Looking at the Arizona Football recruiting needs for 2023

Arizona Football is off and running on the recruiting trail, and as the Wildcats have had some early recruiting success, we look at the remaining roster needs.

The 2022 Arizona Football season is quickly approaching, and after a tough 2021 season in which the Wildcats stumbled to a 1-11 finish, there is plenty of work to be done to turn this program around.

Luckily, head coach Jedd Fisch and staff have done a tremendous job these past few months in revamping and revitalizing this roster. As it stands, Arizona is poised to be a better team in 2022.

Over this next year or so, development is going to be crucial, and even though the Wildcats added a lot of great pieces to the roster over the past few months, recruiting is ongoing, and the work to get better never ends.

So far for 2023, Arizona Football is off to a great start on the recruiting, but these are the major positions the Wildcats will need to continue to prioritize.

Arizona has quite a few open spots heading into this off-season, and while the scholarships would be best used to improve talent everywhere, these should at least be the focused positions moving forward…

Offensive Line

In short, this group had its struggles in 2022. They had several, glaring weaknesses with a lack of depth perhaps being the biggest. Those issues became even more pronounced once the Wildcats suffered a few injuries.

If we’ve learned anything over the years, it is that we can never have enough depth along the offensive line, and given Arizona’s issues on offense, it would be vital for this group to be filled out even more.

Arizona did add a few offensive linemen in the class for 2022; however, for 2023, Arizona needs more emphasis here. So far, they have Rhino Tapaatoutai committed, but a few more would be wise as they continue to build out depth.

Defensive Line

A group that loses some talent in the departures of Trevon Mason, Mo Diallo, and Leevel Tatum III, this is a position that could use more depth and talent.

In 2021, Arizona did a decent job in getting to the quarterback, totaling 22 sacks for 139 yards. However, where the team seemed to struggle the most was in limiting opponents’ rushing attack. The Wildcats surrendered an average of 180.9 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. That’s an area that needs to drastically improve.

Luckily, Jalen Harris and Kyron Barrs are coming back, and the Wildcats have added several key freshmen and transfers. Now, should this group be as good as advertised, they will be significantly improved. However, now isn’t the time to let up, Arizona needs at least another player or two for 2023 in my opinion.

Safety/Secondary

The Wildcats were dangerously thin here this past season and the production was a bit limited as well. So naturally, what Arizona desperately needs is more depth in the secondary.

Coming in, Arizona added some big-time talent in 2022 with the commitments of Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis. They also added UCLA transfer DJ Warnell who should make an immediate impact.

Currently, Arizona has Canyon Moses and Justin Johnson committed for 2023, but much like their other needs, the Wildcats need immediate talent, and overall, Arizona would be wise to bring another commit or two in the secondary.