It can be an awkward exercise to look ahead to the next season when a team is still in the midst of this one, but that’s recruiting, particularly as Arizona has dealt with a loss of personnel at one position in particular.
Last week, the Wildcats booted running back Orlando Bradford off the team after he was arrested for domestic abuse. Quickly, the running back position — on paper, at least — went from a position of strength and depth to a question mark.
Behind Nick Wilson, Arizona’s starting running back dating back to his stellar 2014 freshman season, the Wildcats were left with true freshman J.J. Taylor, little-used junior Zach Green and walk-on Branden Leon.
Then after Saturday’s first series, Wilson went down with an unknown injury and didn’t return, leaving Taylor to take on a featured role. He thrived, rushing for 168 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, but Arizona is certainly not in an ideal position at running back.
“We still have concerns because we like to play two or three and it’s a long season,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Our depth is slowly getting thinner at several positions, but especially running back.”
To help remedy it, the Wildcats will use receiver Tyrell Johnson more at running back, where he played in high school, but going forward, it’s become a position Arizona will look to address in recruiting. The Wildcats already have a commitment from four-star recruit Nathan Tilford, but will likely look to add another player to the backfield.
“We always want to add more,” Rodriguez said. “I always think you need more than less running backs because unfortunately it seems like they get hurt a little bit. We have some, we’ll get some.”
That’s not the only position of need, either. Here’s a look at how some other positions will look next season:
RUNNING BACK
Key Returners: Nick Wilson, J.J. Taylor, Zach Green, Branden Leon
Leaving: None
Committed: Nathan Tilford
The skinny: Tilford is a real talent — he rushed for 300 yards in his first game this season, and hasn’t slowed down since — but right now there’s no one else coming in. Arizona had been recruiting both four-star Drake Beasley and three-star Chris Brooks before the 2017 class started filling up, and both remain uncommitted.
WIDE RECEIVER
Key Returners: Tyrell Johnson, Cam Denson, Shun Brown, DeVaughn Cooper, Shawn Poindexter
Leaving: Trey Griffey, Samajie Grant, Nate Phillips
Committed: Warren Jackson, Drew Dixon, Brian Casteel, Darrian McNeal
The skinny: Numbers-wise, there are no issues at receiver. Experience-wise, there are — the Wildcats lose their top three receivers without a clear No. 1 replacement on the roster. That all changes if Arizona reels in five-star receiver Joseph Lewis from Augustus Hawkins in Los Angeles. UA is a finalist, likely battling Nebraska and USC.
LINEBACKER
Key Returners: DeAndre’ Miller, Kahi Neves, Jacob Colacion, John Kenny
Leaving: Cody Ippolito, Paul Magloire, Michael Barton, Jake Matthews
Committed: Delshawn Phillips, Joshua Brown, Tony Fields, Kylan Wilborn, Jalen Harris
The skinny: Arizona has had linebacker depth problems since Scooby Wright went down with an injury in week one of the 2015 season. It hasn’t gotten much better this season. Next year? It gets worse. Outside of Miller, a talented but injury prone pass rusher, the Wildcats lose most of their production. Colacion and Neves will likely redshirt this season. The Wildcats have five linebackers committed for next year already — including Phillips, a junior college transfer from Garden City CC — though, so don’t expect any more commitments here.
CORNERBACK
Key returners: Dane Cruikshank, Jace Whittaker, Lorenzo Burns, Antonio Parks, Sammy Morrison
Leaving: DaVonte’ Neal, Devin Holiday
Committed: Greg Johnson, Malik Hausman
The skinny: This is an intriguing spot because there is certainly young talent — including the incoming Greg Johnson, Arizona’s four-star crown jewel from Augustus Hawkins — but it’s mostly unproven at the college level. By next season, Cruikshank will have a full season of starting experience, and Whittaker has played quite a bit as well. Something to watch: undecided four-star corner Thomas Graham — from Rancho Cucamonga, California — has been a top priority for Arizona’s 2017 class and the Wildcats are considered a front-runner. Five-star Darnay Holmes will visit campus this weekend but he’s a longshot.
Extra points
• Three-star offensive lineman Ryan Nelson of Buena Park (California) took an official visit over the weekend and attended the Hawaii game. Nelson is from Buena Park.
• The Wildcats offered a scholarship to 2020 defensive end Jason Harris. The Mesa Desert Ridge product is the brother of 2017 UA commit Jalen Harris and has another offer from Arizona State.
