Arizona landed its first in-state commit for the 2023 recruiting class Saturday night, when three-star safety Genesis Smith pledged to the Wildcats on his social media accounts.
Smith, a standout defensive back at Hamilton High School in Chandler, committed to Arizona over Iowa State, Colorado State, Washington, San Diego State, Oregon State and Washington State, among others.
COMMITTED!! pic.twitter.com/A4JEuI5NAG
— G͓̽E͓̽N͓̽E͓̽S͓̽I͓̽S͓̽ ͓̽S͓̽M͓̽I͓̽T͓̽H͓̽ (@Genesis_Smithh) August 28, 2022
The 6-foot-2-inch, 188-pound Smith is rated by 247Sports.com as the 15th-best prospect in Arizona.
Smith becomes the seventh prospect expected to play defensive back at Arizona, joining Canyon Moses, Solomon Davis, Carter Stoutmire, Arian Parish, Gavin Hunter, Sean Brown and Justin Johnson. Moses, Hunter, Parish, Johnson and now Smith are players who will likely play safety in 2023.
The bulk of the Wildcats' 2023 recruiting class is on defense. Arizona has five defensive line commits, along with a pledge from Hawaiian linebacker Kamuela Kaaihue.
Arizona has 19 players — 14 of them on defense — committed for 2023.
