Green hopes others follow his lead to UA
Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez has made it a point to make early offers to recruits at the start of his first full year of recruiting in Tucson.
Three-star running back prospect Zachary Green held one offer heading into his weekend visit with the 'Cats, but all he needed was one offer as he liked Rodriguez's program so much that the Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure standout decided to pull the trigger and commit to UA Saturday morning.
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"Just the love that I felt with the whole community, and the coaches and the AD and president of the school, they sat down one-on-one with me," Green said. "They really wanted me to come to the school. Coach Rodriguez and my running backs coach, coach (Calvin) Magee, sat me down and showed me exactly how I would exactly fit in the offense.
"And coach Matt Dudek was a really big factor in the whole recruitment process. He was a real good recruiter and he made the whole day funny and really made me feel like I was at home."
By only holding the one offer from the 'Cats, committing this early was certainly a possibility for Green. But once he was on campus and able to meet the staff, it became much more of a reality.
"I felt like I was going to do it soon, but I just wanted to get it over with now instead of going through all that process during my senior and not being able to focus on my team," the 5-foot-10 prospect said. "And I just want to make my team the best that it can be, and I want my team to win a championship. So I just want the focus to be on them."
The 2013 class will be a chance for Rodriguez to build his own recruiting class with players he's recruited. Green said that the UA head coach let him know how important his commitment will be going forward as the Wildcats try to build on the 2012 class.
"He was talking to me and saying that if there was a herd of cows, I was the cow with a bell around my neck and all the other cows will follow as soon as I would lead the way," Green said. "I decided to take the first step and I committed, so hopefully I can get other people to join me and make the class better."
Along with having a certain comfort level with the staff, Green said that the atmosphere around Tucson played a part in his decision as well.
"I knew about Tempe, because I went up there for the Semper Fi combine," he said. "The vibe up there was pretty cool, but down here it's just Arizona. All the fans here are all about Arizona, there's no other major basketball teams or baseball teams. It's just Arizona.
"And all the fans were just coming up to me randomly while I was eating and talking with me. The fan base is just ridiculous up here."
Rodriguez has made it clear that a commitment to his program is something that isn't going to change. He expects prospects that who commit to UA will not be taking other visits or entertaining other offers. Green understands that and wants to keep his word.
"This is probably going to be it," Green said. "I want to keep my word to coach Rodriguez and he's going to keep his word to me about my recruitment and offer. I want to be just as loyal, because there's nothing more important than your word."
Now that his commitment is out of the way, Green said all of his focus will be on helping his team win and getting better in preparation for when he arrives in Tucson in 2013.
"That's my focus now is to train for that next level and get my speed up," he said. "I know at the next level it's going to be a way faster game and a bigger adjustment, but I just can't wait."
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor