Recruiting is often driven by momentum.
Last March, Arizona surprised many when it reeled in a verbal commitment from Greg Johnson, the top-rated athlete in the West. That was the first domino in a stretch that saw the Wildcats add commitments from more than 20 recruits through the summer and rise to the top of most rankings of the Pac-12’s recruiting classes.
Then, cornerbacks coach Donte Williams bolted for Nebraska, Johnson decommitted and most of Arizona’s recruiting-related news since the New Year hasn’t exactly been positive, capped by the flipping of quarterback Braxton Burmeister to Oregon just one day before he was set to enroll at UA.
Monday, the Wildcats took their first step to changing the course of their momentum back in the other direction in the days leading up to National Signing Day on Feb. 1.
That’s when Arizona received the King of commitments. That is, My-King Johnson, the top-rated defensive end in the state of Arizona, according to Scout.com.
“Recruits always want to know what their situation is going to be like at the end of the day,” said Scout.com’s Blair Angulo.
“When they look at other recruits and where they’re going they want to know who else might be going to school with them so to get a guy like My-King Johnson… it can create a bit of a snowball effect. It can help things.”
The addition of Johnson helped the Wildcats jump back into the top-half of the Pac-12, rated the 30th best class nationally by Scout and the sixth-best in the conference, notably ahead of both Oregon and Arizona State.
The Tempe High School product is rated three-stars, and his pass-rushing ability as a defensive end — an area of need for Arizona — should provide him the opportunity to compete for immediate playing time.
Between Johnson and Mesa Desert Ridge’s Jalen Harris, the Wildcats are bringing in two of the top pass rushers in the state, although Harris recently took official visits to Notre Dame, Washington, Illinois and Colorado. Harris is the son of former Arizona linebacker Sean Harris.
“From a stylistic standpoint, I think it’s a great fit because (Johnson’s) pretty good at rushing the passer and that’s something that Arizona has been trying to sell in this recruiting class,” Angulo said. “to get a guy like My-King to pair with another guy from in-state in Jalen Harris, and being able to land another guy it heightens their probability of finding success. They set themselves up nicely.”
As a senior at Tempe, the 6-3, 225 pound Johnson impressively amassed 89 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks. Johnson also is the rare Arizona commit to hold offers from most of the Pac-12’s elite programs, including USC, UCLA and Oregon.
Johnson took visits to UCLA, Oregon and USC, while also receiving interest from Texas A&M and Washington, which is what made the commitment to Arizona somewhat surprising. Johnson made his decision while on an in-home visit with Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez and assistants Charlie Ragle and Vince Amey.
“I’m done with the process,” Johnson told Scout.com. “I’m not going to commit anywhere else. I’m set in stone on this one and set on this commitment.”
Arizona makes offer
to Florida quarterback
The Wildcats took the first step to adding some depth to the quarterback position on Wednesday, offering two-star prospect Nick Tronti a scholarship.
Tronti is a 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound dual-threat quarterback from Ponte Vedra High School in Florida. He was named Mr. Football in Florida after amassing 3,328 passing yards, 650 rushing yards and 53 total touchdowns as a senior. Tronti is currently committed to Charlotte and holds an offer from Indiana.
A year ago, Arizona’s quarterback position might, arguably, have looked like its most stable.
Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins were returning, four-star freshman Khalil Tate enrolled early and the Wildcats had both Braxton Burmeister and Rhett Rodriguez in the 2017 pipeline.
Well, a lot has changed since then — Solomon is transferring to Baylor, Burmeister flipped to Oregon and while both Dawkins and Tate showed flashes last season, both are still works in progress.
Kicker excited about Arizona opportunity
Before Dec. 12, Lucas Havrisik didn’t even have any offers to walk-on and kick in college, let alone scholarship offers.
Havrisik, from Norco, California, stayed patient, he said, since most schools tend wait until the last minute before offering scholarships to kickers.
Portland State had shown interest, but then Ragle, Arizona’s special teams coach, came calling.
About one month later, recruitment over, Havrisik committed to the Wildcats.
“(Ragle) said he’d love to have me, that we can be a great team, that I’d come in there and I can start all four years on kickoffs and field goals,” Havrisik said.
“So that was an appeal for the U of A, to play all four years in the Pac-12.”
Havrisik will take an official visit to Arizona’s campus this weekend.
