Arizona will enter August with the 41st-ranked recruiting class for 2022, according to Rivals.com. It's not an amazing ranking by any stretch, but it is a sign of progress. For a program entering the season on a 12-game losing streak any bit of upward movement equals something positive.
The Wildcats' average ranking over the three classes put together by Kevin Sumlin was somewhere around 59th in the country. The previous coaching staff at Arizona topped out as the 55th-best class back in the 2019 cycle while the low number of 65th came with the previous class.
Jedd Fisch and his staff recently added arguably the most versatile piece of the class as California defensive back/receiver Zeke Berry picked the Wildcats over offers from Oregon, UCLA, Utah, Arizona State, Cal, Pittsburgh and others. The coaches also have UA in a strong position with numerous highly-rated prospects such as four-star tight end Keyan Burnett, four-star linebacker Tyler Martin and top-50 wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
Adding any or all of those prospects would change the look of the class and propel it forward in a big way.
Fisch has a tall task on his hands in rebuilding Arizona, but every coach knows that taking a program from the bottom and bringing it back to life will center around recruiting. The UA head coach has dedicated resources and effort to that part of his job.
"It's been fantastic," Fisch said Tuesday at Pac-12 Media Day when asked about the response to his staff's recruiting efforts. "We work hard at it. It matters to us. It matters to my wife. It matters to our other coaches' wives. Wives are a huge part of it, connecting with the moms and the dads.We're very, very actively involved. I believe that I feel like I'm on more text chains with moms than I am with the kids sometimes.
"But the truth be told, it's a situation where we're recruiting very hard and we're trying very hard to turn this thing around. We have an unbelievable amount of enthusiasm toward our program and energy towards our program. I believe if we do things the right way, things will work out really well for the Arizona Wildcats."
