Arizona's recruiting monsoon checks off several important boxes for Wildcats

Weather-wise, Tucson is amid monsoon at the moment. Ditto for the Arizona football program when it comes to landing recruits for 2025.

Arizona’s 2025 class picked up steam Sunday night and all day Monday, fresh off the program hosting a plethora of recruits on official visits. Between Sunday and Monday, Arizona added eight players to its ‘25 class — more than doubling it to 15 players who have now committed. Thirteen of Arizona’s 15 commits have committed in June. 

The Wildcats’ 2025 group, the first official recruiting class under first-year head coach Brent Brennan, currently ranks seventh in the Big 12 and 43rd nationally, according to 247Sports.com.

Arizona’s latest commits — really, the Wildcats’ entire class — check off several program-building boxes for Brennan and his staff beyond this year, which is the most highly anticipated UA football season in several years.

Between Sunday and Monday, the Wildcats added three offensive linemen, four defensive backs and a defensive lineman. The first player to start Arizona’s two-day recruiting swing was three-star Chandler cornerback Dajon Hinton, who was previously committed to in-state rival Arizona State.

Hinton’s father, David Hinton, played defensive back for the Wildcats from 2000-02 while current UA head coach Brent Brennan was a graduate assistant coach. Dajon’s older brother, D.J. Hinton, graduated from Tucson High and was a walk-on wide receiver for the UA.

The younger Hinton, a 5-10, 175-pound cornerback who recently transferred from Scottsdale Saguaro High School to Chandler Hamilton this offseason, is rated as a three-star prospect. He also holds offers from Kansas, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Iowa State and TCU. Hinton is rated by 247Sports.com as the sixth-best overall prospect in Arizona for the ‘25 cycle.

In 18 games over two seasons at Saguaro, Hinton logged 25 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception. As a kick returner and wide receiver for Saguaro, Hinton scored five touchdowns. Hinton joined Gilbert Higley quarterback Luke Haugo and Phoenix Mountain Pointe defensive tackle Kaleb Jones, who committed to the Wildcats on Monday, as in-state commits in Arizona’s 2025 recruiting class. Jones committed to Arizona over Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State after visiting the UA earlier this month.

The 6-1, 275-pound Jones is rated by 247Sports.com as the 169th-best defensive lineman nationally and the 22nd-best overall prospect from Arizona. In three seasons at Mountain Pointe, Jones has 54 tackles, 19.5 stops for loss and 7.5 sacks.

Arizona also added three Texas defensive backs in Lubbock, Texas safety Allen Gant, who committed to the UA over hometown Texas Tech, Austin-area cornerback Swayde Griffin and Dallas-area cornerback Gianni Edwards. The 6-1, 185-pound Griffin was previously committed to Texas Tech for two weeks before flipping to Arizona on Sunday.

Griffin is the son of former Texas defensive back Cedric Griffin, who played for Arizona defensive coordinator Duane Akina at Texas. Griffin was a part of the national championship team that dethroned back-to-back champion USC at the Rose Bowl in 2006. The younger Griffin is a 6-1, 185-pound standout at Lago Vista High School in Lago Vista, Texas, a suburb of Austin.

The 5-11, 175-pound Edwards committed to Arizona over SMU, Houston, Boise State, Colorado and Memphis. Edwards is rated by 247Sports.com as the No. 120-ranked cornerback nationally.

Edwards, a native of Forney, Texas, a neighboring town of Dallas, is entering his final season at North Forney High School. Edwards became the sixth prospect from Texas to join the UA class.

The three offensive linemen to join the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class were Los Angeles-area product Sione Tohi, San Francisco product Losipini Tupou and Hawaii native Javian Goo.

Tohi, a 6-3, 310-pound star at national powerhouse Mater Dei High School, is the latest player from Mater Dei to play for the Wildcats, joining defensive end Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and linebacker Leviticus Su’a; former defensive tackle Jacob Kongaika, who’s now at ASU, played at Mater Dei. Tohi selected Arizona over Alabama, LSU, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Tennessee, among others.

Tupou, a 6-2, 275-pound star at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, also garnered offers from Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, Arizona State and San Diego State. Tupou’s teammate, offensive lineman Peter Langi, is also being recruited by Arizona and is expected to commit to the Wildcats. Langi’s younger brother, 2026 offensive lineman Michael Langi, has also been offered by the Wildcats.

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Goo, a 6-4, 280-pound Kapolei, Hawaii, native, is Arizona’s first 2025 recruit from the Polynesian islands. He also garnered offers San Diego State, Oregon State, Army, Navy and San Jose State.

When Brennan spoke to the Star earlier this month, he said when Arizona recruits for future classes, “we always want to do a great job in the state of Arizona.”

“That always has to be No. 1. Our No. 1 focus is that,” he said. “Then we’re going to states where we have relationships and history, like the state of California. Or, a new footprint where some of our coaches have history, like the state of Texas, where there’s a high population and high number of Division I football players every year.

“We gotta go where the players are, right? And hopefully give those players a chance to come to you. We’re not going to recruit every state in the country, but being able to go to Dallas to work a camp, or Houston to work a camp, is great because a lot of those people don’t know me. They might know our assistant coaches, because they’ve been out working the entire month of May, so it gives them a chance to know me and go, ‘Oh, yeah, that guy is a good guy. I can see my guys playing for him.’”

UA currently has three players committed from Arizona, and two of them (Hinton and Haugo) are Top 10 in-state players, per 247Sports.com.

The Wildcats’ six commits from Texas are the most for the program since it signed six Lone Star players in 2021, the final recruiting class under former head coach Kevin Sumlin; safety Dalton Johnson is the only player remaining from that group.

Texas is a well-known breeding ground for football players, and the Wildcats are familiar with recruiting the state between the Dick Tomey and Mike Stoops eras. For 2025, the Wildcats have added players from major cities in Texas, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin — all cities with airports that have direct flights to Tucson, which makes it easier for players to return home or visiting families to trek to Tucson for a game.

Besides Texas, Arizona is also continuing the Polynesian pipeline, another recruiting staple for the program that started under Tomey, the winningest head coach in UA history. Tohi, Tupou and Goo, the three offensive line commits all hail from Polynesian backgrounds. Tohi and Tupoud are from California, while Goo is from Hawaii.

Plus, the Wildcats could potentially lose most of their starters from the 2024 season with several players either graduating or declaring for the NFL Draft. The transfer portal and developing returners will help patch up some potential holes next season, but Arizona could lose most of its starting defensive secondary, offensive line, and there’s no guarantee players like quarterback Noah Fifita, a potential All-Big 12 candidate, returns next season.

In Arizona’s 15-player class, the Wildcats have two quarterback commits between Haugo and Northern California product Robert McDaniel, who recently shined at Elite 11 quarterback academy, along with three offensive linemen, five defensive backs, a wide receiver, a running back, a defensive lineman, a tight end and a two-way, do-it-all player in San Antonio-area star Sean Robinson.

Landing in-state players? Check.

Positions of need? Check.

Recruiting regions that produce high-level talent? Check.

Maintaining a strong Polynesian presence? Check.

It’s not even July, and the Wildcats haven’t added a four-star prospect yet, but Arizona is checking off essential boxes on its still-growing 2025 recruiting class.