The start of Arizona’s 2020 football season is a little over two weeks away. The early signing period for the class of ’21 is a little less than two months away.
Such is the strangeness of this year. It has contorted everything and compacted the calendar. If the Pac-12 season proceeds as planned, the Wildcats and their brethren will be prepping for their seventh and final games (Dec. 18-19) while also closing on early signees (Dec. 16).
When asked to describe this recruiting cycle — which also has been devoid of official on-campus visits and off-campus scouting excursions since the pandemic struck in March — UA assistant coach Theron Aych used the only applicable word:
“Unique.”
As the cycle approaches the home stretch, the question is how all of this will impact the final product. At one point, recruiting experts predicted an unprecedented number of decommitments. After all, each side has significantly less information about the other.
But it doesn’t seem to be trending that way. 247Sports.com tracks decommitments across the sport. As of Thursday, it listed 198. The 2020 cycle, at its conclusion, had 635.
“That’s the question of the year,” said Aych, who coaches Arizona’s tight ends and inside receivers. “The advantage is, nobody can visit campus. The disadvantage is, nobody can visit campus.
“But I do notice, other than maybe possibly some school up north, that most guys are sticking with their commitments. Now again, we all know, we’re talking 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids. It’s recruiting. There’s no perfect science.”
Aych’s reference to “some school up north” was a not-so-subtle jab at Arizona State. Four Sun Devils recruits have decommitted in the past week, including three on Tuesday. SunDevilSource.com reported that “ASU coaches initiated the separation with all three players.”
ASU currently has 17 verbal commitments for 2021, and 247Sports ranks the Sun Devils’ class 29th in the nation. Despite not being able to see players in person, Arizona’s recruiting has been robust. The Wildcats have 24 commits and come in at No. 49 in 247Sports’ rankings. They have had only one decommitment so far.
Aych believes the extended recruiting “dead period” – which prohibits in-person visits and has forced all business to be conducted via Zoom and FaceTime – has been beneficial in a sense.
“As a recruiter, as a coach, I think it really helps you learn to focus in on just truly developing a relationship,” Aych said. “There are some times, I gotta admit, we’re boom, boom, boom, trying to see so many kids in so many days at so many schools. I could be in Kansas in the morning and be in New Orleans at night and anywhere in between.
“Now I have a lot more time to really settle in and focus on those kids and develop those relationships, find out what that kid and that family is really looking for. And I think that’s really probably the biggest thing I learned this recruiting season – to just really almost slow down and catch a deep breath.”
Which isn’t to say Aych and his colleagues haven’t been busy. All 24 current commits have come on board since May 5. The Wildcats announced only 13 signees last December before adding six players in February.
Four members of the ’21 class are from New Orleans. Aych hails from Zachary, Louisiana, which is just north of Baton Rouge.
“I recruit Houston and East Texas,” Aych said. “But you can continue to go right down I-10 and still find guys that are hungry, that are looking for an opportunity.”
Wolma’s wishes
This season represents the last chance for tight end Bryce Wolma to re-emerge as a pass-catching threat. Or perhaps not.
Wolma is a fourth-year senior. This would have been his final season under normal circumstances. But the NCAA is giving every athlete a free year of eligibility because of COVID-19, and unless something changes, Wolma is planning to come back in 2021.
“I want to maximize my time in college football,” Wolma said. “I’m not ready to hang up the cleats yet, that’s for sure. So as of right now, I have no plans of leaving or not playing next year.”
While acknowledging that the decision “depends on the person,” Wolma said the “majority” of his classmates feel the same way. It remains to be seen how the roster will shake out in 2021 with scholarship limits likely being lifted and the NCAA expected to approve a free transfer rule.
As for Wolma’s role this year, he remains hopeful that he’ll be more than a sixth blocker. Wolma reported an uptick in tight end usage during practice, and he was heartened to hear the words of quarterback Grant Gunnell, who said Wednesday: “The tight end’s always open to me.”
Wolma had only five receptions last season, none coming from Gunnell, who shared time with Khalil Tate. That matched Wolma’s total from the previous year. He had 28 catches as a freshman.
“I tell him all the time … ‘Check it down, 3- or 4-yard flat route, I’m always open,’” Wolma said. “We joke about it, but in reality it is (true) – in this offense, in this scheme, the tight end is open a lot.”
Wolma will be sharing time at the position with junior-college transfer Stacey Marshall, who, like Wolma, can line up in-line or split outside.
Extra points
- Add receiver Dyelan Miller to the list of freshmen who are making positive impressions in fall camp. “I think Dyelan, on offense, has really stood out,” Wolma said. “For a kid that’s coming in, you’re (faced) with a whole new offense, a whole new playbook. He’s been taking reps with the rest of us. He’s been thrown in with the ones and twos. He’s been making big plays, scoring touchdowns. The more he gets comfortable with the offense, the more of an impact he’s going to have.”
- Junior safety Christian Young said he has been paired most frequently with Rhedi Short, a sought-after three-star recruit from the class of 2017 who has yet to appear in a game for Arizona. Short has taken advantage of having a clean slate with a new defensive staff. “You get to start over, basically,” Young said. “It’s a great opportunity for a lot of guys to prove themselves this fall camp and this season.”
- After practicing in pads Tuesday and Wednesday, the UA planned a lighter workout for Thursday.
