Taking a look at Arizona football’s 2013 recruiting class

Basha’s Nate Phillips, seen here clapping after a first down against Chandler last season, has a three-star rating from 247Sports. Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Wildcats football recruiting class is up to 22, which, as of Thursday afternoon, was tied for the second-most in the country.

The number has been rapidly changing in the past several weeks.

Commitments are rolling in faster than even coach Rich Rodriguez had expected. Remember, back during spring practice he said he figured the Cats might have “half a dozen” committed players by the end of summer.

Arizona figures to be able to sign a full allotment of 25 players in its 2013 class. Rodriguez signed 23 players in his first class in February, so he will be able to add two players at the end of the fall semester that count backward toward the 2012 limit.

Even with that, assuming all the committed players stay committed, Arizona has room for five more scholarship players in this class. A junior college linebacker to bolster a thin, young unit would seem to be a priority — perhaps Myke Tavarres of the College of the Siskiyous in California. He lists Arizona as a slight leader over Arkansas, Rutgers, Purdue and Washington.

Of course, it would not be unusual if a few of the players currently listed with Arizona decided to sign elsewhere. Even as the coaching staff babysits the committed players through the next several months, it can focus on a handful of high-value targets who have yet to decide on a college.

Arizona was very active in June, receiving 15 commitments during the month and adding another on July 1.

The latest flurry, which came last weekend, included cornerback Derek Babiash, who is considered Arizona’s top-rated recruit by 247Sports and Scout.com, which rates him as a four-star recruit. Babiash, from Poway (Calif.) High School, had other offers from Arizona State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, UCLA and Boise State, among others. He briefly committed to Washington in the spring.

Of the 22 committed players, 11 have ratings of at least three stars (out of five) from each of the three major scouting networks.

Babiash is the only one with a four-star rating from Scout.com. Rivals.com rates quarterback Anu Solomon and offensive guard Logan Stott (who actually committed to the former coaching staff and hasn’t wavered) as four-star prospects.

The ratings will change before Signing Day on Feb. 6, as the recruiting networks evaluate more of the summer camp circuit and the 2012 high school season. Several of UA’s recruits have yet to be fully evaluated by the recruiting services, and it will be interesting to see what kind of grades they receive when it’s all over.

Here is a look at how each of Arizona’s 22 committed players rank: