The Arizona Wildcats had been hoping Pierre Cormier would come to Tucson for a while now and the verbal commitment of teammate Lawrence Walker was a good sign for Rich Rodriguez, according to a note at the end of Ryan Finley's story yesterday.
Any holding of breaths didn't last very long. Both Wildcat Authority and Wildcat Sports Report confirmed on Wednesday that the running back had committed to the Wildcats.
Scout.com's profile of the 5-foot-11, 180 pound Cormier lists him as a three-star prospect and the 44th best back in the 2013 class. The Madison (San Diego) High School product was a top priority for Rodriguez, Scout's Jason Scheer tweeted.
Cormier has long been one of Arizona's top targets. They have to be ecstatic today
— Jason Scheer (@JasonScheer) August 8, 2012
Erik McKinney of ESPN writes that Cormier visited with Madison teammate Lawrence Walker. Among the others interested in Cormier were traditionally under-the-radar-recruiters Oregon State and Boise State, along with UCLA, Purdue, Utah and Washington State, according to McKinney.
Cormier rushed for 1,471 yards and 20 touchdowns on more than eight yards per carry, McKinney writes.