved as well, but there will be an opening for the Wildcats to make a push for the impressive pass rusher.
Others: Devan Thompkins (Stockton, Calif. - Edison), Nikhil Webb-Walker (North Bridgton, Maine - Bridgton Academy)
Arizona jumped in early with Thompkins and Webb-Walker, but things have cooled off considerably as of late. Thompkins blew up quite a bit earlier in the season and it led to some notable offers from Power Five programs. USC, Utah, Washington, Arizona State, Michigan State, Oregon State and Missouri have all offered him. Many of those schools are going through coaching changes potentially opening the door for UA, so he will be one to watch especially with his connection to other Stockton targets for UA, including Coleman who is already committed.
