Chaparral's Dylan Cozens rounds the bases after hitting a home run to win the state Division I title. Photo by Tom Tingle/The Republic

The Arizona Wildcats have lost one of their top football signees, defensive end Dylan Cozens, who was selected 77th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the baseball draft Tuesday morning.

He quickly told the Arizona Republic that he will sign with Philadelphia.

“I’m glad that it (getting drafted) finally happened,” Cozens told the Republic. “I’m ready to get the show on the road.”

In new draft rules with prescribed bonuses for picks through the first 10 rounds, Cozens could be due around $659,800 as a signing bonus, according to Baseball America.

His mother told the Republic that her son had a $2 million offer to play in Japan.

Asked last week about Cozens’ baseball possibilities, UA football coach Rich Rodriguez told TucsonCitizen.com: “If it comes to that point, then we’ll present the facts to him as to what his options would be. Selfishly, we want him to play football, but we’ll see how that goes.”

But it sounds as if Cozens’ mind was pretty much made up.

Cozens (6-5, 235) is a big, lefty slugger who hit a state-best 19 home runs, including a walk-off to lift Scottsdale Chaparral to the Division I state championship over Phoenix Brophy Prep.

He played only one season of high school football, but his high-motor and productivity (7.5 sacks) quickly caught the eye of college recruiters. He signed with Arizona over offers from Boise State and Washington, saying that he also wanted to play baseball with the Wildcats.

Cozens was “one of the best defensive ends we saw this year in high school, period,” Rodriguez said on Signing Day.

“I think he has a great upside. He’s a tough guy; he’s athletic. … He’s the kind of football player I think we can build a program around from a standpoint of that he has a high motor and loves the game.”

Fabbians Ebbele (left) could rejoin his teammates for fall camp. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats offensive tackle Fabbians Ebbele and defensive back Jourdon Grandon, suspended for almost all of spring practice, are on pace to return to return to the team in the fall, coach Rich Rodriguez said Tuesday.

“They still have some things to do within the program,” Rodriguez told TucsonCitizen.com.

Ebbele and Grandon, along with two other Arizona football players and a former ex-Wildcat, were involved in a brawl at an off-campus party in early March.

Ebbele and Grandon were facing criminal assault and trespassing charges, although those won’t be pursued.

Rodriguez said from the start that he wanted to let the legal system play out before making a decision on the players’ futures.

Ebbele is a returning starter at right tackle. Grandon started four games last season and likely figures somewhere in the rotation in Arizona’s five-man secondary. But each is behind the curve as the Wildcats learned new schemes on each side of the ball this spring.

“That’s a big question for us — how quickly will they be able to pick up things in fall practice,” Rodriguez said. “Those 15 spring practices are invaluable, especially when you’re teaching new systems.”

* * *

Rodriguez wants to return to the Phoenix area next spring to hold another scrimmage, making it a bigger event next time.

The Wildcats held their first scrimmage of the spring at Glendale Community College on a Saturday afternoon.

“I loved going up there in the spring,” Rodriguez said.

“I think we’ll plan to do that every spring, having a scrimmage and then some alumni functions. There is a lot of interest in our program up there, and if we can bring our program to them, so to speak, even better.”

Rodriguez said he envisions possibly holding a scrimmage in the Valley on a Friday night.

“Maybe a lot of people could come out after work,” he said. “We had a nice crowd this year. I think we could have had a great crowd if I gave them a little more warning. Next time, we’ll give a few months’ warning.”

About 1,000 showed up for the scrimmage at Glendale Community College.

* * *

Rodriguez will have to keep an eye on next week’s major league baseball draft after one of his top recruits — defensive end Dylan Cozens — led the state of Arizona with 19 home runs.

Cozens, a left-handed slugger, hit a walk-off home run to lead Scottsdale Chaparral to the Division I state championship over Phoenix Brophy Prep.

“I think there is always that possibility,” Rodriguez said of Cozens being lured to professional baseball by being a high draft pick. “I’ve dealt with this before.”

Most notably, Pat White was a fourth-round pick in the 2004 baseball draft after signing with West Virginia to play quarterback for Rodriguez. White went on to become of the great players in school history.

Cozens (6-5, 235) signed with the Cats over Boise State and Washington after playing football for only one season.

As for Cozens considering his baseball possibilities, “If it comes to that point, then we’ll present the facts to him as to what his options would be,” Rodriguez said. “Selfishly, we want him to play football, but we’ll see how that goes.”

Chaparral's Dylan Cozens rounds the bases after hitting a home run to win the state Division I title. Photo by Tom Tingle/The Republic

Arizona football signee Dylan Cozens capped a superb baseball season by hitting a walk-off home run Tuesday night to lift Scottsdale Chaparral High School to the Division I state championship.

Cozens’ state-leading 19th-home run of the year gave Chaparral a 5-3 win over Phoenix Brophy Prep.

The left-handed hitting Cozens (6-5, 235) shattered the school single-season record for home runs, previously held by major-leaguer Paul Konerko (13).

This was Cozens’ first season of playing baseball at Chaparral, after being kicked off the Scottsdale Desert Mountain team last spring.

“Dylan has been a great kid and awesome young man,” Chaparral coach Sam Messina told the Arizona Republic last month. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do in the last year.”

Cozens, who hadn’t played football before his senior season at Chaparral, became a fast-rising standout at defensive end. He had 7.5 sacks for the Class 5A-II state champs, and chose Arizona on Signing Day over Boise State and Washington.

He said at that time that he also wanted to play baseball at Arizona, although it will be interesting to see if he is lured to professional baseball this summer after the June draft.

On Signing Day, UA football coach Rich Rodriguez said that Cozens “was one of the best defensive ends we saw this year in high school, period.”

“I think he has a great upside,” Rodriguez added. “He’s a tough guy; he’s athletic. … He’s the kind of football player I think we can build a program around from a standpoint of that he has a high motor and loves the game.

“We’re just really excited about Dylan. He’s a guy that can rush the passer and he’s still learning the game.”

Dylan Cozens dives to make a sack against Chandler Perry High School in November. Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic

Dylan Cozens, a defensive end from Scottsdale Chaparral High School, picked Arizona over Washington and Boise State this morning.

Cozens made his pick on a live webcast on FoxSportsArizona.com.

Cozens (6-5, 235) played one only year of organized football, but his senior season production (7.5 sacks for the Class 5A-II state champs), his athleticism and upside intrigued major colleges.

“At first I didn’t know what to expect,” Chaparral teammate Cody Ippolito said of Cozens on FoxSportsArizona.com. “He just did work on the field and showed his athletic ability.”

Cozens also is a baseball player of note and could be a draft pick this June. He said he wanted to also play baseball at Arizona.

Arizona has a big connection with Chaparral this season (and beyond) thanks to new coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff. Rodriguez, who took two of the school’s best a few years ago while he was at Michigan (defensive end Craig Roh and offensive lineman Taylor Lewan) hired Firebirds coach Charlie Ragle to be on his administrative staff as a liaison for in-state recruiting.

“That was a big factor in going down there,” Cozens told FoxSportsArizona.com of Ragle.

The Wildcats have a commitment from middle linebacker Ippolito, and running back/defensive back/linebacker Lucas Petrullo will walk-on with a chance to earn a scholarship.

Coach Rich Rodriguez has eight high school prospects on campus this weekend, including one with a very famous father.

The recruitment of Trey Griffey, a wide receiver from Orlando, Fla., has heated up in recent weeks after his strong performance at the Under Armour All-America Game. He took an official visit to Arizona State last week.

He is the son of future baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

“Everybody says I chose football because I couldn’t live up to my dad’s standards,” Trey told our Gannett partner, USA Today, earlier this month.

“Let people talk. You know what you can do, but you also want to prove to other people who don’t want to believe in you, who believe you get here for other reasons, that you don’t earn it. We’re out here being All-Americans. You can’t tell who’s who.”

Griffey, rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and 247sports.com, made 72 catches for 970 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

Among others taking official recruiting visits to Arizona this weekend are defensive end Dylan Cozens and linebacker Cody Ippolito, both from Scottsdale Chaparral High School. Former Chaparral coach Charlie Ragle is now Arizona’s assistant director of football operations and liaison for high school relations.

Cozens and Ippolito are close with Chaparral star receiver Davonte’ Neal, who is scheduled to visit Arizona after Signing Day.

Dylan Cozens dives to make a sack against Chandler Perry High School in November. Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic

Cozens, who had 7.5 sacks as a senior — his only year of high school football — already has visited Boise State, Washington, Missouri and Utah.

Other in-state recruits on campus this weekend are Javon Williams, a 6-5 receiver from Chandler High who is rated No. 227 in the nation by Rivals.com, and cornerback Jamar Allah from Phoenix North Canyon High. Allah earlier committed to Arizona State.

Also in Tucson this weekend is 6-2 defensive back Leo Thomas, who committed to Arizona in August. Thomas de-committed from the Wildcats when coach Mike Stoops was fired but is taking a second look.

Here is list of prospects visiting this weekend, compiled by WildcatSportsReport.com

CB Jamar Allah, Phoenix North Canyon High (committed to ASU)
TE Keoni Bush-Loo, Honolulu Kamehameha School
DE Dylan Cozens, Scottsdale Chaparral High
WR Trey Griffey, Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips High
LB Cody Ippolito, Scottsdale Chaparral High
LB Yamen Sanders, Culver City (Calif.) High
DB Leo Thomas, San Antonio Sam Houston High
WR Javon Williams, Chandler High

For more updates on recruiting news, go to TucsonCitizen.com partner, WildcatSportsReport.com. Most of the recruiting information is behind a pay wall, but you can take advantage of a free 30-day offer.