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Published Jun 29, 2021
Football recruiting: Five things we learned in June
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Matt Moreno  •  GOAZCATS
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@MattRMoreno

The dead period finally came to an end at the beginning of June, and what followed was a rush of visits across the country. Recruits and coaches had waited for more than a year to have face-to-face interaction, and they were finally able to get that with visits and camps once again allowed to take place across the country.

The scheduled summer dead period is now in place as of Monday, so recruits will once again have some time to think about their next moves. For many prospects it means reflecting on the visits they made during the month of June while programs recalibrate for the fall.

Arizona added a couple more commitments this month with recent official visitors Kyron Chambers and Jonah Savaiinaea both picking the Wildcats after making the trip to Tucson.

The Wildcats could heat up with more pledges soon, and that would be a strong start for head coach Jedd Fisch and his staff as they continue to put together their first full recruiting class.

Here is a look back at some of the things we learned this month after speaking with several recruits about their experience in Tucson.

The "it's personal" message is resonating with recruits

The branding can be found everywhere around Arizona's program, but Fisch and his staff hope to put the "it's personal" catchphrase into use. During the month of visits the coaches had an opportunity to do that, and it was something that stood out to recruits making the trip to Tucson. Whether it was pool parties at Fisch's house, time spent with the coaches in the film room or time spent around the rest of the team recruits certainly felt the personal nature of the program during the last several weeks.

Colorado-based offensive lineman Travis Gray was one of the early visitors, and though he was making a return trip to Tucson the personal element of his official visit made him feel welcome at Arizona.

"That’s a hard one because I had many memorable events, but if I had to name one I think the pool party at Coach Fisch’s home was the best," Gray said about what he will remember most from the visit. "His wife Amber made sure we had everything we needed. They welcomed us into their home and made us feel like family."

Because Fisch is a new coach at Arizona he has not had the opportunity to meet recruits face to face before this month. Getting the in-person interaction is something prospects have been looking forward to, and for quarterback commit Noah Fifita it was positive to see that what he has been hearing virtually and over the phone lines up with the reality at UA.

"The thing that stuck out most from the visit was how genuine and real the coaches were," the California-based quarterback said. "Everything they said this weekend and have said to me in the past holds true. Obviously they’re great coaches but they are also just great people. They have the same energy since they offered me six months ago and the love they show is unbelievable."

Fisch has been active in the visit process as well, and he's not simply leaving all the work to his assistants and recruiting staff. Several of the recruits who visited campus mentioned their interactions with the UA head coach as a highlight of the trip.

"Coach Fisch took time to get to know our family better and made it an effort to build personal relationships with all of us," high three-star receiver Shawn Miller said after his visit with the Wildcats.

Position coaches and lead recruiters are a key element of any recruitment, so for other visitors getting to spend some time with them mattered quite a bit as well.

"Having the chance to interact with the coaches and staff members, face to face, gave me the ability to get to know them on a personal level for sure," in-state athlete Quaron Adams said. "I got to know about everyone’s background, their past and what they’ve done to get where they are today. And, I even got to meet some of their families."

Arizona has been active in all parts of the country, so for some prospects Tucson is a long way from home. Feeling comfortable around the staff and in Tucson is certainly a big deal for the prospects who are going to be thousands of miles away from their families, and the staff did a good job of helping to do that during the month of June.

"Them calling me every day, that actually got me less nervous," defensive end commit Jermaine Wiggins Jr. said about his talks with defensive line coach Ricky Hunley and defensive coordinator Don Brown. "... By the time I got there the relationship we had was great. It was basically like a father-son relationship with me and coach Hunley and coach Brown."

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