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COMMITMENT: Arizona lands 2022 four-star defensive end Sterling Lane

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Arizona's coaching staff has been loading up its 2022 recruiting class this offseason with 14 players committed at the beginning of this week.

Friday afternoon, head coach Jedd Fisch and defensive coordinator Don Brown landed four-star defensive end Sterling Lane adding to the haul the Wildcats have made this summer. Lane becomes the highest-rated defensive commit for the Wildcats during this cycle with his commitment and the second four-star prospect in the class.

During an interview with Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney, Lane talked about his thoughts on Arizona and the coaching staff. Defensive line coach Ricky Hunley helped create a connection with Lane leading up a visit to UA in June.

"Mainly, just the coaches and how they plan to use me," Lane said about what has stood out about the Wildcats. "It feels like a family over there, that’s what I liked most about it. Going into the visits, I looked at if I could see being there and that’s what I like about the school. It’s a big family."

Lane is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound recruit from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif. Ultimately his other finalists included Oregon, Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon State. He visited Oregon State and Colorado in June. Michigan, LSU, Arizona State, Utah and Tennessee are some of the other programs that previously offered Lane.

Landing another highly-targeted prospect is a signal that Fisch is pushing the program forward in his first season leading the Wildcats.

“His production has been solid, he has an impressive frame and over the years he's been very good on the camp circuit so this is a big win in California for Jedd Fisch and his staff as they aggressively go after top targets," Gorney said of of Lane, who had 34 tackles and five sacks in the shorted spring season as a junior.

Lane gives the Wildcats four defensive lineman commits in the class and is the second highest-rated recruit behind tight end Keyan Burnett, who committed at the beginning of the month.

This is the time Arizona has landed more than one four-star prospect since 2016 when receiver Drew Dixon and running back Nathan Tilford committed to the Wildcats for the 2017 class.

Arizona now has 15 commits for the 2022 class after Lane's decision Friday. The group now features eight defensive players and seven offensive players.

The Wildcats now sits in a tie for 37th overall in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings for 2022 pushing UA ahead of Illinois, Auburn and Purdue on the list. That is good enough for fourth in the Pac-12 rankings behind Oregon, Stanford and USC.

GOAZCATS.com senior editor Matt Moreno contributed to this article.

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