The Arizona Wildcats signed aggressive and productive 3-star Illinois linebacker Matthew ‘Mojo’ Weerts on Wednesday.
High School: Batavia High School
Hometown: Batavia, Illinois
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 221 pounds
2020 Stats: No stats, season starts in early 2021
Offers: Arizona, Air Force, Army, Ball State, Boise State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Furman, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kent State, Miami (OH), Missouri State, Navy, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Toledo, Wyoming
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,520 nationally, No. 69 ILD, No. 35 in Illinois
Analysis: Recruiting can be an funny thing. Sometimes players who deserve more attention than they get slip through the cracks and into the view of Arizona. Such is the case with Weerts.
Much like Colin Schooler, Weerts’ recruitment is a mystery. He is a good linebacker who plays at a good school, and produces. Yet he didn’t get the attention from Power Five schools that you’d think.
In two varsity seasons, his sophomore and junior years, he wracked up 137 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks. Throw in two interceptions, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries each and you have yourself a damn good player.
Whatever the reason for it is, it will benefit Arizona as Weerts will now leave the Midwest and play his college ball on the West Coast.
Junior season highlights