Arizona hosted a number of players over the weekend and picked up at least one verbal commitment. They also got some bad news on two other recruits.

Tempe Corona del Sol linebacker Kyle Benson pledged to the Wildcats while on his recruiting trip this past weekend.

“I was eating brunch this morning with Coach (Mike) Stoops and he asked what kind of time table I had for making my decision and I just told him that I wanted to come to Arizona,” Benson told Wildcat Sports Report’s Chris Bonney. “He was surprised and excited. He was all set to come here on Thursday and sell me on everything but he doesn’t have to do that now. He was pumped up.”

Although the Cats have two junior college linebackers in the 2010 class, Benson is the lone prep linebacker so far in the class. The Cats not only lose all three starters, but also say goodbye to nickel back Corey Hall who spent a lot of time at linebacker in passing situations.

“Coach (Tim) Kish told me they think that I can play the SAM spot well enough to where they won’t have to bring in a nickel back,” remarked Benson. “I can play close to the line and fill the gaps and I have the speed to be able to cover. I know I can play the position and the coaches have confidence in me that I can do it too.”

Kish was vital to landing Benson, who is ESPN.com’s #33 OLB.

“Coach Kish has been recruiting me since my sophomore year,” he said. “He is basically a part of the family and I trust him so he was a really big part of why I am going to Arizona. He is my position coach and coordinator and I know he is the best fit for me like Arizona is the best fit for me. I want to major in Business Entrepreneurship and they have a great program for that. Overall, for everything in a school and a program, Arizona is just the best fit for me.”

One of the other players the Wildcats hosted was Fountain Valley (CA) RB/Athlete Kyle Middlebrooks. After his visit to Arizona Middlebrooks is still torn between Arizona and ASU.

He told ESPN.com that he will host coaches from both schools before making a decision. He’d like to make one by the middle of next week.

The Wildcats also lost out on a few recruits. JC signee Eddie Elder was denied admission to the UA due to a bad grade in a class he took at San Mateo College. Instead of waiting to re-take the class he decided to look at other schools and will instead enroll at ASU. Unlike the Arizona admissions department, ASU was willing to accept the class.

The Cats also learned that Oakland Tech DT Fred Thompson has committed to Oregon State.