Arizona has built rosters mostly devoid of blue-chip (Four and five-star players) since 247Sports began their Team Talent Composite Rankings in 2015. The Wildcats have had an average of 6.6 four-star players and have had only one five-star player (linebacker Justin Flowe) on their roster in the last 10 years.
A lot has been made about the talent on the 2024 Arizona roster. Arizona fell from the 43rd -best roster nationally and eighth in the Pac-12 in 2023 to 56th and 11th in the Big XII in 2024. Flowe was the only five-star player on the 2023 Arizona roster and remains on the team in 2024.
Arizona had a program-high 13 four-star players on the 2023 roster. The 2024 Arizona roster has nine four-star players. Ten former Arizona players transferred to Washington after former head coach Jedd Fisch left Tucson for Seattle. Three of those players received four-star transfer grades.
Building a consistent winning program without blue-chip players is extremely difficult. Fisch signed an elite class with the Arizona football program in 2022. The 2022 Arizona class ranked 22nd in the 247Sports composite rankings. Six four-star players signed with Arizona in 2022.
Year | National | Conf. | 5-Stars | 4-Stars | 3-Stars | Average | Points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 45 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 59 | 83.72 | 606.92 | 7-6 |
2016 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 56 | 83.70 | 616.31 | 3-9 |
2017 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 63 | 83.60 | 607.31 | 7-6 |
2018 | 53 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 83.50 | 580.54 | 5-7 |
2019 | 63 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 83.80 | 570.07 | 4-8 |
2020 | 68 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 83.21 | 564.56 | 0-5 |
2021 | 66 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 83.78 | 578.06 | 1-11 |
2022 | 51 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 68 | 84.91 | 652.69 | 5-7 |
2023 | 43 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 64 | 85.85 | 682.90 | 10-3 |
2024 | 56 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 56 | 85.95 | 672.70 | 3-6 |
Average | 53.4 | 9.6 | 0,2 | 6.6 | 63.3 | 84.202 | 613.206 | 45-72 |
The star of the 2022 Arizona class was four-star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan who had developed into a five-star player who is a near lock to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. McMillan is 182 receiving yards away from breaking the program record set by his position coach Bobby Wade from 1999 through 2002.
Linebacker Sterling Lane, running back Rayshon Luke and tight end Keyan Burnett are the only other 2022 four-star signees who remain on the Arizona roster. Cornerback Ephesians Prysock and WR Kevin Green Jr. were two of the Arizona transfers to Washington.
The Arizona rosters dipped significantly as expected during the failed tenure under Kevin Sumlin. Brent Brennan inherited a roster with the fourth-most four-star players on Arizona during the Team Talent Composite era but tied for the least amount of three-stars. Recruiting at a higher level is critical for the future of the Arizona program.