In terms of timing, it didn’t feel like much of a coincidence.
By May, safety Rhedi Short had already been verbally committed to UCLA for seven months. On May 7, he visited the UA for a Junior Day event, along with his Cathedral (Los Angeles) High School teammate Hunter Echols, a four-star safety and then-UCLA commit who has since flipped to USC.
On May 8, Short announced he was backing out of his UCLA commitment and reopening his recruitment.
A few weeks later, he released a list of his top five schools: Arizona, Oregon, Penn State, Arizona State and California.
Finally, Short announced his verbal commitment to Arizona’s 2017 class in early July.
So was it just a coincidence that Short decommitted from UCLA just after a visit to Tucson, only to commit to Arizona not too long after?
Short insists it really was just a coincidence.
“Actually, I was already planning on decommitting before I went out there,” Short said, “but it just worked out that I decomitted after.”
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter — Short was a recruiting coup for Arizona’s rising 2017 class. Short, rated three-stars by Scout.com, picked the UA over offers from programs like Oregon and UCLA, who the Wildcats will face in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
“The biggest thing is I was most comfortable there,” Short said about Arizona. “So when I was up there, and I was talking to everybody, it just felt like home.”
Short, listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, was the 20th recruit to commit to Arizona’s 2017 class in a wave of summer recruitments. The class has since ballooned to 26 players and is currently ranked as the No. 1 2017 class in the Pac-12 by Scout.
“Yeah it’s crazy, it’s really crazy. It’s really cool that I’m a part of it,” Short said. “We have a group chat, we talk every day. We’re all happy we decided and we can’t wait to get out there …
“With everybody that’s in my class, it just seems like it’s gonna be a lot of fun and a great experience.”
Although Short was swayed away from UCLA, he said he’s happy with his decision to become a Wildcat.
“I haven’t doubted it one bit,” Short said. “I’ve been happy throughout the couple of months I’ve been committed, so that’s been good.”
Burmeister breaking records in San Diego
There might not be an Arizona commit having a better season right now than senior quarterback Braxton Burmeister of La Jolla (California) Country Day.
On Sept. 16, he set a new record for career total yards.
He also has 95 career touchdown passes after throwing for four more last week.
He needs just one more passing touchdown to tie the CIF San Diego Section record.
So far this season, Burmeister has thrown just one interception in 202 pass attempts, collecting 1,675 passing yards and 21 touchdowns to go with 383 rushing yards and seven more touchdowns.
For his career, he’s amassed 11,019 total yards.
“It’s definitely an awesome feeling,” Burmeister told San Diego Community News Group.
“I have to pretty much give all the credit to the players and coaches around me. They have made it possible for me to be successful.”
Burmeister is expected to take an official visit to Arizona’s campus sometime this season, most likely for the USC game on Oct. 15.
Extra points
The Wildcats had a few visitors for Saturday night’s overtime loss to Washington, including Cienega quarterback Jamarye Joiner. The 2018 product announced a verbal commitment to Arizona on Sunday night.
