Then there were seven.
Days, that is. Days until National Signing Day. This will, for all intents and purposes, be the first real recruiting class Arizona has pulled in since UA coach Rich Rodriguez revamped his defensive coaching staff with an eye toward recruiting. One of those hires — Donte Williams — has already departed.
Right now, Arizona currently has 25 players committed in the 2017 class, though technically only 20 of them will count toward the maximum 25 scholarships each school is granted per season. Why is that? Well, the five players who enrolled early — Nathan Tilford, Tony Fields, Jose Ramirez, Sione Taufahema and Bryce Gilbert all count toward the 2016 class, leaving the Wildcats with five scholarship slots to fill.
Who might they fill them with? Here's a look at who are some of the top targets on Arizona's recruiting board. Even with just seven days to go, this is all subject to change, even significant change. Recruiting is crazy. Last year, receiver Shawn Poindexter wasn't even on the radar until he was offered — and promptly committed — to Arizona just a day or two before Signing Day.
I'll update this as it gets closer to Feb. 1 and will have a post this week about Arizona commits to keep an eye on. Keep in mind: Arizona also doesn't need to fill all those five remaining slots.
(Note: Two-star quarterback Nick Tronti was originally part of this list, but he committed to Indiana on Tuesday night despite having an Arizona offer.)
- OL Austin Jackson (Phoenix/North Canyon): Arizona is a longshot for the five-star offensive lineman, but special teams coach Charlie Ragle is still pushing and Jackson has mentioned the Wildcats in recent interviews. He's also considering USC, Arizona State, Washington and Michigan.
- RB O'Maury Samuels (Los Lunas, New Mexico/Los Lunas): Even though the four-star running back has been committed to Michigan since April, Arizona has been undeterred in pushing for a flip from Samuels. He took an official to Arizona during the season, and Arizona coaches took an in-home visit with him recently. It's highly unlikely Samuels flips to Arizona, but it won't be for a lack of trying.
- WR Travell Harris (Tampa Bay, Florida/Jesuit) The speedy two-star receiver was offered shortly after Darrian McNeal flipped to Oregon in December. Harris' recruitment has picked up since then, and Arizona's stiffest competition seems to be coming from Washington State, Toledo, South Florida and Florida Atlantic, where Lane Kiffin is now the coach. Harris has taken official visits to Arizona and Washington State. With the late Tuesday night decommitment of Warren Jackson, Harris becomes a bigger priority.
- DL Chris Green (Los Angeles/Los Angeles Senior): The three-star defensive lineman felt like an Arizona lock when he received an offer last month, but that's cooled slightly, as the Wildcats are battling Nevada for his commitment after the Wolf Pack hired Green's high school coach to its staff.
- RB Gary Brightwell (Middletown, Delaware/St. George's Technical): This is a random one, but Brightwell took an official visit to Arizona this past weekend. The two-star is a Temple commit and UA has yet to offer him, though that could be coming.
- P Ryan Stonehouse (Santa Ana, California/Mater Dei): The three-star is considered the top-rated punter in the 2017 class and recently received an Arizona offer. The Wildcats are clearly trying to improve on special teams, as they've added a kicker in this recruiting cycle as well. Stonehouse has offers from Colorado State, Cornell, Utah State, UTSA and Toledo.
- OL Chris Martinez (Turlock, California/Pitman): The three-star guard has been committed to Nevada since June. Haven't heard much about his recruitment, but if the Wildcats lose Cody Shear to Oregon, UA might push harder for a Martinez flip.
- WR Jalen Brown (Oregon): Brown recently announced an intent to transfer from Oregon, and the Phoenix native will likely consider both Arizona and Arizona State. As a graduate transfer, Brown will be eligible to play right away.
- QB Marvin Washington (Orlando, Florida/Dr. Phillips): The two-star quarterback just decommitted from Central Florida and told the Orlando Sentinel that Arizona's coaches contacted him on Tuesday. There's no scholarship offer yet, but watch out for that in the next couple of days. Washington is also talking to Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern, South Florida, Connecticut and Coastal Carolina.
- OL Isiah Moore (Mesa CC): The four-star offensive lineman is committed to Boise State and he visited Arizona in December, but also added a UCLA offer. Seems unlikely that he's bound for Arizona.
- OL Jonathan Nathaniel (Chandler/Basha): He seems to be favoring Washington State and I'm not sure if Arizona has been pushing hard for him...but again, if Arizona loses Shear, I could see a late push for someone like Nathaniel.
- DE Jabreel Stephens (Seffner, Florida/Armwood): It's unclear if Arizona is pursuing Stephens, a 3-star, but he decommitted from Louisville this week and the Wildcats pursued him early on in the process.
Other names to keep an eye on: OL Desmond Bland (Arizona Western), OL Nick Ford (San Pedro, California/San Pedro Senior), DT Malik Young (Eastern Arizona), QB Kaymen Cureton (Los Angeles/Leuzinger), QB Matt McDonald (Mission Viejo, California/Mission Viejo)
