Arizona needs big bodies on the defensive line.
It's something that's been said countless times over the last year or so, particularly as Arizona started two 247-pound defensive linemen in Justin Belknap and Parker Zellers this past season.
When Austin Faoliu verbally committed to Arizona back in September it was a step in the right direction. Faoliu, of Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds and is one of three defensive tackles currently committed to Arizona's 2017 class.
It might just take a little work to keep him. When Faoliu committed, his only other offers were from Nevada, Hawaii and Colorado State. So once Arizona offered — specifically defensive line coach Vince Amey and recruiting coordinator Chris Singletary — Faoliu quickly committed, sight unseen.
The reason?
Playing time.
"They were telling me that I could be starting as a freshman and that I’d have a spot ready for me at the U of A," Faoliu said. "That’s what opened my eyes and I thought 'nothing gets better than that'. Then all these other schools started coming."
Since then, Arizona State, Illinois, UTSA and Washington State have all offered. The Sun Devils, Roadrunners and Cougars, along with Arizona, have all taken home visits to see Faoliu, and Washington State in particular has pushed hard for him. It helps that his high school teammate and best friend Faavae Faavae is a Washington State commit.
Faoliu will take his first official visit to Arizona this weekend and Washington State later this month.
He's still committed to Arizona, Faoliu said, but is open to exploring his options.
"I’m like kinda in the middle," Faoliu said. "I still like Arizona, I still want to go there, but I’m open to other colleges too if they haven’t spoke to me."
Working in Arizona's favor — the Wildcats offered Faoliu's brother Drew Faoliu recently. Drew is a recruit in the 2018 class, and Faoliu said it would be a dream come true to play in college with his brother. Also, another teammate of Faoliu's from Mater Dei is already committed to Arizona for 2017 — three-star safety Xavier Bell.
In the meantime, he's just enjoying being pursued by a handful of schools after going much of his senior season without a Power Five conference offer.
"Since my freshman year I’ve been working to try and get some offers and now I can finally choose," Faoliu said. "Well, I chose Arizona, but I can finally see what other choices I have. It feels good."
We'll have more about Faoliu and some other Arizona commits and targets to keep an eye in stories both today and tomorrow on Tucson.com and in the daily newspaper.
