Some of the stuff RichRod has complained about this year makes plenty of sense to me- the erratic scheduling, the lack of an in-season bye- I get all that. I don't understand him bringing up elite recruits not paying Arizona an official visit. It seemed like a weird way to specifically call out this year's top 5.
Byron Murphy, Chase Lucas and N'Keal Harry all went to Tucson to check out the facilities- it may not have been an official, but they went.
Arizona was the second school in on Garrett Rand and Connor Murphy, but they never really showed an interest until Murphy took an unofficial two days ago.
They got a commitment from 3-star DL Justin Holt, whose dad played there. Holt has no other offers.
Other than that, Arizona hasn't offered anyone else in the state. Six total offers for 2016- after extending a total of 33 over the last two seasons to in-state kids (And landing quite a few of them). To be fair, and I've been saying this for over a year to anyone who will listen, the 2016 crop of kids in Arizona are not as sought after as previous years, and nowhere near as talented as next year's group. There are some late bloomers in this class who have power 5 talent, like Centennial OT Tanner Hawthorne and Gilbert OT Thayne Jackson, but none made the impression that was necessary as sophomores and juniors to get scouts' attention.
RichRod has also done a good job of scooping up the local kids who fall through the cracks and convincing them to walk on. Weston Barlow, Jarek Hilgers, Christian Boettcher, Zach Werlinger, Malcolm Holland, Rob Klefield, Brandon Leon, Christian Lopez, Patrick Stevens, Brandon Rutt and Bryant O'Georgia (who is a complete beast) all ultimately ended up at U of A, and give the Wildcats a strong local recruiting footprint.
On the whole, I've been impressed with what Arizona has done in-state since RichRod arrived. It's not his fault Taren Morrison couldn't pass classes, or that JR Hunt dropped out of high school, or that Keenan Walker got injured before he could join the team, or that Keelin Deboskie left.
He's struck gold with sorely under recruited WR Nate Phillips, and Layth Friekh/Nathan Eldridge will potentially be 3 year starters on the OL.
What his complaining tells me is that he might have one foot out the door. If he can't even get an official visit out of the best kids in the state, I don't think he thinks the state is worth his time. It's not going to get easier next year. Kayden Lyles and Ryan Kelley are already committed. ASU is doing a good job with Isaiah Pola-Mao, and landing Tyler Johnson is going to be borderline impossible.
I'm not sure he ends up at Virginia Tech, but I think wherever he goes, it'll be somewhere with a long recruiting legacy and close proximity to an airport,
Byron Murphy, Chase Lucas and N'Keal Harry all went to Tucson to check out the facilities- it may not have been an official, but they went.
Arizona was the second school in on Garrett Rand and Connor Murphy, but they never really showed an interest until Murphy took an unofficial two days ago.
They got a commitment from 3-star DL Justin Holt, whose dad played there. Holt has no other offers.
Other than that, Arizona hasn't offered anyone else in the state. Six total offers for 2016- after extending a total of 33 over the last two seasons to in-state kids (And landing quite a few of them). To be fair, and I've been saying this for over a year to anyone who will listen, the 2016 crop of kids in Arizona are not as sought after as previous years, and nowhere near as talented as next year's group. There are some late bloomers in this class who have power 5 talent, like Centennial OT Tanner Hawthorne and Gilbert OT Thayne Jackson, but none made the impression that was necessary as sophomores and juniors to get scouts' attention.
RichRod has also done a good job of scooping up the local kids who fall through the cracks and convincing them to walk on. Weston Barlow, Jarek Hilgers, Christian Boettcher, Zach Werlinger, Malcolm Holland, Rob Klefield, Brandon Leon, Christian Lopez, Patrick Stevens, Brandon Rutt and Bryant O'Georgia (who is a complete beast) all ultimately ended up at U of A, and give the Wildcats a strong local recruiting footprint.
On the whole, I've been impressed with what Arizona has done in-state since RichRod arrived. It's not his fault Taren Morrison couldn't pass classes, or that JR Hunt dropped out of high school, or that Keenan Walker got injured before he could join the team, or that Keelin Deboskie left.
He's struck gold with sorely under recruited WR Nate Phillips, and Layth Friekh/Nathan Eldridge will potentially be 3 year starters on the OL.
What his complaining tells me is that he might have one foot out the door. If he can't even get an official visit out of the best kids in the state, I don't think he thinks the state is worth his time. It's not going to get easier next year. Kayden Lyles and Ryan Kelley are already committed. ASU is doing a good job with Isaiah Pola-Mao, and landing Tyler Johnson is going to be borderline impossible.
I'm not sure he ends up at Virginia Tech, but I think wherever he goes, it'll be somewhere with a long recruiting legacy and close proximity to an airport,
