Wilner Hotline – Arizona Football Looking Good for Signing Day

Two weeks from the early-signing window, disruption lurks within the Pac-12 hierarchy.

The team at the bottom of the division standings is not in last place in the recruiting rankings.

The team that was repeatedly blown off the playing field is more than holding its own on the recruiting trail.

The one-win team has two four-star commitments.

“I think Arizona has surprised everybody,” said Brandon Huffman, a national recruiting editor for 247Sports. “They are selling hope.”

The recruits, it appears, are buying.

These will be two long weeks for first-year coach Jedd Fisch and his staff as the Dec. 15-17 signing period approaches. He must retain the committed prospects who are coveted by others, build on the progress made and sort through the dizzying options in the transfer portal — all of it against the backdrop of the worst full-season record (1-11) in program history.

They lost to NAU for the first time in nine decades and to Arizona State for the fifth consecutive season.

If not for COVID walloping Cal’s roster, the Wildcats likely would have finished 0-12 with the longest losing streak in major college football.

And yet here they are, surprisingly, remarkably, poised to disrupt the natural order.

Oregon sits atop the current Pac-12 recruiting rankings, according to the 247Sports database, followed by Stanford and UCLA.

And then, in fourth place (and No. 39 nationally), is Arizona.

Among the 15 committed recruits are four-star tight end Keyan Burnett, who originally pledged to USC, and four-star linebacker Sterling Lane. But the strength of the class relative to Pac-12 competition lies in the number of prospects corralled.

Maintaining the No. 4 position won’t be easy now that USC has hired Lincoln Riley, but the Wildcats are on pace for their best performance on the recruiting trail in years.

They haven’t ranked higher than ninth in the Pac-12 since 2014, when Rich Rodriguez had the program rolling and the Wildcats finished No. 6.

“It’s their best class in a long time,” said Greg Biggins, a Southern California-based recruiting analyst for the 247Sports. “The staff came in with a lot of energy, and they have strong ties to Northern and Southern California.”

The coaches have done their part, but so has the administrative side of the football operation. Ryan Partridge, the coordinator of high school recruiting, has made a substantial impact.

“He’s super-connected,” Huffman said.

Another reason for Arizona’s recruiting uptick: stability.

Such is the nature of Pac-12 football in 2021 that a program with a rookie coach appears stable compared to the competition.

Up the road, Arizona State is immersed in an NCAA investigation that has crippled recruiting.

USC fired its coach in September.

Washington State fired its coach in October.

Washington fired its coach in November.

UCLA’s boss, Chip Kelly, is forever on the warm seat. Cal has lost recruiting momentum. Colorado is recalibrating.

There’s opportunity galore, even for a cellar-dweller.

Energy attracts and hope sells.

“The most shocking part of the recruiting class is they have a lot of older guys on the staff who I didn’t think would be able to recharge recruiting,” Huffman said.

“But they are in on (recruits) they don’t have any business being in on.”

Support the Hotline: Receive three months of unlimited access for just 99 cents. Yep, that’s 99 cents for 90 days, with the option to cancel anytime. Details are here, and thanks for your support.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.