The month of December in college football has evolved into something Tucsonans know well:
A monsoon.
Between the transfer portal, the early signing period and the coaching carousel, December has become a non-stop torrent of transactions and change.
To help bring it all into focus ahead of Wednesday — the first day of the three-day early signing period, when the majority of teams’ 2023 classes will be filled — we talked to three recruiting analysts about the work Jedd Fisch and his staff have done on behalf of the Arizona Wildcats.
The experts are Blair Angulo, who covers the West region for 247Sports.com; Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.com who’s based on the West Coast; and Adam Gorney, the national recruiting director for Rivals.com who also operates from California.
The analysts discussed Arizona’s class overall and some of its most notable members — including one prominent transfer. Their comments have been lightly edited.
The class overall
As of Tuesday afternoon, Arizona’s recruiting class consisted of 22 verbal commitments. It was ranked 39th nationally by 247Sports and 41st by Rivals. The UA finished 25th and 21st, respectively, for the class of 2022.
Angulo: “He (Fisch) has been really efficient. Something that really struck me is how strategic they’ve been about their prospects. He hasn’t outshot his targets. He’s been really methodical. They are recruiting to their strengths as a team. When you first take over a job, you’re trying to fill out what your roster looks like. You’re star-chasing. They’ve been better at addressing needs and finding a player that fills that need.”
Gorney: “It’s going to be hard to beat 2022 because they got T-Mac (receiver Tetairoa McMillan). But he (Fisch) didn’t rest on his laurels and just relax on that class. ... They’re not sitting back and thinking players would come to them. ‘We need to build upon this class. This isn’t the end-all, be-all.’ And December was huge for them, what they’ve done the last week. (Arizona has received commitments from five players since Friday.) That’s a busy month, a productive month, and I think it’s going to pay off for them.”
Biggins (in an interview with ESPN Tucson): “It’s still a top-40 overall class, which is really good. I wouldn’t even look at it where it ranks. Are you meeting your needs? It’s all about needs and balance. ... You look at Arizona, they got the quarterback (Brayden Dorman), got a couple of really good offensive linemen, D-linemen, the secondary, the receiver group. You want to fill in everywhere you can. There are difference-makers in this class as well. There are guys in the class that I think have Sunday potential.”
The late flip
Arizona was able to land a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Raymond Pulido on Sunday night. Pulido had been committed to Alabama, which has the No. 1 overall class for 2023. The Wildcats pulled off a similar late flip last year for McMillan.
Angulo: “It signifies how aggressive they are and how persistent they are as a staff. You have to credit the program for maintaining that relationship throughout the recruitment. Arizona continued to attack, and they were right there. ... It looks like Pulido was squeezed out of the ‘Bama class, but it’s still an impressive win for Arizona to be the team that’s there to scoop him up.”
Gorney: “Taking Alabama’s scraps is still pretty good business, having an awareness and understanding that someone like that could get pushed out (and) not giving up. Recruiting really starts when a kid commits somewhere. That school has to keep going after him. Everyone else has to do the same.”
The quarterback
Dorman is Arizona’s highest-ranked recruit. He was just named the top high school player in the state of Colorado.
Angulo: “He’s got a lot of arm talent, that’s for sure. He has a really projectable frame (listed at 6-4.5, 206 by 247Sports.com). He’ll need to add some weight. All the tools are there to be the type of quarterback that eventually pushes for all-conference honors. Has tremendous touch on the deep ball. Anticipates well. At times takes risks that he shouldn’t, but you can understand him trying to make a play. In two to three years’ time, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he develops into an upper-tier quarterback in the Pac-12.”
The sleeper
In separate interviews, Angulo and Gorney named Chandler Hamilton safety Genesis Smith as a potential steal for the Wildcats. Smith is rated as a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals.
Angulo: “He’s a fantastic safety prospect. That’s one of those positions that has become forgotten. Everyone wants a shutdown corner, but that rover safety that can play center field and shut down the back half has not been as easy to find in modern-day recruiting. He has all those tools to be really special. He easily could have gotten more national offers had he been proactive in going out to camps and chasing offers. But he never really did. He was a bit of a late bloomer. He’s a player who keeps getting better every time we see him. I would not be surprised if he turns out to be the jewel of this class.”
Gorney: “An Arizona guy could be the secret in this class — Genesis Smith. Every time we’ve seen him, three times or so at events, he’s been very impressive. He’s a really talented kid they’ll be able to mold. He reminds me of Taylor Rapp (former Washington safety who’s now with the L.A. Rams).
The transfer
It’s unclear whether transfers will be announced as part of the signing class Wednesday. Regardless, Arizona has received a commitment from former Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe, who was a top-10 national prospect in the class of 2020. Two of our panelists gave their recollections of Flowe as a high school player in Upland, California, as well as his prospects for turning around a college career that has been derailed by injuries.
Angulo: “He was good enough that he became a household name in Southern California. People that don’t even follow recruiting or high school football would ask me who he was. He was one of the loudest tacklers I can ever remember, a terrific defender. He loved to make contact with the ball-carrier.
“The talent is in that bottle still. It’s Arizona’s job to unleash him. I don’t think we’ve ever questioned his ability. It’s more about keeping him on the field. That defensive staff is going to have to protect him a little bit from himself. It’s well-documented how hard of a worker he is, how much he grinds, how much he’s in the weight room. He’s a player who needs to limit his reps in the offseason to maximize his output.”
Biggins: “When a player comes out of the portal, he’s not always the same recruit as he was coming out of high school. Justin was probably one of the best linebackers to come out of California in the last decade. He was big, fast, strong, tough. He was maniacal. He was mean. He played angry. You will find people who probably say he’s the hardest-hitting linebacker to ever come out of California.
“But he got hurt quite a bit at Oregon. He never really showed or flashed the promise that we saw in him.
“For him to be successful at U of A, obviously, No. 1, stay healthy. And No. 2, he’s gonna have to almost slow down. At linebacker, you’ve gotta process what’s going on. You can’t just fly up the field and hit the first guy you see. In high school, he could just run through guys.
“He’s got a huge upside. Hopefully he fulfills it. And if he does, everyone’s gonna be really excited about it.”
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