Just as Arizona dealt with a wave of commitments to its 2017 recruiting class during the summer, the Wildcats are dealing with the opposite now with a rash of decommitments.
The latest: defensive end Bryce Brand, who announced Friday night he was backing out of his Arizona commitment.
— Bryce Brand™ (@BSB_321) December 17, 2016
Brand had committed to the Wildcats in June, but took an official visit to Maryland recently and it seems likely that he'll flip to the Terrapins. Brand also took a visit to Arizona's campus one week after his Maryland visit, but that apparently wasn't enough to keep him in Tucson.
The loss of Brand, listed at defensive end but likely would have played the "stud" linebacker position at Arizona, brings Arizona's 2017 class down to 22 players after it had been as high as 27 during the season.
Recently, the Wildcats have lost athlete Greg Johnson, defensive tackle Matt Leo, receiver Darrian McNeal and linebacker Delshawn Phillips, the latter three of which have since flipped their commitments to other programs.
Brand was expected to be an early enrollee for Arizona, and would've joined the team in January. McNeal, Leo and Phillips were also expected to enroll early. As of now, the last remaining expected early enrollees for Arizona are linebacker Tony Fields, quarterback Braxton Burmeister, tight end Bryce Gilbert and defensive lineman Sione Taufahema, with a few others looming as possibilities.
A couple other players currently committed to Arizona's 2017 class to keep an eye on as possible decommitments: receiver Warren Jackson, defensive lineman Austin Faoliu and athlete Jalen Harris.
