With the season ending earlier than usual, Arizona football's coaching staff is hitting the recruiting trail hard, and fast.
The staff has been bouncing around Arizona, Las Vegas and Southern California checking in with some of the 26 players committed to the 2017 class so far.
Don't be surprised if they make their way out to Ann Arbor, Michigan soon.
Wednesday night, four-star linebacker Antjuan Simmons announced he intended to re-open his recruitment after being verbally committed to Ohio State since March.
After talking to my mom and people I'm close to I have decided to re-open my recruiting process. No interviews please. Thank you.
— Antjuan Simmons (@_antjuan_) December 1, 2016
What does this have to do with Arizona?
Well, the Wildcats have been after Simmons, even while he was committed to the Buckeyes, and it appears they might have a real shot at him now that he's no longer attached to Ohio State.
During Arizona's bye week earlier this season, receivers coach Tony Dews visited Simmons in Michigan, and according to Scout.com, Simmons intends to take a visit to Arizona's campus at some point, along with Notre Dame. The Wildcats will also likely have to battle Michigan State, whom Simmons visited a few weeks ago.
For Arizona, getting a player of Simmons' caliber on campus is half the battle. The Wildcats tend to do fairly well with players who actually come visit campus, though the stakes are a bit different with four- and five-star players.
Simmons is the top-rated outside linebacker in Michigan, No. 2 in the Midwest and No. 22 in the nation. He lives just down the street from the Big House in Ann Arbor, which adds some intrigue considering UA coach Rich Rodriguez's history at UM.
The Wildcats are hosting a handful of players this weekend, though most are previously committed players like TE Bryce Gilbert, LB Tony Fields, OL Cody Shear, WR Darrian McNeal and athlete Jalen Harris.
The big name visiting is cornerback Ambry Thomas, a four-star recruit from Detroit also considering Michigan, Florida, Michigan State, Ohio State, USC and a few others.
Thomas is the top-rated cornerback in the Midwest, No. 5 in the nation and the 58th-best recruit overall, according to Scout.com.
Here's a Thomas tweet from August to give you an idea of why the Wildcats have a shot at him...
I swear coach Donte from Arizona is one of the best corner coaches in the country if not the BEST 💯🏈
— Ambry Thomas 1⃣3⃣ (@Tavonn_) August 31, 2016
