Grad transfer Aaron Blackwell commits to Arizona Football

Gaining more ground on the recruiting front, the Arizona Football team picked up a commitment from New Mexico grad transfer, Aaron Blackwell!

With weeks until signing day, this recruiting class if finally shaping up for fans to see. On Saturday the Arizona Football team added a crucial piece with the addition of New Mexico grad transfer, Aaron Blackwell.

The defensive lineman announced he would be transferring, and made his commitment official yesterday via social media.

Arizona Wildcats

If you may recall, we talked about Aaron last week, and how he should be a target for the Wildcats in 2020. A solid defensive lineman for the Lobos, after getting injured in 2019, Blackwell instead decided he was going to use his last year of eligibility to place elsewhere.

Originally a prospect from the Phoenix/ Peoria area, Aaron would go on to play at Mesa Community College, before transferring to New Mexico.

Aaron would then appear in 20 games for the Lobos, finishing his career in Albuquerque with 42 tackles (19 solo), 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Not bad if you were to compare that to the production of Arizona’s pass rushers the past couple years.

While not elite numbers, his presence in Tucson alone will help immensely this defensive line group, and at 6-feet-3-inches and 298 pounds, Aaron adds immediate size and depth to the DL. He also acts as more or less a band aid, giving Arizona one year of football before they would need to find a younger player via recruiting or on their roster that can continue to develop to replace him.

As for this year, we can just enjoy Aaron and hope he can bring some stability and success to Arizona. Heck, it even helps having his previous position coach in Stan Eggen coaching him in Tucson now too!

Heck just look at what he did at New Mexico!

Aaron is an explosive defensive player that is able to get out of his stance and shoot the gap quickly. He has solid quickness off the line, he’s strong and finishes plays well.

Mostly lining up in the 0-technique over the center, Aaron shows great gap discipline being able to play run defense really well. He’s also a very solid pass rusher, being able to bully his way to get up field and create pressure in the backfield. Something that has been desperately needed from this Wildcats’ defensive line group the past couple seasons.

Anyways, at Zona Zealots, we’re excited for the addition of Aaron and can’t wait to see what he can bring to Tucson! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!