2021 recruiting: Arizona tied for 4th in Pac-12 team rankings, 33rd overall

Arizona is on track to have its highest finish in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings under head coach Kevin Sumlin. Three-star linebacker KC Ossai's decision to commit to the Wildcats over the weekend helped push the program into a tie for No. 33 on the overall list and a tie for fourth among Pac-12 teams.

Arizona and Arizona State both have 1,185 overall points according to the Rivals.com rankings formula while Baylor also has 1,185 points putting all three teams in a three-way tie in the overall rankings.

That is the highest rating the Wildcats have had this late in the cycle since Sumlin came aboard as the program's head coach in 2018. The Wildcats have finished no better than ninth in the conference and 55th overall since Sumlin's arrival in Tucson from Texas A&M.

Arizona does not yet have a four-star prospect in its recruiting class, but the addition of a number of impressive three-star prospects, such as high three-star receiver Tyrese Johnson and local Tucson running back Stevie Rocker, Jr., has helped boost the class so far this cycle.

The Wildcats are ahead of their conference counterparts at this stage when it comes to the amount of commitments and that is certainly playing into the higher ranking at this stage.

Arizona holds commitments from three more prospects than any of their Pac-12 foes with ASU, USC and Oregon all holding pledges from 18 recruits up to this point.

UA's ranking will fluctuate as the numbers across the league begin to balance out later in the cycle, but the fact that Arizona is still in the top half of the conference rankings at this point in the process is a positive sign for the development of the program by Sumlin and his staff.

While Arizona sits in strong position right now, one item to note about the ranking is the average star rating for the Wildcats in the 2021 class. Right now the average Arizona recruit is rated as a 2.67 star, which puts the Wildcats at the ninth spot in the league.

USC currently has the highest average star rating in the conference with a 3.72 overall. Washington State is in last place among Pac-12 teams with an average star rating of just 2.53 for its 15 commitments.

If Arizona is able to sustain its current ranking at No. 33 overall, it will mark the best finish for the Wildcats since the 2014 recruiting cycle when the program had the 28th-ranked class in the country.

UA's best finish since then came in the 2017 recruiting cycle when the Wildcats finished at No. 37 overall with a class led by four-star running back Nathan Tilford and four-star receiver Drew Dixon.

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