The Arizona Wildcats have made recruiting within Arizona’s statelines the biggest priority of the 2020 cycle and beyond. Head coach Kevin Sumlin understands the importance of building the program from within the state and the staff has started taking action.
The Wildcats have zeroed in on multiple players within Arizona and have been recruiting them aggressively. One is Phoenix-area recruit Malik Reed. The 6-foot-2, 210 pound linebacker, from Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona, holds five offers as of now. Arizona, Wisconsin, Indiana, Washington State, and Yale comprise his offer list. Reed finished his junior season with 42 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. We caught up with Reed to discuss his recruitment, his offseason plans, and interest in Arizona. AZ Desert Swarm: Out of your offers, who is standing out the most to you at this stage of your recruitment? Malik Reed: “Wisconson and the University of Arizona. Indiana is also in the mix too. I just haven’t been out there yet.” AZDS: What is it about each of those schools that makes them stand out? Reed: “I really like the coaching staffs at U of A and Wisconsin. I feel like U of A is on the rise and Wisconsin is a great school that is already there competing for the Big 10.” AZDS: Focusing more on Arizona, how is your relationship with the coaching staff? Who do you have the best relationhsip with? Reed: “My relationship with the Arizona staff is great. I really like the staff down there. They seem real and authentic. I have a good relationship with all the coaches, but I would say I probably have the best relationship with coach (Taylor) Mazzone. I also have a good relationship with coach Meat (Demetrice Martin).” AZDS: You have taken multiple visits down to campus. What has it been like getting to know the program? What stands out on your visits to Tucson? Reed: “It’s been great getting to know the program and seeing what everybody is about. What stands out to me on my visits to Tucson is the atmosphere there. It’s great that everyone is working to achieve one goal. They really care about their players.” AZDS: What does the coaching staff say they like about your game and what you could bring to Tucson if you were to chose Arizona? Reed: “They like the fire and motor that I play with. They also like how I have a nose for the ball. I’ve also gotten a lot better in other parts of my game since we last spoke.” AZDS: Kevin Sumlin has made recruiting the state of Arizona a major priority and the whole staff has shown that they are serious about it. What does that mean to you as an in-state player? Reed: “The fact they are doing that is great. As an in-state player, it’s a plus too when some of my teammates stay in-state. It makes me want to stay home.” AZDS: What aspects of your game do you feel you need to work on this offeseason? Reed: “I feel like my pass coverage could use some work, but then again, I’m trying to improve every aspect of my game everyday. AZDS: What aspects of your game do you feel are your strongest? Reed: “I feel like my ability to rush the passer and stuff runnning plays are the strongest parts of my game.” Reed is, without a doubt, one of the best pass rushers in the state. His assessment of his strengths above was spot on. Reed pretty much lives in the backfield, evidenced by his 20.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks. He has a great first step off the snap and has great initial explosiveness. His speed and overall quickness allow him to get into the backfield in a hurry. The interesting thing is he is able to stop and change direction just as quick, so even if he over-pursues, he can recover quickly. Reed is a solid tackler as well. He does hit hard but, more importantly, he wraps up his target and drags him down. He does have the ability to play inside or out, however, if he will need to work on his pass coverage if he moves inside. He has already identified this shortfall, as mentioned above. His junior highlights are below.
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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.
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. Here we have Paiton Fears, a late addition to the 2019 class just days before early signing period began. We still don't know who the offensive line coach will be but, the way things shaped up, I think he's a starting tackle next season, it just depends on which side they like Donovan Laie on.
Here is the link to his film so you can follow along. http://www.hudl.com/v/2AKE1R 0:05: Quick, gets to his guy and folds him over. He's a violent run blocker at 6-foot-6, 327 pounds. 0:13: Another quick explosive get off the line in a play action that probably would have looked better as a run assuming the back could have gotten around the nose guard. Instead the defensive end stays at home and deflects a pass. 0:22: Another violent block with great pad level to take the defender out of the play entirely. Completely opens up the right side of the field for back to get outside. Showing really good stuff as a run blocker. We see a different quarterback this time. #17 was in before now it's #5 so I'm curious to see how the plays differ between the two. 0:31: Finally we get to some pass blocking. Foot work looks a little odd and choppy, but stays in front of his defender and finishes with a takedown. Quarterback straight up loses the ball, maybe it catches the running back but Fears has his guy out of the play entirely. 0:40: Not a huge fan of the footwork here and I think he needs to have a little bit more balance and control here. On pass block he's using the defenders momentum against them and is able to out power them, but it doesn't look like he's in full control of where the block is heading. That's just going to break the pocket if he doesn't get low, sink his hips and take control. When the defender initiates contact Fears starts to stand upright. 0:50: This is our third quarterback of his film so I'm really curious as to what was happening here. But here he has much better footwork that looks really clean on his kick slide and delivers a blow to the defender that knocks him off balance. A small bend at the hips but overall a solid play while the ball is heading over to his side on a passing play. 0:57: Love this play. Big man is kicking it out wide as the lead blocker. Tight end does a great job of taking on a double team and the wing does a great job of containing the edge allowing Fears to get downfield. He's running about 25 yards downfield just forcing the safety out of the play. Good speed and hustle there from Fears. 1:06: They run virtually the same play here in the same formation and it works just like it did in the previous play. More hustle and speed from Fears getting to the outside and he gets in on the corner for a solid gain. 1:18: Rolling with a counter play here leaves Fears with a lot of responsibility. Folds the end inside to give the running back room to cut back into. Doesn't go anywhere because there's an extra blitzer who gets picked up. I'm not sure that's a great play call if you're out numbered on one side. 1:26: Really like this play from Fears. They're more of a slide block run team, but Fears doesn't see a guy to block and immediately turns up field to create a big lane for the back. 1:35: Really nice job for the offensive line to disguise this screen play. They give the defenders a little piece and then head up field. Fears is leading the charges, lays a guy out and even when the running back is still 10 yards ahead of Fears he is still running downfield. 1:45: Very similar play than the one before. A slide block, doesn't see anyone to create a wall and heads up to the next level for a block. He's showing off a lot of speed and smarts to get downfield. 1:55: Knows the run is coming to his side and just takes his man out of the play entirely and dominates. Let's the defender get to work on the inside, making Fears job easy because he needs to continue to force him inside so the play can go outside. Really nice play. Rumor has it that Fears is still driving that dude. 2:00: Just a sound block on a run play. Up against Independence CC, Last Chance U, slides in, gets a good push and brings his guy outside so the play can go inside. 2:05: The same kind of run slide blocking scheme. He can really create a lane and drive guys back. So we saw a lot of run blocking from Fears, but not a lot of pass blocking. He's a much stronger and bigger tackle and I'm curious to see how he is used as a tackle. I think he could also play guard and be more of a Jacob Alsadek with his size, but I'm very interested to see how his pass protection goes. Hey guys! Brandon here answering another question from the you, the readers. The subject? P.J. Johnson's replacement.
To be honest, Johnson is going to be tough to replace. He was a freak athlete, a good mix of size, speed, and athleticism. And it's not just Johnson Arizona is missing, Dereck Boles is also gone. However, Myles Tapusoa will do just fine at Boles' nose tackle spot. Back to Johnson. Currently the 'Cats have redshirt senior Finton Connolly and redshirt freshman Nahe Sulunga currently on the team. The 'Cats also have newcomer Trevon Mason, who is a mountain of a human being. It is worth noting that Sulunga could also move back to defensive end if needed. This leaves the transfer market for Arizona to find another lineman. There are three guys that I can see Arizona adding. The first is BYU transfer Tevita Mo'unga. The Southern California native is talented and has flashed it often. The only problem is his health. His career in Provo has been plagued by injuries and has kept him off the field. The talent is there and would be a great pickup if Arizona lands him. He finished his career with the Cougars with 26 tackles and 1 TFL in 23 games. The second player is also a former BYU player, Wayne Kirby. Kirby transferred to BYU from Oregon and did not see any action with the Cougars. He did play in 9 games as a freshman in Eugene. He had 11 tackles, a fumble recovery, and 2 PBUs. He has good size (6'3", 320 lbs) and would be another good pickup. Finally we reach Zach Abercrumbia. The transfer from Rice is smaller than Kirby and Mo'unga, sitting at 6'2" and 286 lbs. However, he was very productive in his time for the Owls. He finished his career with Rice with 117 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries. Again, would be another solid option for Arizona. Again, these are three that I see Arizona getting involved with the 2019 season. All would be great additions, but it would still be hard to replace Johnson's freakish abilities. So we've seen some movement over the last few weeks when it comes to the transfer portal. In the past month we've seen Nathan Eldridge, Antonio Parks, Sammy Morrison, Anthony Mariscal, Kurtis Brown, Branden Leon and Jamie Nunley leave the program. PJ Johnson also opted to declare for the NFL Draft. There's maybe a couple of guys I could see leaving from now until the end of spring, but we'll just wait to see what happens there. Now Arizona is at 80 scholarships by my count, and that gives Arizona some room to add some guys for 2019. I don't think Arizona signs any additional high school guys for the 2019 class, and any additions would come from the graduate transfer route I imagine. Offensive and defensive line you could certainly look for someone to add. If they can somehow find a high level receiver, that would be pretty ideal as well. A lot of positions are loaded up on juniors right now. Offensive line, linebackers and defensive line had a good chunk. Meanwhile receiver is loaded with freshmen. A position of need is certainly corner in terms of depth for the future. Running back looks like a good core but will need some more production to come in from the younger guys. Yet another small senior class, which has kind of been the norm under Rich Rodriguez where guys just don't make it all four or five years through the program. But nonetheless, this is where Arizona stands in terms of scholarships. We’re onto Josh Donovan, who I thought would have started at tackle until Payton Fears committed. He is also apparently moving to guard which I think might be best for him.
Let’s go http://www.hudl.com/v/2AsEwR 0:04 - The first thing you notice is his size. Running a little jet sweep he locks his defender up across the field. Looks like some sloppy footwork and probably gets away with some holding too. 0:16 - Great footwork here. End tries to go inside, realizes it won’t work and tries to flip it outside but Donovan’s just such a big body. Good hand placement and finishes with a throw down. 0:32 - Shows good run blocking here. Hands and feet look fine and drives the end down. 0:44 - One-on-one OL/DL drills do no good for offensive linemen but pretty much maintains controls of the block the entire time. Looks like he plays a little too high, needs to drop his hips, but gets away with it. This is where I’m starting to think that guard is a better fit for him, although we’ll see what the new OL coach thinks. 0:50 - Similar to the very first play, looks like when he a play is going outside he gets very grabby. A flag is thrown right at him on this play and that is definitely a holding call coming back. 1:02 - Donovan forces the end to go wide knowing they’ll never make it to the quarterback in time. The defender falls 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage and isn’t even close to the pocket anymore. I don’t know the official term, but I’d like to call it zoning when a tackle just controls that side of the line and forces guys to go around to avoid getting walled up. 1:10 - So more zoning here. Donovan knows the play is going to other side so he the end is just wasting his time trying to go around the outside. 1:21 - The end is clearly tired of going straight up into the block so attempts and spin, gets a bends too much and that’s an easy fold for Donovan 1:33 - Looks like he reaches a little at first but corrects himself, drops his hips and takes this guy wide again. Poor dude is trying so hard to get off the block and goes with another spin only to be folded again. 1:43 - So this team seems to know that Donovan isn’t the quickest and they’re attacking him with speed. Outside the edge isn’t working so they try inside. It almost works, Donovan gets out wide and the end has some space to get inside but Donovan is able regain control and secure a legal takedown to take him out of the play. 1:50 - Donovan is so good at controlling his space. Look how much space is between him and the guard now as he takes his guy out of the edge. A blitz between him and the guard would be deadly but teams don’t seem to do that. It’s a good piece to have. I’m curious to see how Arizona’s offensive line shapes up with so many new, experienced guys there as well as an entirely new coach. Jalen Curry has wrist surgery if I remember currently, so his senior film was limited. We’ll be taking a look at his junior film where he put up insane numbers.
Quickly before we begin I just want to point out one thing so that you can notice it too. Curry is a big time body catcher. You want a receiver with strong hands that will secure the pass, then quickly tuck it away. With Curry I noticed all but two plays where he lets it come into his chest and then secures it. If you go back to Thomas Marcus’ film from his senior season, you’ll see a lot of great catches and notice the difference. Alright let’s begin. http://www.hudl.com/v/28bbCF 0:09 - Quick get off, nice hesitation to get by the defender, finishes off with speed for the touchdown. Pretty routine play from Gunnell to Curry it seems. 0:22 - Another quick get off where he’s getting up field as soon as the ball is snapped. I want to give him credit for running his route beneath the linebacker to get into space rather than being greedy going down field and having Gunnell throw it in traffic. Cuts all the way across the field and almost gets caught but goes in for a score. 0:44 - Again, the get off is incredible. Hits the corner with a two step and accelerates downfield. Comes down with it in the corner of the end zone. 0:55 - Tried to break down the receiver but trips up. High throw from Gunnel but I’m impressed that Curry was able to grab it. I feel like most receivers there aren’t expecting that bad of a pass from that short of distance. Finds some room to run and here you see some explosiveness to get through and split the two defenders for a score. 1:10 - End zone fade, one of my least favorite plays in football, but Curry comes down with it after the corner played excellent coverage. Good jump and strong hands by Curry there. 1:20 - Nickel corner is containing the edge and corner is backed up almost ten yards. Catches at the LOS and runs over a guy for a score. 1:30 - I’ll take a good blocking play. Feels which side the corner is trying to go and shifts his weight to keep the corner away. 1:40 - Good old tunnel screen, just put the ball in his hands and he’ll make a play. 1:50 - Pretty good get off the line, burns past the corner and a terribly under thrown ball by Gunnell but Curry tracks it down and comes down with it. Overall when I watch his film he’s like a stretched out Shun Brown. I don’t think he’s the huge 6-3 target that will be hauling in jump balls, but he’s a guy that can get separation on downfield route to burn you down the side or across the middle. His best work is when he gets the ball within the first three yards and has room to run. |