2022 commitment: In-state DT Isaiah Johnson makes the call for Arizona
Since arriving on campus in Tucson new Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch has made it a point to reignite in-state recruiting for the Wildcats. The trend in recent years has been for Power Five-level recruits to leave home, but that is beginning to change thanks to the efforts of the new UA coach.
The latest piece to fall into place comes from a familiar place as defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson is the latest addition for the Wildcats from Chandler High School. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle took an official visit to Arizona last month, and he came away with a positive impression.
Hoping to make a decision by August the 2022 defensive lineman made his decision to commit to his home-state school Tuesday evening just hours after three-star California cornerback TJ Hall gave Arizona his commitment making it a big day for Fisch and his staff.
Johnson is the first interior defensive lineman to give the Wildcats his commitment this cycle helping defensive coordinator Don Brown and defensive line coach Ricky Hunley fill an important need up front.
"Well when I met with the defensive coordinator, coach Brown, we talked about where I would fit in and we talked about me playin 3-tech and a little bit of nose," Johnson recently said about how he would fit into the Arizona defense.
Johnson and Hunley have certainly built a strong connection throughout the recruiting process with the new UA commit excited about their future together.
"I spent a significant amount of time with coach Hunley," Johnson said about his official visit to Arizona last month. "It was cool because I got to better understand who he was and what he was really about, and also because I play D line and he’s the D line coach."
Johnson is now the seventh defensive commit for Arizona in the 2022 class as the Wildcats continue to work on improving the team on that side of the ball. He is also the fourth in-state prospect to commit to UA in the class.
Chandler-Hamilton offensive lineman Grayson Stovall and defensive end/outside linebacker Deuce Davis and Saguaro defensive end/outside linebacker Tristan Monday are the other three in-state commits for Arizona.
Johnson is the first high school recruit from Chandler to commit to Arizona under Fisch, but he is also continuing a recent trend for the Wildcats. UA added three Chandler alums this offseason via the transfer portal with linebacker Malik Reed (Wisconsin), safety Gunner Cruz (Northwestern) and running back Drake Anderson (Northwestern) all returning home to play for the Wildcats this year.
Cruz hosted Johnson during his official visit to Tucson in June.
Four of the 12 current Arizona commits could end up contributing along the defensive line.
Utah State and Idaho are the other two programs that offered Johnson.
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