While Tucson slept, Matt Dudek was working.
By 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, when he walked into the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility players’ lounge to host Arizona’s signing day webcast, Dudek had already been at the office for more than three hours.
National signing day is Dudek’s time to shine; Wednesday, the UA’s director of on-campus recruiting admitted that he had been counting down the days since the previous year.
“Guys are saying it’s my day, running around the office, it’s my Christmas,” Dudek said. “It’s true.”
For about 90 minutes, Dudek hosted a live stream of the UA’s “OKG Day” festivities, discussing Arizona’s 2016 recruiting class, interviewing Rich Rodriguez and Arizona’s new coaches and eating the occasional donut. All the while, Dudek handled his recruiting coordinator duties, collecting national letters of intent as they were faxed in from across the country.
“It’s Matt Dudek’s claim to fame,” Rodriguez said.
The Star followed Dudek on Wednesday, from the first scene to the final fax:
4:15 a.m.: Dudek arrives bright and early to set up the players’ lounge. He moves the lounge’s Pop-a-Shot basketball game and other toys to set up a makeshift TV studio. The cameras are mounted, and a desert-themed backdrop with the letters “OKG” — short for our kind of guys — is set up.
7:30 a.m.: The most important piece of equipment is set up in the corner of the room: a Workcentre 6605 Xerox fax machine, a technology long past its prime in 2016 but still an important part of the signing day process. It’s tradition. This is where the coaches and staff will receive the signed letters of intent from players across the country.
7:45 a.m.: Dudek is scrambling. The recruiting coordinator moves around the room, setting up a board with the topics for the day’s show and a list of all of the Wildcats’ incoming players. Each player with a verbal commitment gets his own colored magnet, as do a couple of others on the fence. There are four gray magnets for the four carry-over recruits from the 2015 class, about 16 or 17 blue magnets representing the guys Arizona already knows will be signing. The two in red are the guys on the fence. The public doesn’t know it yet, but Dudek and his staff already know that four-star safety Chacho Ulloa and three-star corner Lorenzo Burns will become Wildcats. They’re blue. In red: linebacker Jalen Cochran from Michigan, and safety Calvin Bundage from Oklahoma.
7:53 a.m.: Two cheerleaders walk into the room, ready to stand behind Dudek for the live stream. “This will be the worst place you ever come to ‘perform’ something,” Dudek said, laughing.
7:55 a.m.: The first national letter of intent arrives; it’s from El Paso and signed by safety Tristan Cooper. Kevin Sergent, the UA’s associate director of athletics for compliance, reads it over to check for its validity. Dudek tells video guru John Daley to prepare Cooper’s highlight package for the show.
7:57 a.m.: Offensive line coach Jim Michalczik walks into the room and heads straight to the fax machine. Someone wonders aloud if the fax machine is even working. “It better be,” Michalczik responds.
8:02 a.m.: The show opens with a video about the virtues of “Bear Down” and “OKGs” by Jay Dobyns, a former Wildcat. As the video plays, Dudek tells a cameraman to point to him when he is live. Dudek breathes in, camera man points to him, and it’s off.
8:04 a.m.: Dudek’s intro is over, the stream cuts to highlight videos for Keenan Walker, Antonio Parks, Harper Sherman and Jamie Nunley, all “grayshirt” carryovers from the 2015 class. Dudek declares its “probably not my best opening” as he walks off camera.
8:07 a.m.: Michalczik is on the phone with Gavin Robertson, a safety from Washington, and is getting impatient waiting by the fax machine. The machine starts buzzing. “If this ain’t you,” Michalczik declares, “I’m kicking the machine.” It isn’t him. Michalczik keeps waiting, and looks out the window to clear skies. He and Robertson arrange a trade. “Once I get the letter, I’m going to send you a picture of my view out the window so you know what you’re coming to,” Michalczik tells him.
8:09 a.m.: Dudek introduces Cooper, whom he calls a “headhunter,” and waits for Cooper’s highlight package to start. It doesn’t. Dudek waits 20 long seconds. “I wish we had one of those old school ‘we’ll be right back’ messages,” he cracks.
8:15 a.m.: The Ulloa secret is out. His school, Corona Centennial, accidentally tweets out a list of where its players are going for college. “Well,” Dudek says, “I guess everybody knows know.”
8:18 a.m.: The Wildcats receive signed letters from defensive linemen Justin Holt and Bryson Cain.
8:25 a.m.: The IT crew on site — Andrew Deighan and Jeff Kohler — change the printer cartridge on the fax machine.
8:32 a.m.: Robertson’s letter finally arrives. “You’re officially a Wildcat,” Michalczik tells him. “I’m fired up.”
8:35 a.m.: Jacob Colacion, a linebacker from La Habra, California and one of the UA’s top recruits, faces his letter to the UA.
8:45 a.m.: Dudek goes to the board to plan out the show. Someone mentions Michigan’s signing day extravaganza, which includes appearances by Derek Jeter and Tom Brady. “We were going to bring in (wrestlers) Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan,” Dudek jokes.
8:57 a.m.: Kohler departs, leaving Deighan on fax machine watch. “Me and the fax machine are going to be best friends,” he says.
9:07 a.m.: Rodriguez pops in to check on the undecided players. Dudek tells him that Cochran will choose between Miami (Ohio) and the Wildcats, and that Bundage is still on the fence. “He’s torn,” Dudek says.
9:08 a.m: Lorenzo Burns’ letter arrives, but Dudek won’t announce it yet because Burns has requested it remain a secret until later that afternoon. Burns, a three-star cornerback, picks Arizona over Colorado.
9:10 a.m.: Wilbur T. Wildcat arrives, and joins Dudek on camera for much of the remaining show.
9:16 a.m.: After not receiving any new letters for a while, Dudek asks “is the fax still working?” It is.
9:20 a.m.: While on the air, Dudek mentions former UA softball star Kenzie Fowler, but calls her “Kenzie Quinn.” Fowler is dating UA graduate assistant Kyle Quinn. Dudek jokes, “well, you better get engaged today now, dawg.” After the live shot is done, Quinn pops his head in the room and says “That was good, Dudek. I’ll give you that.”
9:24 a.m.: Safeties coach Jahmile Addae arrives for his on-camera interview.
9:32 a.m.: Addae leaves the set. Dudek looks at his phone, shouts “Yes!!” pumps his fist, jumps out of his chair and walks off set. “I gotta go talk to RichRod,” he said. The news soon comes out on Twitter: Cochran is a Wildcat.
9:45 a.m.: The staff reaches out to Salpointe Catholic defensive lineman Justin Holt for an on-air interview. While they wait, Dudek and the UA’s communications staff figure what number Holt’s father, Julius, wore while at the UA in the 1980s. The answer: 50.
9:48 a.m.: Jessie Britt’s letter arrives from Auburndale, Florida. Britt will grayshirt the 2016 season, and arrive at UA in January 2017.
9:49 a.m.: Jarrius Wallace’s signed letter arrives from New Orleans. He’s a three-star safety.
9:50 a.m.: Holt calls in. Dudek has an on-camera surprise for Holt — he will be wearing the No. 50, too. “It’s a dream come true,” Holt says.
9:55 a.m.: J.J. Taylor’s letter arrives. Offensive coordinator Calvin Magee poses for a picture holding the letter and texts it to Arizona’s newest running back.
9:56 a.m.: UA linebacker Paul Magloire and receiver Trey Griffey pop in, and Dudek talks them into doing an on-air interview.
10:08 a.m.: In the midst of the interview, Rich Rodriguez — with a hoarse voice, suffering from a cold — walks into the room, onto the set and tells both Magloire and Griffey to remove their earrings. “What, are you trying to do your best Mr. T?” he cracks.
10:10 a.m.: Josh Allen’s signed letter arrives. He’s a defensive lineman from Long Beach City College.
10:11 a.m.: Cochran’s signed letter arrives.
10:12 a.m.: Rodriguez returns for an on-camera interview with Dudek. Before he leaves, he tells a story — prompted by Dudek — about how receivers coach Tony Dews never pays for any meals on the road.
10:19 a.m.: Dews pops his head in the room and asks Rodriguez where they’re going for lunch.
10:30 a.m.: Michael Eletise’s letter arrives from Hawaii. Eletise, an offensive lineman, is Arizona’s highest-rated recruit. Dudek and UA spokesman Blair Willis work to get Eletise on the phone for an on-camera interview.
10:49 a.m.: New defensive coordinator Marcel Yates arrives for his interview wearing Arizona gear and shiny, black chrome Nike sneakers.
11:00 a.m.: Donte’ Williams, Arizona’s new cornerbacks coach, readies for his interview, also in Arizona gear. Dudek gives him props for his blue suede sneakers.
11:03 a.m.: Shawn Poindexter’s signed letter arrives. Poindexter, a sophomore at Glendale Community College, verbally committed one day earlier. He’s a 6-foot-6-inch wide receiver.
11:17 a.m.: Dudek goes to the board to see who’s left. By now, he’s already heard that Bundage has committed to Oklahoma State. “We still need Chacho (Ulloa), DeVaughn Cooper, (Francisco) Nelson,” he says. Dudek says that Cooper will announce his decision at 1:30 p.m., although the UA already knows he’s coming to the Wildcats. He also considered ASU and Syracuse.
11:27 a.m: The show is about to reach its final live segment. Dudek stands in front of the camera, back in the same spot he stood at the very beginning, and puts his hands to his eyes, visibly exhausted. Someone asks him if he’s tired. “No,” he says, “I’m high on donuts.”
11:30 a.m.: The show wraps, Dudek thanks everyone who contributed. Francisco Nelson’s signed letter arrives, but he must re-send it because of a technical glitch.
11:32 a.m.: Dudek reminisces about how far this “OKG Day” event has come from the first one a few years ago, which he said was held in a tiny room at McKale Center, started at 5 a.m and broadcast as a Google hangout. “I can’t even go back and watch it,” Dudek says. “My head is bald, I have a big, fat, face.”
11:35 a.m.: Dudek sums up the day’s experience before exiting the room, off to watch film of 2017 recruits with the rest of the coaching staff.
“This is literally in-house. It’s me,” Dudek said. “I’m not a broadcaster, I’m a recruiting coordinator. We bring in coaches to show off our personalities, and I think that’s what’s really unique about us. We’ve come a long way.
“This is something I look forward to every year. It’s the beginning of the new season.”
