Recruiting never ends.
Example No. 1: Just as Arizona coach Jedd Fisch and director of player personnel Matt Doherty were wrapping up their signing-day news conference Wednesday, Doherty found out that receiver Carlos Wilson had signed with the Wildcats. Doherty literally broke that news to the assembled media corps.
Example No. 2: During that very same news conference, Gilbert receiver Brandon Phelps committed to Arizona — thus becoming the first member of the Wildcats’ 2024 recruiting class.
Fisch and his staff aren’t finished with the ’23 class yet, but the bulk of their work was completed on Day 1 of the three-day early signing period. We have a pretty good idea of what the team will look like next season.
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch logged a handful of wins this week, both on signing day and with the news that running back Michael Wiley and Jordan Morgan will return.
Here are five takeaways on Arizona’s class and its initial outlook for 2023:
1. ‘The biggest wins’
Fisch wasn’t sure what to call them. Transfer wins? NFL wins? Portal wins?
Whatever label you put on it, the fact that tailback Michael Wiley, receiver Jacob Cowing and tackle Jordan Morgan are returning to Arizona next season is a monumental development.
There are no sure things in recruiting, a subject we’ll touch on later. But Fisch and his staff know exactly what they’re getting in Wiley, Cowing and Morgan (assuming he’s able to fully recover from his torn ACL).
All three players could have declared for the 2023 NFL draft. They could have entered the portal.
If you’re dubious about the latter — it would have made no sense for Cowing after he came here from UTEP to be closer to his son and thrived on the field — consider this: Transferring seemed to be the least likely option for Kyon Barrs and Christian Roland-Wallace after this past season. Yet they both did.
With Arizona’s leading rusher (Wiley), receiver (Cowing) and best blocker (Morgan) back in the fold, the Wildcats will be returning eight starters from an offense that was among the nation’s most improved units in 2022. That number jumps to nine if you count Wendell Moe, who started three of the final four games at left guard.
The defense, meanwhile, could have that many new starters in 2023.
2. QB a year
Because the focus of the class was adding defensive talent and size — and because his recruitment was bereft of drama — the signing of four-star quarterback Brayden Dorman flew under the radar, relatively speaking.
It shouldn’t have.
For one thing, Dorman appears to have the talent to be a future standout. He’s the highest-rated recruit in Arizona’s class after a prolific career at Vista Ridge High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Second, his addition confirmed what we suspected about Fisch’s approach to quarterbacks: He’s going to add one every recruiting cycle, regardless of what the current roster looks like.
“I believe in that philosophy, of always bringing in a quarterback,” Fisch said. “This one that we got here is a special one. Brayden Dorman, four-star, No. 1 player in Colorado, top quarterback — I would say the one that we liked the most in this area, the West Coast. I feel as if he’s the type of player that can make a huge impact.
“I believe you should always recruit (one), just like you would always draft a quarterback in the NFL once a year ... especially with the landscape we’re in.”
He was referring to the transfer portal, which has been as active as ever this year and is brimming with quarterbacks. QBs simply don’t stick around for long these days if they don’t have a clear path to playing time.
De Laura will start next season, barring injury. Noah Fifita — whom Fisch also called “special” Wednesday — will compete with Dorman for the backup job. Will Plummer likely will transfer, although he hasn’t announced anything yet. Gunner Cruz could retire and become a graduate assistant.
As recently as 2021, Plummer, Cruz and Jordan McCloud were battling for the starting job. By midseason, Plummer was the only one healthy enough to play. McCloud is now headed to James Madison.
It changes that fast.
3. Relationships still matter
NIL money is a real thing. It has become a bigger factor in recruiting than anyone could have anticipated (well, anyone who was unfamiliar with how college sports and capitalism work).
But those whose jobs revolve around recruiting will tell you that personal relationships are still the No. 1 factor. Four-star offensive lineman Raymond Pulido probably wouldn’t be a Wildcat today if he didn’t have a strong relationship with UA line coach Brennan Carroll.
Whether Pulido decommitted from Alabama or the Crimson Tide dropped him is irrelevant; what matters is that Carroll put Arizona in position to be Pulido’s fallback option.
“I credit Coach Carroll on that one,” Fisch said. “He (Pulido) was one of the first people we offered; we were his first offer two years ago. He came to a camp here. We were able to get an offer out to him, and then as his recruitment just kind of skyrocketed, he wound up (receiving) offer after offer after offer. You would catch him on social media going (from) one place to another place to another place. Then he made his commitment.
“But toward the end here, he reached back out and felt like he wanted to be on the West Coast and wanted to stay ... a little bit closer to home. And when he reached out, he reached out to Coach Carroll because they maintained a really good relationship.”
4. ‘Turning over every stone’
While more than a dozen schools offered Pulido, hardly anyone knew anything about O-line prospect Tylen Gonzalez — a highly unusual development in today’s world of social-media self-promotion and do-it-yourself Hudl videos.
Gonzalez is a multisport athlete from Carlsbad, New Mexico. He played on both sides of the ball for the Carlsbad High Cavemen. He’s listed at 6-6, 270 pounds, and the UA staff sees him as an offensive tackle.
The recruiting website 247Sports.com hasn’t assigned Gonzalez a rating because it doesn’t have sufficient film to do so. Rivals gave him two stars.
If Gonzalez exceeds that projection, it’ll be a testament to Arizona’s scouting department.
“Tylen was a product of diligent scouting, just turning over every stone possible,” Doherty said. “What really worked to our favor, in this instance, was geography. Not to disparage his hometown or where he’s from; it’s just very difficult to get to for anyone.
“Tylen had a lot of other options that he didn’t necessarily publicize. He had a lot of interest from within the Pac-12 and also the SEC. I won’t name names and air his business, but really impressed with how he handled the entire process. He made his decision, and then he didn’t feel the need to advertise any other offers that came his way as time went on.”
5. No sure things
Even though players can — and do — leave for other opportunities before their eligibility has expired, signing day remains an exciting enterprise for fans and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for student-athletes It’s a day of optimism, hope and celebration.
But nothing is guaranteed. If a school hits on 50% of its recruits, it’s doing really well.
Arizona’s 2022 class appears to have an exceptionally high hit rate. Yet even with that group, it’s probably too early to tell for certain.
Even Arizona’s transfers — who are supposed to be surer things — don’t come with any promises.
Linebacker Justin Flowe was everybody’s high school All-American, but he couldn’t stay healthy at Oregon and didn’t play that well this past season. (Flowe had the second-lowest Pro Football Focus grade among Ducks defenders who played 100-plus snaps.)
Defensive linemen Bill Norton (Georgia), Tyler Manoa (UCLA) and Orin Patu (Cal) have traits that Arizona coveted, whether it’s size or playing for successful programs. They don’t have a ton of production.
The Wildcats are relying on film and familiarity. For example, defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen coached Manoa at UCLA — just as Nansen coached Hunter Echols at USC. Echols had more tackles, stops for losses and sacks in one season at Arizona than he had in four in L.A.
No. 5 Arizona outlasted Montana State 85-64 on Tuesday at McKale Center. The Wildcats were led by Kerr Kriisa, who scored 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.
