Jedd Fisch entered the new year on the recruiting trail apparently.
Fisch's first known scholarship offer as Arizona's head coach was to former Chandler High School standout running back and Northwestern transfer Drake Anderson, who tweeted his UA offer late Thursday night.Β
Blessed to receive an Offer from the University of Arizona! Thank you @CoachJeddFisch pic.twitter.com/ewXJHAKyD4
— drake鴨 (@Drake_Anderson2) January 1, 2021
The 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pound Anderson played three seasons at running back for Northwestern, and rushed for 926 yards and five touchdowns on 228 carries.Β
Coming out of Chandler in 2017, the three-star Anderson wasn't recruited by Arizona or Arizona State and didn't hold any Pac-12 offers. His only four scholarship offers were Northwestern, Illinois, New Mexico State and Nevada.Β
Diving into the NCAA transfer portal to add players is a task Fisch alluded to when he first took the Arizona head coaching job. Last week, Fisch said UA has "10 or 11 scholarships still moving forward" and will make decisions in the transfer portal based on how many recruits the Wildcats ink between now and National Signing Day in February. As of now, UA has 16 players signed to its 2021 recruiting class.Β
"With those numbers, Iβll be able to see where our depth is and whatβs needed right now and then use the portal in a similar fashion as you would use free agency,β Fisch said.Β
While Arizona has holes everywhere on its roster, running back isn't necessarily a position of need for the Wildcats. Senior running back Gary Brightwell, who isn't expected to return, hasn't officially left the program and can play his final collegiate season in 2021. Arizona also has sophomore Michael Wiley, freshmen Frank Brown and Jalen John, redshirt junior Nathan Tilford and redshirt sophomore Bam Smith, who opted out of the 2020 season for COVID-19 concerns, are still on roster.Β
