When Greg Johnson announced his decommitment from Arizona over the weekend, running back Nathan Tilford immediately became the highest-rated recruit in Arizona's 2017 recruiting class.
Arizona is confident it won't lose Tilford too, but it helps that the four-star from Colony in Ontario, California will visit Arizona's campus this weekend. Tilford is the headliner in a weekend of visitors for the Wildcats. (Working on getting a more extensive list, but junior college defensive lineman Sione Taufahema will also be there.)
Johnson primarily backed out of his long commitment to Arizona because of the departure of cornerbacks coach Donte Williams to Nebraska, but Williams wasn't much involved with Tilford's recruitment so that shouldn't impact anything. The lead recruiters on Tilford on Arizona's staff include co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Calvin Magee and staff analyst Miguel Reveles, who used to coach at Colony.
Tilford is one of the more important recruits in Arizona's 2017 class beyond his four-star rating, mainly because the Wildcats need running backs. By the end of the season, Arizona was down to converted receiver Samajie Grant and fourth-stringer Zach Green at the position due to injuries to Nick Wilson and J.J. Taylor and the dismissal of Orlando Bradford.
Arizona's lone other four-star recruit, according to Scout, is quarterback Braxton Burmeister of La Jolla (California) Country Day. Rivals.com actually upgraded Sabino athlete Drew Dixon to a four-star recruit on Wednesday.
With Tilford coming in, along with the expected returns of Wilson, Taylor and Green, the Wildcats expect to have quality depth at the position for 2017. Tilford is a big, bruising back with athleticism and rated the No. 3 athlete in the West by Scout.com. He's listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, and as a senior at Colony Tilford rushed for 2,031 yards and 30 touchdowns.
