Green happy with Wildcat offer, sets visit
When Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez discussed his first recruiting class on National Signing Day, he said that one key to continued success on the recruiting front would be to get prospects on campus for visits.
The Wildcats were the first program to offer Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure running back Zachary Green, and now the junior has planned a trip to Tucson. Green's unofficial visit to UA is set for the weekend of April 6.
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"With that first offer, it just felt like a whole bunch of weight was lifted off my shoulders," Green said. "I knew I was going to get my first offer, but I didn't know it was going to come from Arizona. For Rich Rodriguez to extend an offer out to me, I just feel real blessed."
While the Wildcats are the only program to offer the 5-foot-10 running back, Green said he continues to hear from different programs throughout the country.
"Hawaii, UCLA, USC and a whole bunch of other schools keep sending me letters saying that they're going to offer me real soon," Green said.
Although Green is hopeful that he receives other offers, he's happy with the interest he's receiving right now.
"It makes me feel real good," Green said. "And it just gives me more incentive to play better and show people that I deserve the offers. I want to prove people wrong, and it's just a real good feeling to get offered before your senior year.
"You don't have to worry about it, you can just focus on getting better and your team. You're not going to be focusing on getting offers your senior year."
Because the Wildcats have extended an offer, Green has decided to take an unofficial visit to Tucson where he'll be able to learn a lot more about what his role would be in Rodriguez's offense.
"I'm taking my unofficial visit to Arizona on the sixth (April) to the seventh," he said. "And that is when they're going to talk to me - I'm taking it by myself - they're going to bring me on campus and talk to me about how I'm going to fit in to their offense and what I can do and what impact I can make on the team."
As far as his knowledge of Rodriguez's system and staff, Green is not completely in the dark about the past success the group has had at other programs.
"I knew that they run the spread and I knew that the run game is about 60-70 percent of their offense," Green said. "So that's a good thing, because I want to be on a team that uses me. I'm an all-around back.
"I can block, I can catch passes out of the backfield and I can run the ball. So I just love offenses that use the running backs and quarterbacks to run the ball as well because you never know who's going to get the ball and they're not going to key on one person."
Green said that he's grown to around 5-foot-10 now and he's also right at 210 pounds. The running back prospect said that being the size he is helps him out on the field for what he wants to do more than if he was a taller player.
"I can bring a lot to the table," he said. "I can see the hole, and my vision is out of this world and it just comes naturally to me. My thighs are the biggest asset on me, if you're going to arm tackle me you can't arm tackle me. It usually takes more than one or two people to bring me down.
"I'm not going to go down with that initial hit, it's going take a second or third hit before I go down. And coming out of the backfield I've caught about 15 balls for 267 yards for about four or five touchdowns. I'm a threat both ways and I'm just dangerous on the field."
Although he is hopeful to see a few more offers before making his choice, Green has an idea of what other things he wants to see in his eventual college program.
"Academics and just the atmosphere around the college itself," Green said. "I'm going to be spending the next four years at the college that I choose, and I just want that school to be right for me and to help me after. I know that football isn't going to be forever, so I need to get an education as well as do my part athletically.
"So I think that education is equally as important as the football."
The 2013 prospect doesn't want his recruitment to have an effect on his final season of high school, so a decision is likely not going to come until after his senior year is over and he's had a chance to see some more college campuses.
"I am probably thinking about making a decision senior year after the football season is over," Green said. "I definitely want to take my official visits."
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor