UA football signs 12; Sumlin prepares for ‘mad scramble’
The fairest way to describe the signing class Arizona procured Wednesday is “incomplete.”
The Wildcats need more than the 12 players who inked national letters of intent, and UA coach Kevin Sumlin acknowledged that they aren’t finished yet.
“We’ve got two signing dates,” Sumlin said in an interview posted to Arizona football’s Twitter account. “There’s a lot of things that are gonna happen, not just today. Recruiting’s just getting going for a lot of places. There will be some real surprises in the month of January and the first Wednesday in February.”
The early signing period began Wednesday and runs through Friday. It’s possible Arizona will supplement its class between now and then.
It’s likely the Wildcats will add more players on Feb. 5, the traditional signing day that has become less impactful since the early period was introduced in 2017.
Three of Arizona’s verbal commitments — offensive lineman Cedric Melton, cornerback Alphonse Oywak and linebacker Jabar Triplett — have said they will wait until February to sign.
Meanwhile, several UA targets also are delaying their announcements. Those players include tailback Frank Brown, offensive lineman Jake Griffin, defensive end Jason Harris and receiver Brenden Schooler, a graduate transfer from Oregon.
The explosion of the grad-transfer market and the advent of the NCAA transfer portal have added layers to the player-acquisition process that didn’t previously exist.
“Recruiting has changed a lot just in the last two years,” Sumlin said. “January is going to be another mad scramble for people across the country.”
Here’s a look at the 12 players Arizona had secured as of Wednesday, including comments from assistant coaches who broke down their film for the UA football Twitter feed:
OL JOSH BAKER
Height/weight: 6-3, 280 School/hometown: Eureka HS (Eureka, Mo.)
CB KHARY CRUMP JR. Height/weight: 5-11, 175 School/hometown: Culver City HS
(Culver City, Calif.)
OL WOODY JEAN
Height/weight: 6-4, 285 School/hometown: Deerfield Beach HS (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
RB JALEN JOHN Height/weight: 5-11, 210 School/hometown: Lakeridge HS
(Lake Oswego, Ore.)
PK TYLER LOOP Height/weight: 6-0, 160 School/hometown: Lovejoy HS (Lucas, Texas)
TE STACEY MARSHALL Height/weight: 6-5, 240 School/hometown: Hutchinson CC
(Hutchinson, Kansas)
WR DYELAN MILLER Height/weight: 6-2, 190 School/hometown: Centennial HS
(Peoria)
WR ROBERTO MIRANDA
Height/weight: 6-2, 220 School/hometown: Schul-und Leistungssportzentrum (Berlin, Germany)
QB WILL PLUMMER Height/weight: 6-2, 205 School/hometown: Gilbert HS (Gilbert)
DE REGEN TERRY Height/weight: 6-4, 250 School/hometown: Florence HS
(Florence)
DL DION WILSON JR. Height/weight: 6-4, 256 School/hometown: Orange Vista
HS (Perris, Calif.)
WR MAJON WRIGHT
Height/weight: 6-2, 197 School/hometown: Cardinal Gibbons HS (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)