Good news has been hard to come by lately for Arizona's football program, particularly in the wake of former commit Braxton Burmeister flipping to Oregon and athletic director Greg Byrne bolting for Alabama.
Monday, the Wildcats managed to deliver a recruiting shocker — 3-star defensive end My-King Johnson announced a verbal commitment to Arizona, in turn backing out of his commitment to UCLA.
"Just received a great home visit with Coach Rod," Johnson tweeted. "With that being said I have decided to commit to UofA".
UA coach Rich Rodriguez, special teams coach Charlie Ragle and defensive line coach Vince Amey took an in-home visit with Johnson on Monday.
Johnson's decision comes as one of the bigger surprises for Arizona in this recruiting cycle, as Johnson had been committed to UCLA since Jan. 6 and hadn't mentioned Arizona as a finalist previously.
Johnson is a huge pick-up for the Wildcats, a team both desperate for talent on the defensive line and to make up ground in keeping talented in-state recruits in Arizona. Johnson, from Tempe, is rated three stars by Scout.com and is the top-rated defensive end in Arizona.
Johnson, listed at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, also had offers from USC, Oregon, Arizona State and Texas A&M.
The addition of Johnson brings Arizona's 2017 class back up to 25 players, including kicker Lucas Havrisik, who committed to the Wildcats on Sunday.
Just received a great home visit with Coach Rod. With that being said I have decided to commit to UofA. #beardown
— My-King Johnson (@kingj9943) January 16, 2017
