In an offseason that'll be held under a microscope for most of the Arizona football fanbase and community, the staff had their first major win of the offseason keeping a majority of the recruiting class altogether in one spot.

There are a couple of recruits that Arizona (4-8) lost in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day and that potentially has a lot to do with the team losing seven of its last eight.

Nonetheless, 20 recruits including a surprise player signed their agreements with one to note remaining in four-star QB Robert McDaniel who came on strong with numerous teams having commits at the position flip to other programs.

Keeping the foundation of the class in Tucson was crucial though for the program to get started on the right foot next year.

"I really think [our recruits] all have a chance to really contribute in meaningful ways," head coach Brent Brennan said on the signees. "Some of them this next year and then some of them down the road. But I feel like we really answered some areas of need and we're going to be very active in the transfer portal."

There's one thing in common when looking at the Wildcats' class for 2025 and that's just how big Arizona is trying to go moving into the future.

With the portal windows still yet to occur, Arizona will already have more size than it did last season.

Eight of Arizona's 20 signees are trench players showcasing the clear priority as nearly half of the class was spent on overhauling potentially the worst position groups a year ago.

"I felt like a lot of the teams we played were bigger than us," said Brennan on recruiting the lines. "Physicality being a hallmark of who we want to be and such an important thing in the game of football, that's something we had to aggressively address with this recruiting class and then we'll continue to aggressively address in the transfer portal."

The defensive line was underwhelming and it showed on tape especially late in the season where opposing teams ran for huge chunk plays nearly whenever they wanted to.

That's where you bring in New Zealand defensive tackle Zac Siulepa who would've easily been the rangiest player on last year's roster standing at 6-foot-7, which ties the roster's tallest player, and 350 pounds which would be the heaviest.

"You notice the size and length of this young man, right?" Brennan said. "We looked at this class and with the defensive line, just kind of adding people to that that we think can impact the team right now, and Zac [Siulepa] is one of those guys."

This is a kind of player that defensive coordinators love to have at their disposal, as with that size he can command so much attention from the offensive line that it allows for a defense to experiment their looks and calls in his favor.

Over on the offensive side talk about a group that was absolutely derailed by injuries and caused it to reshuffle its pieces multiple times throughout the year.

Stalwarts like Jonah Savaiinaea and Josh Baker will presumably be gone as Baker runs out of eligibility and Savaiinaea will flirt with the draft if all the right cards fall into the deck.

Those aren't players you just "replace" and that was seen as the Wildcats sorely missed their left tackle in Jordan Morgan who was picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

With the six offensive line recruits brought in for Arizona, there is an average height of 6-foot-4 and 280.5 pounds that'll give OL coach Josh Oglesby some players that'll need to add weight to play at the next level but he can mold into legitimate contributors.

That makes these recruits that much more needed and gives them an opportunity to play very early in the process if they develop beyond expectations.

> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans as the Wildcats continue Building The Tradition

> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel

> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995, @RyanYoungRivals)

> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)

> LIKE us on Facebook

> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)