Wildcats land Oregon-based OL a bit earlier than expected

With over 30 offers Eugene (Ore.) Sheldon offensive lineman Cody Shear knew it was soon time to bring things to an end. That is why his long-term goal was to have his decision made by July 5. It ended up coming in a bit sooner than that Friday night as the three-star prospect gave Arizona his commitment just a few weeks removed from his latest visit to Tucson.

Shear already visited Arizona earlier in the year during spring ball and on that trip he was hoping to just leave with an offer. He did. And since then things have continued to trend in the right direction with Rich Rodriguez's program.

On the heels of a big month of June for UA it was Shear who decided it was his time to join the train that has been moving since the end of May with his own commitment to the 'Cats.

"My thought process going into it was setting my July 5 commitment date was basically that was the absolute latest I would commit," he said Friday evening after speaking with Rodriguez. "To be honest I've been waiting for a gut feeling like 'hey, this is the school you need to go to and this is the school that puts you in the best position to succeed down the road.' I was just sitting down and thinking today, and obviously we're narrowing down on the commitment day, and I needed to know what school.

"So I sat down and asked myself all those questions and it all screamed Arizona Wildcats. When I think about the Arizona Wildcats that program 20 years down the road when I get to tell people that was a part of the Arizona Wildcats that's incredible to me.

"So I'm excited to be able to wear the A on the side of my helmet the next few years and it all pointed back to U of A."

Shear's future position coach Jim Michalczik played a big part in his recruiting process and had a big role in getting the future Arizona lineman to Tucson and part of the 2017 class.

"Huge," Shear said simply about Michalczik's impact on his recruitment. "Absolutely huge. He is one of the main reasons I'm going to Arizona. Outside of my high school coaches I've never had a connection with a coach that has recruited me like that. He's more than a coach he's a great guy. A lot of people say that and that's probably a little overused but he's someone who really cares about his players. I got to see him interact with his players when I was on campus and they love that guy.

"You can tell they wouldn't want to play for anyone other than coach Michalczik and to get the opportunity to get to play for him is still kind of like I need to pinch myself a little bit because I get to play for the Arizona Wildcats next year."

After Arizona's string of recent commitments one area the staff wanted to attack next was the offensive line and it moves another step in the right direction adding Shear who could be played at several spots. He said it will be one of the interior line positions but a specific spot has not been determined yet.

Shear's commitment makes 20 for the Wildcats at the start of summer and keeps UA in the top 10 nationally in the team recruiting rankings.