Arizona football has 'stock-up' players committed in the 2024 recruiting class

There is no bye week when you’re a college football coach because a week without a game is just a window to hit the recruiting trail.

Arizona’s move to the Big 12 next year has slightly adjusted the Wildcats’ recruiting areas, albeit Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California — and Arizona — will remain the UA’s hotspots for talent.

“We’ve gotta enter into Big 12 country, so we’ll have some guys entering Big 12 country,” said Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch.

Arizona’s 22-player recruiting class in 2024 currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech, UCF, TCU and Cincinnati, according to 247Sports.com.

Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, joined “Spears and Ali” on ESPN Tucson this week to talk about the Wildcats’ recruiting class. Plus, a bonus look at five Arizona commits shining this season.

What’s your evaluation of Arizona’s most recent commit Quimari Shemwell, a three-star cornerback at Long Beach Poly High School in California?

A: “He’s a stock-up guy for sure. I like him a lot. ... A lot to like. Like I said, stock-up guy, who the more you watch him, the more I like him. I know that he’s a guy who they prioritized and they were the first offer for him — the first Power 5 offer I should say.”

Earlier this month, Arizona flipped Rancho Cucamonga High School (California) teammates in defensive back Rahim Wright and linebacker Stacy Bey from San Diego State; what do they bring to UA’s defense?

“Both of these guys are kind of similar to Shemwell: they’re both stock-up guys for sure, too. Rahim Wright is another guy with a track background and is one of the state’s top long-jumpers. ... A guy who can play corner, nickel or safety. They brought him in to be the guy they can move around. For me, I think he’s a pretty exceptional athlete. I love the way he plays. He’s tough, he’s physical.

“Stacy Bey is a really good two-way guy. He could’ve easily been recruited at the Power 5 level as a running back. Some schools in the Pac-12 liked him as a running back. As a linebacker, you don’t want to use the word ’tweener, because people have a negative connotation when they hear that, but is he an inside guy? Outside guy? What he is, is a football player. He’s a tough, hard-nosed, physical kid that has a nice little edge in his game. I think he can be an inside guy, but he’s athletic and you can put him out there to cover running backs, tight ends. He’s just one of those guys who does everything well, high-motored kid. I thought they were both steals for San Diego State and Arizona was able to flip both.”

What was your perspective of five-star defensive end and Tucson native Elijah Rushing decomitting from the UA?

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A: “I’ll be honest: I have not talked to Elijah or his family. I know that’s a hot-button issue with people saying different things. Maybe one camp is saying he wanted to go somewhere where he can get developed better. I don’t know if it was an NIL issue or if it was better relationships with other staffs. I don’t want to speculate, but I will say he’s one heck of a player. ... At the time of his commitment, it seemed like he was still open to looking and talking to other programs and whatnot, so I don’t think anyone was super-shocked when he opened things up.

“I think if you turn back time, maybe the family would want to handle things differently from a PR standpoint, right? That is your hometown school and you want to make sure you never burn bridges, but I’ll never knock a kid for his decision that he felt was best for him. Right now that could be the Oregon Ducks, so we’ll see in the next couple months.”

Fisch said Arizona will recruit more out of ‘Big 12 country,’ so do you expect the Wildcats to start signing more prospects from the Houston and Dallas areas in 2025 and beyond?

A: “100%. It felt like both Arizona schools historically were always able to get a couple guys out of Texas. Even when Coach (Kevin) Sumlin came over, he had those Texas guys, so there was already some groundwork there to be honest. So you gotta expect when you go into a new league — (Texas) is such a huge state. Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, those are the three superpowers in that area and they can’t get everybody. With Arizona, what we found is that they’re really good at evaluating. I was looking at their 2022 recruiting class just yesterday, there’s like 17 or 18 guys from that class that are already making plays and being impact guys. It’s unbelievable. So I think you go into a state like Texas, where there’s ridiculous amounts of talent, and they can’t all go to the big three. I think it’s going to open a lot of doors. ... I look for their recruitment to pick up. I don’t see why there’s any reason why they can’t have a Top 3 or Top 4 program in terms of recruiting in the Big 12 moving forward.”

Five to watch in Arizona’s ’24 class:

Demond Williams, QB, Chandler (Basha): Williams has thrown for 1,838 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions with a 76% completion rate this season. The four-star commit has 8,623 yards, 79 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over his career.

Jordan Washington, RB, Long Beach, California (Jordan): Arizona’s top-rated commit has 605 rushing yards and 527 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns.

Brandon Phelps, WR, Gilbert (American Leadership Academy Gilbert North): The 6-3, 190-pound receiver owns state records for most career receiving yards (4,163), most career touchdowns (55) and the most career receptions (244).

Adam Mohammed, RB, Glendale (Apollo): Mohammed is averaging 11.7 yards per carry and 167 rushing yards per game.

Michael Salgado-Medina, K, Mission Viejo, California (Mission Viejo): Salgado-Medina is only 6 for 11 on field goals but nailed a 51-yarder earlier in the season and is 28 for 29 on PATs. He also has 33 touchbacks in 39 kickoffs.