Arizona's two running backs in its 2025 high school recruiting class hail from the biggest markets in Texas.
The Wildcats received a verbal commitment from three-star Dallas-area running back Cornelius Warren III, who selected the Wildcats over Purdue and Memphis. Arizona signed Houston-area running back Wesley Yarbrough in December.
Warren, who also plays slot receiver, just finished his senior season at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he rushed for 3,341 yards and 48 touchdowns in three seasons. Warren also had 37 receptions for 580 yards and four touchdowns.
Warren led North Crowley to an undefeated season (16-0) and a Class 6A state championship, a 50-21 win over Austin Westlake at AT&T Stadium. Warren had 23 carries for 217 yards and a touchdown in the state championship.
Cornelius Warren III is one of many new running backs for the Arizona Wildcats in 2025.
The 5-9, 165-pound Warren signed with UNLV in December and held offers from Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, Utah, Oregon State and Marshall, where Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege coached before joining Brent Brennan's staff. Warren was released from his national letter of intent after UNLV head coach Barry Odom left for the same role at Purdue.
After losing four running backs from the 2024 season, Arizona has six scholarship running backs for '25: Kedrick Reescano, Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi, Utah transfer Mike Mitchell, Portland State transfer Quincy Craig, Yarbrough and Warren. The Wildcats also have walk-on fullback and Tucson native Kayden Luke.
After transferring from Ole Miss last year, Reescano had 78 carries for 359 yards and a touchdown as a backup to Quali Conley.
In two seasons at Texas State, Mahdi had 406 rush attempts for 2,322 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had 31 kick returns for 760 yards and a touchdown. The 5-9, 180-pound Mahdi led FBS in all-purpose yards (2,169) in 2023 and was a two-time All-Sun Belt First-Team member in the last two seasons.
As a redshirt freshman last season, the 6-foot, 216-pound Mitchell for had 47 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown for Utah.
In 21 games over three years at Portland State, Craig tallied 1,233 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while hauling in 55 catches for 530 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Yarbrough had 458 rushes for 2,767 yards and 32 touchdowns in three seasons at Crosby High School.
The running backs Arizona signed are "a group of guys that love football," said Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter in a video on the UA football social media accounts.
"All four of those guys are winners," Carter said of Mahdi, Mitchell, Craig and Warren. "They have a winning background, a tremendous amount of production at every level, whether it's high school or the (college) level. ... To be able to add them, with the addition of Wesley Yarbrough who we signed in the first signing period, I'm really excited. Then you bring a guy like Kedrick Reescano that's already in the room, we should be real good next year."
Following Warren's commitment, the Wildcats have 52 scholarship newcomers for 2025. Excluding players from the transfer portal, Arizona has nine players from Texas in its 2025 recruiting class, the most Texans in a UA recruiting class since 2005.
National Signing Day is on Wednesday.
