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Tennessee, Nebraska and USC all made late pushes for Nathan Tilford (34) to undo the commitment he made to play for Arizona. On Wednesday, he will begin taking classes at the UA.

Name: Nathan Tilford

Position: Running back

Height: 6 feet 2 inches

Weight: 215 pounds

Hometown (high school): Ontario, California (Colony).

Rating: Four stars, No. 284 overall, No. 24 athlete, No. 4 in West, No. 2 in California

Other offers: USC, UCLA, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arizona State, Michigan

2016 stats: 2,031 rushing yards, 30 touchdowns, 25 receptions, 601 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns, 1 punt return touchdown

Who he is: Tilford is one of the more talented running backs in the 2017 class. He’s a big back with athleticism who dominated in high school.

How he fits: The Wildcats are desperate for running backs after injuries decimated the position last year, and Tilford will help right away as an early enrollee. J.J. Taylor and Nick Wilson are recovering from season-ending injuries, likely opening the door for Tilford to get reps in spring ball.

He said it: “The area I’ve probably improved in most, I’d have to say my vision and my decision-making. There would be some times where I’d decide to do something that I shouldn’t do. I’d run to one side of the field, then there wouldn’t be anything, and then I’d turn around and go all the way back and try to get a couple yards. Now I started learning that even if there’s nothing there, just keep moving your feet and eventually something is gonna happen. If there’s nothing there, at least you picked up a couple yards instead of wasting all your energy going back to the other side of the field.” — Tilford


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