Arizona football head coach Jedd Fisch, Director of Player Personnel Matt Doherty, along with coordinators Brennan Carroll and Johnny Nansen were available on National Signing Day to speak with media about the incoming signees along with the upcoming game against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

Here are the five takeaways from the coaches’ new conference:

With the transfer portal seemingly taken over the college football world, Jedd Fisch has stuck to primarily high school recruiting. Fisch, who served many seasons as an NFL head coach compared high school recruiting to the the NFL Draft with the ability for teams to develop players from the ground up with the transfer portal being similar to free agency as it gives teams the option to fill spots when needed. The third-year UA head coach noted that he prefers high school players over transfers when recruiting as he’d rather “train than retrain”

“I’d much prefer to coach a player that walks into our building, that wants to be here as a high school kid that we can develop," Fisch said Wednesday.

With senior left tackle Jordan Morgan opting out of the Alamo Bowl to prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft, the UA will need to fill Morgan’s spot come Dec. 28. Carroll noted that right tackle Jonah Saviinaea, right guard Raymond Pulido and tackle Joe Borjon are rotating and will replace the All-American tackle against Oklahoma.

With starting nose tackle Bill Norton having one more year of eligibility, there have been question marks on whether Norton would return for one last year in the desert. Nansen cleared the air when asked about the 6-6, 325-pound, saying “he better, has has to come back.”

Norton will bring experience to a UA defensive line that will be losing seniors defensive linemen Sio Nofoagatoto'a and Tyler Manoa next season.

Throughout the Fisch era, there appears to be a few players from each recruiting class that surprise people by playing better than their initial ranking coming in, such as Jacob Manu ('22 class), who moved up the ranks from a walk-on to a captain the following season.

Doherty said that safety 6-0, 165-pound Rahim Wright is his surprise player and praised his versatility and the ability to play all three levels on the defensive side of the ball.

"I think there's gonna be some guys that surprise us like they always do," Fisch said.

Fisch said he was "blown away by what wide receiver Audric Harris looks like and said that Rahshawn Clark is a "special player."

Coming in as the highest recruited class in Arizona history, four-star recruit Demond Williams has turned heads to Arizona's coaches already without even stepping onto Dick Tomey Practice Field. Fisch noted that Williams is somebody checks many boxes for what their program is looking for in a quarterback.

"He doesn't throw many interceptions,'" Fisch said. ... "He's flatout fast. ... He loves the game of football, he fits into what we do. ... It was a huge deal for us to get him. ... This is who should be here."

Fisch said that NFL coaches like Sean McVay and Josh McDaniels have praised the freshman quarterback's talent.

Fisch a couple weeks back noted that he would only consider players in the transfer portal if they had a prior relationship with him and the program. Fisch said that transfer Jack Lutttrell had a relationship with secondary coach Duane Akina and transfer defensive back Jordan Shaw Jr. had a relationship with cornerbacks coach John Richardson.

With Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis, Dalton Johnson most likely playing their last season next year, bringing in guys in the secondary like Shaw Jr. and Turran Williams we’re essential to bolstering the amount of depth and talent in that unit for next season and years to come, according to Nansen.

“To increase that number was a big focus for us, especially in this recruiting class,” Nansen said.