'Filled a lot of needs': In-state prospects highlight Arizona football 2024 recruiting class

No surprises. No flips. No dramatic last-second add-ons.

It was a relatively quiet Early Signing Day for the Arizona Wildcats football program on Wednesday.

The UA inked 20 prospects for its 2024 recruiting class: 16 high school players, junior-college defensive lineman Bryce Butler and three through the transfer portal in Tennessee safety Jack Luttrell, Indiana cornerback Jordan Shaw and UC Davis defensive tackle Chubba Maae.

The only two commits who didn’t sign on Wednesday were Bay Area defensive end Sefo Akuila and Mater Dei High School star defensive tackle Kaho Tuihalamaka.

“Will probably have the opportunity to sign a couple more guys from the high school ranks over the course of this week or the February signing day,” Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch said Wednesday. “Then the rest of it maybe a couple of transfers. But based on our numbers, based on the amount of players returning, the numbers are a little bit lower this year due to the amount of players returning from the ‘22 class and ‘23 class and lack of players that went into the portal, which is a good thing. Really excited about our group.”

Fisch said the Wildcats “really filled a lot of needs for us in terms of depth and building the program the way we really wanted to” with the ‘24 class, which ranks 11th out of 16 in the Big 12, according to 247Sports.com.

“I think we have a chance to have a fantastic team in the years to come with this group,” Fisch said. “Certainly we’re able to fill our needs, fill our wants ... and take care of the needs we have defensively, offensively and at this point we’re going to build on the last two years of recruiting.”

Added Fisch: “The theme is continue to get better and continue to build depth. Soon this group will be ready to take over and become stars of the team.”

There’s another theme: the flock of in-state talent coming down to Tucson.

In the summer, Arizona bucked the trend of whiffing on players at Salpointe Catholic, a prominent football school located less than three miles from Arizona Stadium. But then the Wildcats lost commitments from Salpointe Catholic star defensive ends Elijah Rushing (Oregon), who is rated as the top edge rusher in the nation, and fellow Lancer Keona Wilhite (Washington) in the fall.

However, among the 16 players signed on Wednesday, six of them are high-level in-state products, including four-star Chandler Basha quarterback and All-American Demond Williams Jr., Scottsdale Desert Mountain receiver Dylan Tapley (who will be a tight end at Arizona), Gilbert American Leadership Academy wide receiver Brandon Phelps and Glendale Apollo trio in running back Adam Mohammed, interior offensive lineman Michael Watkins and offensive tackle Matthew Lado.

“We were able to get three players from the same high school in Arizona — and a high school that hasn’t traditionally put out player after player in Division I programs,” Fisch said. “It’s a unique group this year.”

The recruitment of Arizona’s Apollo 3 snowballed after initially recruiting Watkins and Lado. Then Mohammed’s resume was too enticing to eschew. Mohammed finished his high school career as the Class 5A record-holder for career rushing touchdowns (94).

In four seasons at Apollo, Mohammed rushed for 5,180 yards on 614 carries. He was one of three future Wildcats to be named a finalist for the Ed Doherty Award given to the top high school football player in Arizona, along with Basha’s Williams and ALA’s Phelps, who owns state records in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

“Then what happened was (UA running backs coach Scottie Graham) and (offensive coordinator) Brennan Carroll got together and said, ‘We should take all of these (Apollo) players,’” Fisch said.

The final addition of the bunch that signed with Arizona on Wednesday — or the cherry on top for the Wildcats — was Williams, who signed minutes before Fisch held a news conference on Wednesday.

Fisch called Williams, who was originally an Ole Miss commit, an “elite freshman coming in” and the “best player in the state of Arizona.” At Chandler Basha, Williams passed for 10,035 yards and 93 touchdowns on a 71.4% completion rate over four years. He also rushed for 2,723 yards and 42 touchdowns.

“He doesn’t throw a lot of incompletions, which is an incredible sign of someone who knows how to play the game of football,” Fisch said. “He has elite athleticism in terms of speed. He’s flat-out fast for a quarterback. He does a great job of taking over a game at any given moment. You can really put the ball in his hands and he can really win you the game.

“He loves the game of football and fits in with what we do.”

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Williams’ mother, Clarissa Williams, is a Tucson native and his father, Demond Williams Sr., was a two-year starter at defensive back at Pima Community College under renowned Southern Arizona coach Jeff Scurran.

“It was a huge deal for us to get him to want to join our program,” Fisch said. “This is who should come to Arizona.

“This is who should be here.”

Fisch said he sent film of the younger Williams to longtime NFL coaches Sean McVay and Josh McDaniels and former executive Michael Lombardi, and “all of these guys are singing this kid’s praises.”

“They just know how elite of a player he’s going to be one day,” added Fisch.

Recruiting in-state players was a plan Fisch vowed to pursue ever since he was first introduced as Arizona’s head coach. For 2024, the Wildcats matched their in-state high school signees from the previous two recruiting classes combined.

“It was obviously talked about at the outset of Coach Fisch being hired, but then put into practice,” said Matt Doherty, Arizona’s director of player personnel. “It’s the consistency and then the volume in terms of the people involved, starting with the head football coach. I think all six of these guys who signed today (Fisch) was at the forefront of their recruitments, he was at the forefront of building those relationships.

“He used every opportunity he could to visit them in person, spend time with them when they were here regardless of context. Not just official visits, but any time they stepped foot here. ... We don’t skimp, we don’t cut corners just because they’re in-state.

“We don’t take it for granted and assume that just because we reside in a certain area code, they’ll maybe sacrifice some things to play here. They get the full breadth of our efforts and obviously it’s very special for their ability to represent the state.”

Extra points

Fisch said on Wednesday that Arizona is still looking to add pass-rushers, wide receivers or “guys who score touchdowns,” and linebackers. Said Fisch: “Those right now are the three spots at the highest of the list. You can never go wrong getting big people in your building, whether that’s offensive line or defensive line. Usually we don’t turn down big.”

Arizona senior defensive tackle Bill Norton will return to the Wildcats for the 2024 season. The 6-6, 325-pound Norton, a former Georgia transfer, recorded 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups as the starting nose tackle. Said Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen: “He better come back. He doesn’t have a choice.”

With starting left tackle Jordan Morgan opting out of the Valero Alamo Bowl, Fisch said the Wildcats are rotating redshirt sophomore Joseph Borjon, freshman right guard Raymond Pulido and sophomore right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea. The aforementioned players will start in the Alamo Bowl, but positions are to be announced.

Senior defensive back and linebacker Martell Irby (injury) will play in the Alamo Bowl, according to Fisch. Nansen said Justin Flowe has been receiving most of the first-team reps at “Mike” linebacker leading up to the bowl game.