Analyzing the Arizona Football Recruiting class thus far

With nearly two months until the start of the Arizona Football season, I thought it would be a great time to analyze the 2020 recruiting class thus far!

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Arizona Football team, as the Wildcats have actually picked up five of their seven commits thus far in just the month of June alone!

As it stands, the Wildcats rank 82nd nationally according to 247Sports, and have the No. 11 overall class in the Pac-12 Conference. Definitely not great, but understand it is still early in the 2020 recruiting class, and these also aren’t the final player rankings.

Arizona Wildcats

Some players currently committed could see a shift upwards. Guys like; Cedric Melton and Khary Crump in particular, if you’re just looking strictly at their offer sheet and ability to move up in the rankings.

Also, we must note that the recruiting rankings at this point aren’t incredibly accurate either. At this stage, the rankings can be very much impacted by the volume of commits rather player ranking. Need proof? Look no further than Cal who currently ranks third in the conference.

The Golden Bears have 14 commits, with an average player rating of 85.22. By comparison, Washington is ranked fifth in the conference, despite having an average player rating 89.65. The reason? They only have eight commitments compared to Cal’s 14.

Also, as we’ve stated earlier, it’s good for Arizona to have patience. Typically the “better” recruits wait until later in the recruiting process to make their decisions, so it’s good to see head coach Kevin Sumlin and the Arizona staff taking a little bit of their time.

That’s not to say it’s a lock for Arizona to get a number of higher-profiled commits just because they waited, no, but perhaps by allowing a few of the recruitment’s to play out and develop, then perhaps we get could increase our chances of landing one or two.

Heck, look at last year when four-star recruits Bobby Wolfe and Jalen Curry committed a little later in the process.

So with that said, let’s take a look at the 2020 recruiting class thus far!

The most recent and arguably the best commit in the class thus far, Texas-based defensive end Robert Wooten is a big-time get for the Wildcats in the class of 2020. A talented and athletic edge rusher, he’s a big need for Arizona, as we still search for that missing, dominate pass rusher.

For some reason, it’s been tough for the Wildcats to put together a formidable pass rush in quite some time, but it seems like Sumlin is working to change that quickly. PJ Johnson did some great things for Arizona last season, but with his departure for the NFL, Arizona may be back to square one.

Wooten is a great addition and could be that foundational piece to help shore of Arizona’s defensive line.

He’s a powerful, strong and explosive defensive end with lots of upside, and at 230, he has the frame to fill out more and be a force along that defense. Wooten plays with a nasty streak and has a knack for getting to the football showing to have a great motor and finishing capabilities.

Just take a look at his junior year highlights!

Another tight end on the Wildcats? We know, it sounds weird, because this has been an under-utilized position over the past few years, especially under previous head coach Rich Rodriguez, which the tight end position was almost never used.

Perhaps that could change with Sumlin, and with the addition of Drake Dabney, maybe that’s a good indication of what Sumlin and Arizona are planning to do in the future, too!

This isn’t a shocking revelation and this shouldn’t come as a bold statement, but Drake is a good get for Arizona! Look no further than his impressive offer sheet.

A big-time athlete with a good-sized frame and great overall athleticism, you got to like this addition. He’s not blazingly quick, but he does have decent quickness to be a big target, and also does a great job at using his large frame to put him in a position to make the play.

He shows a cool, steady, confidence that’s refreshing to see for a player at this level! Plus Dabney is a solid blocker, showing good, raw potential.

He has solid hands, shows great technique in getting to the high point of the football and could be a big time target for Arizona in the future! Just look at his potential!

The first commit in the class of 2020, Will Plummer is that prototypical quarterback that Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone seems to covet.

Plummer has a good, solid-frame, and at 6-feet-2-inches and 205-pounds, he checks out there. Even better, is that he has a good arm and shows solid, overall athleticism, being quite mobile as well!

Despite being on a 4-7 team this past season, Plummer still put up some great numbers at Gilbert High School passing for over 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns to 15 interceptions according to Maxpreps. He also added another 500+ yards on the ground with another three touchdowns.

Will plays with a lot of confidence, and shows good overall vision and overall touch on his throws. He has good foundational skills and mechanics that he will be able to improve upon as well.

As we stated he’s pretty mobile, and can move pretty well in the pocket, showing a great ability to keep plays alive and even gets creative with the football by being patient in finding his receivers.

He does get caught rocking and throwing off his back foot which can cause passes to be under-thrown at times, but those are things that can be coached and corrected.

Overall, Will is a good football player and good addition in the class! Just watch for yourself!

If there’s one thing we should know, it’s that you can never have enough offensive lineman. And so far for 2020, Arizona has three commits in the class of 2020.

Just about a week ago, Woody Jean became the sixth overall commitment in the class, and is a solid pick-up for Arizona.

He’s a big body that can add more to his already big frame, and shows good skills as a blocker that can be improved upon!

For one, he’s strong and athletic, which are great skills to have as an offensive lineman and possesses good footwork and solid, overall blocking abilities that can be improved upon as well.

Woody has good hands, excelling in pass blocking a little bit better than he does in run blocking, and doesn’t shy away from contact.

He sometimes can play a little tall, but with a little polishing, he can make for a solid offensive lineman, and one the Wildcats should be happy about! Just take a look for yourself!

Another offensive lineman in the class of 2020, you really have to like this addition for a lot of reasons. For one, Josh Baker is a big, abled body with a big frame and plays the ever-important center position along the offensive line.

Like we said earlier, you can never have enough offensive lineman, and Baker is certainly a great addition for the Cats! He shows great athleticism coming out of his stance, and is able to engage his block.

He’s versatile, often pulling on runs blocks, getting out to that next level very quickly. He plays with a coveted ferocity and shows great balance and position when engaging in those blocks.

He’s big, strong and moves rather well and it shows in his blocking abilities. Baker has good footwork in his pass protections, but tends to excel more in his run blocking, absolutely punishing his opponents.

He’s also got great hands! Just take a look at the raw potential he has!

One of the earlier commits in the class of 2020, Khary Crump is one of the lesser known recruits, but he’s definitely a good one!

I think more indicative of rating, is the offer sheet Crump has. In case you weren’t aware, Crump also has offers from Oregon, Oregon State, BYU and Utah State. Not a bad offer sheet if you ask me!

Overall he has good size, but more importantly, he is a tremendous athlete with good closing speed!

One thing to like, is that Crump is active on the field, finishing this past year with 66 tackles (50 solo), with four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Additionally, he’s a physical corner that doesn’t shy from contact, and loves to jam his opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage… something Arizona should covet in a secondary player.

He looks great in his drop backs, looking very fluid with his hips, and looks comfortable when he breaks to the football, showing great confidence and ability. Just watch for yourself!

One of the more recent commits for Arizona, this is a commitment I actually like a lot! Yet another offensive lineman, Cedric Melton has a big frame, and at 6-feet-5-inches and 262-pounds, he has a lot of potential to fill out and still be an effective blocker!

What I like about Melton the most is that he has a lot of raw skill, and seems to play with a bit of a nasty streak which should be coveted by the Wildcats and Wildcat fans everywhere!

He’s strong, he moves well, showing plenty of explosiveness that helps him excel in the running game the most!

One thing I really like about Melton is that he shows good flexibility and agility and has a lot of raw potential that can be easily improved upon. He does tend to play a bit tall on his blocks, which isn’t a bad thing, but overall I think he has a great foundation to be a good lineman for the Cats down the road!

Take a look for yourself!

At Zona Zealots, we’re excited ow this class is shaping up so far, and can’t wait to see who else joins in the class! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!