Before last season, UA coach Rich Rodriguez overhauled his coaching staff with an eye toward recruiting, firing assistants Jeff Casteel, Bill Kirelawich and David Lockwood and replacing one more (Matt Caponi)Β who left for another job.
By the start of the season, Arizona already had 26 commitments; as a result, the Wildcatsβ class was lining up as one of the conferenceβs best. Then cornerbacks coach Donte Williams, an upstart ace recruiter in Southern California, left for Nebraska in December and some of Arizonaβs highest-rated players starting falling by the wayside, flipping and decommitting.
The Wildcats lost nine players to other schools and wound up ranked 10th in the conference after national signing day.
Since then, assistants Charlie Ragle and Tony Dews left for other jobs. Rodriguez hired receivers coach Theron Aych, linebackers coach Scott Boone and special teams coach Brian Knorr to replace them.
With that, Rodriguez has drastically altered his recruiting strategy, namely turning the focus away from four- and five-star targets and expanding Arizonaβs recruiting map.
With that, here's an FAQ about Arizona recruiting β that is, facts and questions about the state of Arizona recruiting, how the struggles have impacted things, an evaluation of past classes and a look at the history of recruitment at the UA.
