The Arizona Wildcats have been making headway in California and an area that is starting to get more focus is the Central Valley. The ‘Cats have added multiple players from Bakersfield, Clovis, and Fresno over the past few years, and it looks like they will continue that trend.
One such player who is on UA’s radar is Trey Paster. The 6-foot-3, 185 pound athlete, from Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, California, holds five offers as of now. Arizona joins California, Fresno State, UCLA, and Nevada on Paster’s list. Paster finished his junior season with 34 tackles, one interception, and seven PBUs on defense. He also played on offense and had 248 yards on 31 carries and two scores on the ground. Receiving-wise, he had 196 yards on 11 catches and three touchdowns. We caught up with Paster to discuss his recruitment, his offseason plans, and interest in Arizona. AZ Desert Swarm: Out of your offers, which schools are standing out to you the most at this point in your recruitment? Trey Paster: “At this point, I’d say Cal, Fresno State, and UCLA are, based on them being in contact with me the most.” AZDS: Have you taken any visits yet? What schools would you like to visit in the future? Paster: “I took a visit to Cal about a month ago and that’s about it. I would love to go back up to Cal and also go to UCLA, Arizona, and Fresno State.” AZDS: Have you set up any dates for future visits? Paster: “I haven’t set any dates yet.” AZDS: When you received your offer from Cal you mentioned Cal was your dream school. How was your overall visit to Berkeley? What stood out the most that other schools will have to live up to? Paster: “My visit to Cal was amazing. They really impressed me and my parents. One thing that stood out about them was how highly they hold their academics and what you will get out of Cal other than just football, but life itself.” AZDS: Moving on to Arizona, what interests you about the Wildcats? Paster: “What interests me about them is where they are going to take the program and the amazing coaching staff there. I can see Arizona being a fantastic football team just based off their coaching and the mentality they are going to build there for the future.” AZDS: Who have you talked to on the staff and who do you have the best relationship with? Paster: “I have talked to Coach Meat (Demetrice Martin) and Coach (John) Rushing. I would say I have the best relationship with Coach Rushing because he has been the one talking to me the most. He is actually from the same city I’m from, Merced, California.” AZDS: What position is Arizona recruiting you as? Paster: “They are recruiting me as a safety.” AZDS: When it comes to the offsesaon, what aspects of your game are you looking to improve upon? Paster: “I’m just working on everything I can. Footwork, lifting, my speed and explosiveness. Just working hard on every aspect you can think of in football. I’m doing that right now!” AZDS: What aspects of your game do you feel are the strongest? Paster: “I feel my strongest attributes include my IQ of the game, learning things very quickly, and my technique at the corner position. Like knowing what to do in certain situations of a football game.” Paster is an aggressive defender and a solid playmaker on offense. We’ll start on offense. He is explosive and has the speed to outrun defenses, giving him the ability to make huge plays. But his bread and butter will be on the defensive side of the ball in college. He is able to use that speed in man coverage to keep up with receivers down the field and can use his long arms to disrupt the ball when it is in the air. The thing that stood out to me from his film was his physicality. He uses his long arms to jam and disrupt receivers at the line of scrimmage. It is blatantly apparent that he loves to hit people as well. There are a few instances that show him laying out opposing players. He also has decent tackling technique, wrapping up his target more times than not. He has the versatility to play corner or safety at the next level. That versatility is something Arizona coaches have singled out as an attractive attribute in the DBs they’ve been recruting since coming to Tucson. His junior season highlights are below.
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The Arizona Wildcats started establishing a foothold in the Pacific Northwest the past week and a half, with linebackers coach John Rushing leading the way.
Multiple prospects from Washington and Oregon received offers, one of those is 3-star athlete Justin Baker. The 5-foot-10, 175 pound speedster, from Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington, holds four offers as of now. Arizona, Oregon State, Air Force, and Sacramento State have all extended an offer to the Seattle-area prospect. Baker finished his junior season with 287 yards on 23 carries and 3 touchdowns on the ground. He also had 1,034 yards and 9 scores on 55 catches through the air. We caught up with Baker to discuss his recruitment, his offseason plans, and interest in Arizona. AZ Desert Swarm: Out of your offers, which schools are standing out to you the most at this stage of your recruitment? Justin Baker: “Right now, U of A and Oregon State. Thos are my first two Pac-12 offers. Also, Cal and Washington State are in the forefront. I’ve talked a lot with their coaches.” AZDS: How did your offer from Arizona come to fruition? Baker: “It was acutally quite a surprise to me! They followed me on Twitter, asked for my number, and later that day they called and told me. I had been talking to them prior to that a lot, so I was very excited.” AZDS: Who on Arizona’s staff have you talked to? Who do you have the best relationship with? Baker: “Coach John Rushing was the coach who extended the offer out to me. He is the only coach I’ve talked to so far. I’m super excited to get to know (running backs coach) DeMarco Murray. He was such a great (NFL) back.” AZDS: You mentioned Coach Murray. Is Arizona recruiting you as an athlete or running back? Baker: “More of an athlete, but definitely leaning toward running back.” AZDS: What peaks your interest in Arizona? Baker: “I’ve never been to Arizona so I would love to visit the area itself. Also, I am interested in how the culture is down there.” AZDS: Besides Arizona, what other schools would you like to visit? Baker: “I want to head down to OSU and Cal for sure. I would also like to visit WSU and hopefully a couple other schools. It just depends on how my recruitment goes.” AZDS: Moving to the offseason, what aspects of your game are you looking to improve upon? Baker: “I want to improve my route running because I’m relatively new to receiver. I also wanted to get bigger and stronger. I just want to perfect my craft.” AZDS: In your opinion, what attributes do you feel are the strongest part of your game? Baker: “I think my speed is one of the strongest parts of my game. As well as being able to get into space. Lastly, my ability to juke has always been strong.” AZDS: Are there any camps you are looking to attend this offseason? Baker: “I am still not sure about camps. I am looking into those but I will definitely be looking into some.” I like Baker and think he could fit in well in Arizona’s offense. He is versatile, athletic, and an overall playmaker. Based on his film, I 100% agree with what he assesses as his areas of strength. He has impressive speed that allows him to outrun everyone. He has that quick twitch that you want in a skill player. He would fit in well as a slot receiver, or as a running back in Noel Mazzone’s offense. Baker has the ability to make plays all over the field, but appears to be most dangerous as a deep threat. As a matter of fact, he reminds me of redshirt junior receiver Devaughn Cooper in many ways. He is definitely a player to keep an eye on as his recruitment plays out. His junior season highlights are below. Howdy everyone! Brandon here answering another reader question. This time the subject is Arizona's potential recruiting class ranking for 2020.
Gabe and I have talked about this for a little while now and we both feel the same on the subject. We think Arizona will finish with a Top 35 class. We don't feel that the 'Cats are quite at the Top 25 level. Kevin Sumlin and company have done a great job recruiting so far, but they haven't fully stretched their legs yet. This 2020 class will really be the first class that the staff will have a major impact on the recruiting trail. Yes, 2019 was their first full class, but since they were all hired late in the process, they started behind the curve. During the 2019 cycle, UA started establishing the relationships needed to help them suceed in 2020. As we transition into spring, and even into summer, I'd expect we'll start to see the fruits of the staff's labor. I'm actually pretty happy, overall, with how the 2019 class shaped out. There was a lot of talent and upside in the class, and although they didn't have the "star power' everyone likes to see, they still managed to finish inside the Top 60. For the upcoming cycle, I do not expect 2020's class to finish just inside the Top 60. Instead, I anticipate Arizona will grasp a spot in the Top 35 and still finish with the type of class expected from a Kevin Sumlin-run recruiting attack. Hey guys, Brandon here! Ready to answer another reader question, and it's a good one: Will Salpointe standout Lathan Ransom stay in-state? More importantly, will he stay local?
This is one I've been waiting to answer for some time. Both Gabe and I believe that Ransom will leave. He is getting pulled in 20 different directions by other programs and that draw is what will send him out of state. Now there is legit interest in Arizona from Ransom and the Wildcats have prioritzed him, bringing him on campus a few times. Proximity helps but their is interest there. The 'Cats will continue to try to keep him home, but the belief is he'll still go a different route. His teammate, on the other hand, is a different story. Both Gabe and I believe the 'Cats have a legit shot at landing Bijan Robinson. |