Former San Jose State LB signee Jabari Mann joins Arizona's 2024 class
In what became a busy Monday at Arizona with the announcements of a new athletic director and a contract extension for basketball coach Tommy Lloyd, the football program chose not to be left out of the fun on Presidents Day.
Before the end of the afternoon, the Wildcats announced the signing of linebacker Jabari Mann who had previously signed to play at San Jose State for Brent Brennan's staff. The 6-foot recruit from Serra High School in San Mateo, California committed to the Spartans exactly a year to the day that he joined the Wildcats.
Last week, the two-star prospect was granted a release from his National Letter of Intent with the Spartans after making the request earlier in the month.
Danny Gonzales and the new staff at UA moved quickly to bring in the two-way recruit who also played running back at Serra.
"He is explosive," Gonzales said in a video produced by the team and released alongside Mann's signing announcement Monday. "He's really twitchy. As you watch some of the clips you can see how physical he is, he runs sideline to sideline."
Mann is a two-sport athlete who runs on his school's 4x100 relay team and is a long jumper in addition to his work with the football team.
"He's a natural football player," Gonzales said. "There's things that you don't need to coach. He follows the ball, he can see guys in front of him. But, he's explosive. He can change directions on a whim, and when he hits you, you know he hits you."
MaxPreps credits Mann with 177 career tackles, including 104 of the solo variety, to go along with 15 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and a pair of interceptions during his varsity career at Serra.
Since the Wildcats went through their coaching change the 2024 class has been reshaped with several players departing for Washington. However, Brennan and his staff have been quick to make additions to the program with Mann joining a couple other players from the Bay Area.
Arizona signed College of San Mateo defensive prospects Johno Price and Cyrus Durham earlier this month.
Recruits in the 2024 class have until April 1 to sign a National Letter of Intent with a program of their choosing.
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