Arizona received some of the best news it could have received Monday as one of its top priorities in the 2020 recruiting class gave the program his commitment. Florence High School standout defensive end Regen Terry took his time with the recruiting process and visited many schools to find the right spot. Ultimately, the right spot ended up being right down I-10 as he announced his commitment to play for Kevin Sumlin and Arizona over offers from several other programs including Utah, Nebraska, Kansas State, Boise State and Boston College.
Those five schools made up the top six for Terry, but eventually the ability to stay close to home and play for a program that made him a priority won out. The 6-foot-4 prospect has visited Arizona's campus several times throughout the year and he finally took an official visit out to Tucson a couple weeks ago when UA the Wildcats hosted Utah for their final home game of the season.
Terry is someone Sumlin and his staff continued to prioritize throughout the last several months and the three-star prospect was one of the recruits the UA head coach used a helicopter to go see this season making a statement about how much of a priority the defensive end recruit has been for the program.
That was important to the overall process considering Sumlin has fired three defensive coaches so far this year including defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and defensive line coach Iona Uiagalelei, who both had a hand in recruiting Terry. To still land the high-level recruit after those departures speaks to Sumlin's ability to recruit him.
"They care about you and they're up front, and that's what you want as a kid going into a college," he previously said about the coaching staff at Arizona led by Sumlin. "People that are willing to help you get where you want. That's really good."
Although Sumlin is not permitted to discuss an unsigned prospect, he did say after Saturday night's loss to rival Arizona State that his plan was to use Sunday to begin recruiting with a couple prospects in particular at the center of his focus as he prepared to hit the road.
Terry is believed to be one of those recruits while fellow in-state defensive end Jason Harris is believed to be the other. Sumlin has prioritized both in-state recruits and both players were seen spending time together on the sidelines ahead of the Arizona's game with the Utes.
Now with Terry locked up the Wildcats can turn their attention to Harris, who has been a top priority for Sumlin in this recruiting cycle. Even without a defensive line coach, the goal for Arizona remains the same. Sumlin wants his team to have more talent along the defensive line and Terry's commitment helps check off another box for UA's defensive front in the 2020 class.
Terry joins pass rusher Dion Wilson Jr. as the only two defensive line prospects in UA's current recruiting class that is now up to 14 prospects.