DeWayne Walker has reached the point in his career when he is coaching the sons of his former players. Tuesday, Carter Stoutmire announced his commitment to Arizona after a weekend visit to Tucson meaning he will be the next Stoutmire to be coached by the Wildcats' cornerbacks coach.
The new UA commit's father, Omar, previously had a lengthy NFL career and for several years it was Walker who was his coach. That built-in connection to the Wildcats helped forge a bond between the three-star cornerback and Arizona.
Stoutmire was offered by Walker and the Wildcats back in January, and since then he has had his eye on joining the program. Heading into his weekend visit at Arizona, the 2023 recruit had a strong feeling that he would end up picking the Wildcats once he had a chance to see the campus.
He eventually decided it was the right spot and the right fit for his future.
"The whole plan going along was to commit before the season," Stoutmire said. "Going into this trip I was planning on committing soon after this trip. It was down to Arizona and Mississippi State, actually. I was leaning towards Arizona for a long time, I just wanted to go there for verification.
"Then I also just wanted to solidify my spot and my scholarship because of how the portal is so crazy now."
Stoutmire was impressed with the recruiting class the Wildcats were able to build for 2022, and he believes strongly that UA will have an opportunity to build a top-tier group for 2023 as well. It's something he wanted to be part of and is something else that played into his decision.
