Rich Rodriguez should be smiling on Signing Day. Photo by Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
All seems quiet on the Arizona Wildcats recruiting front.
Signing Day is next Wednesday, Feb. 5, and there shouldn’t be a whole lot of UA news until the letters-of-intent start pouring out of the fax machine that morning.
Arizona has just about wrapped up its class but is still in hot pursuit of four-star defensive tackle Marcus Griffin from Bellevue, Wash. He took an official visit to the UA campus last weekend, and head coach Rich Rodriguez met with him and his family Monday night, according to various reports.
Griffin tweeted that he was down to four choices, in no order: Arizona, Cal, Mississippi State and Washington State. He is set to take a visit to Mississippi State this weekend and then make a decision.
Arizona, whose class was ranked 28th nationally by 247Sports as of Monday night, is looking for more size on its three-man line. Griffin (6-3, 300) has that.
“They want me at defensive end,” Griffin told Brad Allis of WildcatSportsReport.com, one of our TucsonCitizen.com partners. “Said I’m a need for them and that I can contribute right away.”
The Wildcats won’t be adding 300-pound defensive lineman Sharif Williams from Fresno, Calif., in this recruiting class. WildcatAuthority.com was the first to report that Williams, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of his senior season, will delay his enrollment at Arizona until the 2015 spring semester.
Makes sense, since he was unlikely to play right away anyway. By greyshirting, his five-year eligibility clock won’t start until the 2015 season.
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Running back Jonathan Haden from Friendship Collegiate Academy, Washington D.C., enrolled at Arizona earlier this month.
Even though his high school teammate, five-star cornerback Jalen Tabor, de-committed from Arizona to Florida one week after saying yes to the Wildcats, it’s clear that Haden is all in with UA.
He tweeted the following picture last week, showing off a certain message on the inside of his biceps:
#BearDown pic.twitter.com/zngN9tyJ1s
— Jonathan haden (@tonburr5) January 25, 2014
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Former Arizona quarterback Nick Foles was selected the offensive MVP of the Pro Bowl on Sunday. Foles played the fourth quarter for Team Sanders, completing 7 of 10 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.
That capped a remarkable sophomore NFL season for Foles, who began as the Philadelphia Eagles backup to Michael Vick and ended as being the franchise’s starting quarterback for the next “1,000 years,” according to coach Chip Kelly.
Foles threw for 27 touchdowns, with only two interceptions, the best ratio in NFL history. His passer rating of 119.2 was the third-best in NFL history.
So much for not being a fit for Kelly’s offense.
Foles, who was the first alternate at quarterback for the Pro Bowl, made the roster because Denver’s Peyton Manning is busy preparing for the Super Bowl.
This isn’t a surprise, given Arizona’s poor quarterback history, but Foles is the first former UA quarterback to be selected to the Pro Bowl.
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Here is Arizona’s recruiting class, with final ratings from the recruiting services:
| Player | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | School | 247 | Rivals | Scout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Brewer | S | 6-0 | 175 | Central East, Fresno, Calif. | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Rodney Carr | DB | 6-0 | 185 | Salesian High, Los Angeles | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Darrell Cloy | TE | 6-3 | 220 | La Habra (Calif.) High | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jamardre Cobb | LB | 6-2 | 225 | Salesian High, Los Angeles | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Jerod Cody* | DE | 6-3 | 265 | Glendale (Ariz.) Community College | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Brandon Dawkins | QB | 6-3 | 205 | Oaks Christian, Westlake Village, Calif. | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kaelin Deboskie | WR | 5-9 | 165 | Salpointe Catholic, Tucson | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cameron Denson | WR | 6-1 | 170 | Salpointe Catholic, Tucson | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Tony Ellison | WR | 5-11 | 170 | Granite Bay (Calif.) High | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Layth Friekh | OL | 6-5 | 250 | Centennial High, Peoria | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Patrick Glover* | CB | 6-2 | 212 | Scottsdale C.C. | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Jonathan Haden* | RB | 5-8 | 189 | Friendship Collegiate Academy, Washington D.C. | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Naijiel Hale | CB | 5-11 | 170 | St. John Bosco High, Bellflower, Calif. | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| J.R. Hunt | S | 6-3 | 190 | Chandler High | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kaige Lawrence* | OL | 6-4 | 290 | Chaffey C.C., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Kwesi Mashack | CB | 5-10 | 190 | Murrieta High, Vista, Calif. | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jordan Poland | OT | 6-8 | 335 | La Jolla (Calif.) Country Day | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Josh Pollack | P/K | 5-11 | 165 | Highland Park (Ill.) High | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Jerrard Randall* | QB | 6-1 | 190 | Northeast Mississippi C.C. | 2 | NR | 3 |
| Antonio Smothers* | LB | 6-2 | 230 | Scottsdale C.C. | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Levi Walton | OL | 6-4 | 280 | Baker High, Cape Coral, Fla. | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Marquis Ware | LB | 6-2 | 210 | Salesian High, Los Angeles | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Jace Whittaker | DB | 5-9 | 150 | Oceanside (Calif.) High | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Nick Wilson | RB | 6-0 | 191 | Central East, Fresno, Calif. | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Trevor Wood | TE | 6-6 | 238 | Chaparral High, Scottsdale | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeff Worthy* | DT | 6-3 | 285 | Santa Ana (Calif.) College | 3 | 3 | 3 |
* Enrolled