Arizona loses two more 2021 commits from New Orleans after Sumlin news

Arizona went into the month of December with four prospects from New Orleans committed to play for the Wildcats in 2021. By Sunday afternoon that number moved down to one. Two more prospects from the city decided to back off their longtime pledges to the Wildcats after the decision by the program to dismiss head coach Kevin Sumlin took place on Saturday.

Both receiver Tyrese Johnson and running back Montrell Johnson, no relation, cited the uncertainty of the head coach position at Arizona as being the catalyst to their decisions to decommit. Losing both prospects would be a major blow for the Wildcats as each was expected to be an early contributor for the the team.

Tyrese Johnson had been the highest-rated commit for Arizona in the class as a high three-star prospect with offers from several Power Five programs including Florida State, Tennessee, Arkansas and Colorado.

Montrell Johnson has been among the most productive recruits in Arizona's class putting up big numbers for his team at De La Salle over his junior and senior seasons. He held offers from Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Colorado and Kansas among several others before picking the Wildcats.

Both prospects have been committed to Arizona since July when the program was able to make more inroads in Louisiana thanks in large part to inside receivers coach and Baton Rouge native Theron Aych.

"The staff just treated me like family and that's what I'm looking for in a college," Montrell Johnson said at the time of his decision to commit. "The coaches made sure that they set up a virtual visit for me to see the facilities, academics and how they develop their players during the offseason."

"I got real close to coach (AJ) Steward and coach (Theron) Aych. Our relationship is really good. I feel like I can talk to them about anything and that really matters because I've got make sure the coaches want my best interest off the field and off the field."

UA's four New Orleans-based commits were among the most important for the class, but only Holy Cross High School linebacker/safety Kolbe Cage remains in that group after De La Salle defensive end Ja'Marian Peterson decided to back off his pledge to Arizona earlier this month.

Cage, a three-star recruit who does not hold any other Power Five offers, plans on signing with the Wildcats this Wednesday when the early signing period opens up.

The decisions by both prospects Sunday come less than 24 hours after the Wildcats decided to part ways with Sumlin after three years in Tucson. The former UA head coach collected just nine wins over those three seasons and just six wins in the Pac-12. Sumlin recalibrated his coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball heading into the 2020 season, but he ultimately guided the program to its worst losing streak in school history losing his last 12 games as head coach.

Arizona has now lost four commitments since the beginning of December as California defensive end Ja'Quez Harvey also backed off his pledge to the Wildcats earlier this month.

UA has 20 commitments overall in the class with several of those prospects still intending to sign with the program this week despite Sumlin no longer in place as the team's head coach.

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