Heading into National Signing Day on Wednesday, the Arizona Wildcats have not gained significant ground on the recruiting front. Both 247Sports.com and Rivals.com rank the UA’s 2020 class, as currently constituted, as the worst in the Pac-12.
Kevin Sumlin is aware of this. But the third-year coach remains confident in his and his staff’s ability to evaluate and develop players, even if the rankings and on-field results haven’t reflected that yet.
“The guys that we’ve evaluated, we’re happy about,” Sumlin told the Star on Tuesday. “The way you get better, it’s about recruiting and player development. I think that we’ve shown in different places that the player-development pieces is as important as the recruiting piece.”
To that end, Sumlin overhauled Arizona’s defensive staff, bringing in veteran coaches in the hope that they will be able to get more out of talented defenders who have yet to play up to their potential. That side of the ball also has been the primary focus in recruiting since the early signing period in December, when the UA added 12 players — but only three on defense.
Sumlin and his staff have been targeting front-seven defenders with big frames as the Wildcats transition to a 3-4 base front under new coordinator Paul Rhoads. Two of the three defenders signed in December, Regen Terry and Dion Wilson, are listed at 6-4. Linebacker Derick Mourning, who committed to Arizona on Sunday night, is listed at 6-3. Three key targets — Shontrail Key (6-7), Paris Shand (6-5) and Eddie Watkins (6-3) — also fit that mold.
“If things go the way we want them to, we’re going to continue to change the profile of our team size-and length-wise,” Sumlin said. “I think we’ll be able to complete that up front, particularly defensively, where we need it.
“We’re looking for 6-4, 6-5 — 250, 260. But again, so is everybody else.”
The UA has lost some critical battles for defensive prospects since December. Four-star defensive end Jason Harris, the son of ex-Wildcat Sean Harris and younger brother of current Cat Jalen Harris, chose Colorado over Arizona. On Monday night, three-star cornerback Alphonse Oywak, who had been committed to the UA since July 31, changed his mind and pledged to Washington State.
Sumlin, who regularly reeled in top-20 classes at Texas A&M, conceded that recruiting at Arizona has been “a little bit” harder than he thought it would be.
“Yeah, I think so,” Sumlin said. “But what’s been good is if we get them on campus, we have a pretty good success rate. That’s been the big push the last year, to get guys on campus, because this place is beautiful. We’re just a little bit off the beaten path right now for some people.”
“The other piece,” he added, unprompted, “is winning.”
Arizona has struggled to generate momentum and buzz in recruiting because it has struggled on the field the past two seasons. The Wildcats are 9-15 under Sumlin and ended 2019 with a seven-game losing streak.
Again, Sumlin is aware of this.
“Nothing helps like winning does,” he said. “For everything.”
Sumlin expects Arizona to add 5-6 players this week, starting Wednesday. In addition to Mourning, the Wildcats have received verbal commitments from all-purpose back Frank Brown, offensive lineman Leif Magnuson and linebacker Jabar Triplett.
The UA was a finalist for 6-3 linebacker Jamari Stewart of Port Saint Lucie, Florida. But the three-star prospect said Tuesday he will be signing with Mississippi State.
Arizona is evaluating defensive backs for its depleted secondary but isn’t likely to sign any Wednesday. The Wildcats should have a handful of openings after this week and will explore players in the transfer market through spring, Sumlin said.
New-look defense
Collectively, Arizona’s three new defensive coaches — Rhoads, Stan Eggen (defensive line) and Andy Buh (outside linebackers)— have more than 90 years of experience in college football. That was a major draw, Sumlin said.
“And it’s a group that has already come in and hit the ground running,” he said.
All three coaches traveled extensively in January, joining Sumlin and the holdover staffers on recruiting trips that spanned North America.
In addition to altering the scheme and developing talent, Sumlin believes the new coaches will help bring more cohesion to the defense. Sumlin fired three coaches during the ’19 season because of subpar play, poor communication and other issues.
“That’s why we made changes,” Sumlin said.
DeMarco’s departure
Sumlin didn’t have a timetable for hiring a new running backs coach. DeMarco Murray left Arizona after one season to coach at Oklahoma, his alma mater.
“We’re still working through that,” Sumlin said.
He suspected Murray would show an aptitude for coaching and knew it would be difficult to retain him if he did.
“The good ones are hard (to keep),” Sumlin said, “particularly when you’re talking about going back to where you played.”
Murray joined the OU staff late last month. Was it a difficult conversation to have?
“It was a harder conversation for him,” Sumlin said. “He’s new to that. It’s his first job. It’s different than (playing) football, getting cut or moving on.”
Extra points
• Sumlin said he spoke to Brenden Schooler’s former coach at Oregon, Willie Taggart, about the possibility of using the graduate transfer on both sides of the ball. Schooler started his college career as a safety before moving to receiver. He also is a standout special-teams player. “We’ve talked about that,” Sumlin said. “Not every snap of the game. But … there could be a spot role for him.”
• Sumlin expects former UA tailback J.J. Taylor to impress NFL evaluators at the scouting combine later this month. “He’s gonna be great on the board,” Sumlin said. “He’s gonna be great to talk to. He’s gonna be level-headed and even-keeled. When people are around him, they’re just going to like him.” Sumlin said Taylor’s strength, agility, quickness and pass-catching skills also would stand out in Indianapolis.
• Arizona’s April 4 spring game will begin at 5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks announced. Practice is set to begin March 2. Coaches will begin working with players on a limited basis next week after being on the road for much of January.
