UPDATE: 3:45 p.m. — Talked to quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo, who gives a quick breakdown of Tom Savage’s skills and relates that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano gave the Arizona coaching staff a thumbs up on the quarterback’s character.
UPDATE: 12:45 p.m. — Arizona has announced that Tom Savage has signed a financial aid agreement with the university. As mentioned below, he will enroll in the summer. Said coach Mike Stoops in a press release: “Tom’s a great addition to our recruiting class. It gives us a game-experienced quarterback to compete in the near future. Getting him is similar to us getting Nick (Foles) as a transfer a few years back.”
Tom Savage was a starter at Rutgers for most of his freshman season.
Photo by Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE
Former Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage has committed to the play football for the Arizona Wildcats, he wrote in a text message to TucsonCitizen.com on Thursday morning as he was leaving Tucson.
Wrote Savage: “Coaches were awesome, campus is great and I bonded with the players a lot.”
Savage spent Tuesday and Wednesday on a recruiting trip to the University of Arizona. He left Thursday morning to return to his home in Springfield, Pa., outside of Philadelphia,
“I have always wanted to go out there and take a look,” Savage told TucsonCitizen.com on Monday. “I really want to find a home and I’m just looking forward to getting out of this cold.”
This was the only recruiting trip Savage took after leaving Rutgers following last season. In an earlier interview, he said he was hoping to enroll at his new destination as early as possible in the summer. He is not taking classes at Rutgers this spring.
Savage will have to sit out the 2011 season as a transfer. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, beginning with 2012.
His commitment gives the Wildcats much more continuity at the quarterback position, filling what quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo described last week as a “hole” in Arizona’s recruiting.
In a perfect world, senior Nick Foles stays healthy for 2011 and senior Matt Scott redshirts, as is his preference. Arizona would have Scott and Savage to compete in 2012 … and, after that, Arizona has another year of Savage with plenty of time to develop and add other quarterbacks.
And if Scott can’t redshirt, Arizona now has a quarterback with experience in 2012 to go along with young guys Cam Allerheiligen and Daxx Garman.
Savage (6-5, 226) was a Freshman All-American in 2009, becoming a starter in the second game and being voted the team’s Offensive MVP for the season. He completed 149 of 289 passes for 2,211 yards, with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He was ineffective early in the 2010 season, suffered a hand injury and then didn’t play much the rest of the way. As a sophomore, he was 43 of 83 for 521 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Check back for more updates later … I will catch up with Savage after he returns home.
More Arizona quarterback stories from the past week:
Arizona has a good history with quarterback transfers
Evaluating Arizona’s young quarterback prospects
Ex-Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage makes Arizona his first recruiting stop
Scelfo sets out spring strategy for Nick Foles
Even with redshirt plan, Matt Scott needs to prepare to play