The Arizona Wildcat football coaches like to dip into the recruiting pools of Louisiana, grabbing cornerback Jonathan McKnight in 2010, defensive back Cortez Johnson in 2011 … and now Gerron Borne.

Borne, a senior defensive tackle from East St. John High in Reserve, La., committed to Arizona on Tuesday.

Borne, who is rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, said he had scholarship offers from Pittsburgh and Tennessee, among others. He was also considering Ole Miss, which had yet to offer but might have at a later time.

Regardless, he said the time was right to commit to Arizona for a variety of reasons.

He said he liked the academics, interested in civil or chemical engineering. “You have to go to the school that really fits you,” he said. “To me, the first thing is academics. Academics really come before football.”

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have NFL dreams. He said he was impressed that not only did Arizona send three defensive linemen into the NFL Draft this year, but that defensive line coach Joe Salave’a also played in the NFL.

“I got a real positive vibe from him, knowing that he went there (at Arizona) and then went to the NFL,” Borne said. “I already know he will have me prepared for when that time comes for the NFL.”

Running backs coach Garret Chachere, who is from New Orleans and recruits Louisiana for the Cats, was the primary recruiter for Borne. With Chachere and quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo, another with long times to the state, Arizona likely will stay active in recruiting Louisiana.

Borne (6-3, 280) is Arizona’s 12th known commitment, including defensive lineman Ben Dixon, who committed Monday.

Arizona Wildcats 2012 football recruiting class