Relationships make difference for Iakopo in decision
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Arizona put together a good stretch of days this week beginning last weekend with five commitments on Saturday. By Tuesday the Wildcats had bumped that number up to seven in four days and three-star safety London Iakopo was among that group as he gave UA his pledge Monday. The Long Beach City College (Long Beach, Calif.) standout has been leaning Arizona's way since the program offered, but with spots continuing to fill up in the 2016 class and no new options emerging Iakopo knew where he wanted to go.
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"I knew they were the right fit for me, but I just wanted to go over it with my family just to be sure about it," Iakopo told GOAZCATS.com. "I talked to them, especially my parents to make sure they were OK with it, and they were on board. They'll support me wherever I go, so it was just talking to them and talking to my coach.
"So I called coach Rod and pulled the trigger."
Iakopo's teammate at LBCC, Josh Allen, made his decision in favor of Arizona on Saturday and the duo has certainly had conversations about playing together at the next level. Watching his teammate and friend make his choice in favor of the 'Cats helped give Iakopo a nudge in Arizona's direction as well.
"It was huge knowing that Josh was going there, and he said he loved it going on the visit down there," he said. "It definitely opened my eyes that he loved it down there, because when I went down I loved it too. Being able to commit with him and being able to look forward to spending a couple more years with him at the same college it's an amazing feeling."
The only thing that delayed Iakopo's decision up to this point was that he wanted to try and get out to Arizona again for a visit before making his decision and the plan was to wait for an unofficial as some family obligations prevented him from visiting Tucson last weekend. Still, Iakopo had already visited Arizona for a game when he was a high school prospect so he was not as hesitant knowing he enjoyed his visit the first time around.
"I wanted to go out there this past weekend, but family comes first," he said. "But I trusted JayJay's (Allen) word on it, because I already knew what the school was all about. I've seen all the facilities and coach (Matt) Dudek has told me about some of the other stuff they've added. So overall I love the staff and they're a great group of guys ... I just enjoy the whole feeling of Arizona and everything they're about."
The Wildcats recruited Iakopo out of high school when he was at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and continuing that relationship into his junior college career is something that ultimately meant a great deal to the new Wildcat safety commit.
"It was huge," he said. "Knowing they were still in touch with me even after high school showed they never gave up on me, and I wanted to show them I never gave up on them. At first when they didn't offer me out of high school I was kind of mad about it I'm not going to lie, but things happen and God works in different ways."
Iakopo also had offers from Iowa State and Washington State when he made his decision. He is currently rated No. 53 overall in the Rivals.com JUCO100 rankings that were released this week.
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor