Arizona football staying busy with recruiting despite shutdown

College sports are on an indefinite hiatus right now, with no end in sight for when things will return to some semblance of normalcy. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Arizona Wildcats from continuing to hit the recruiting trail.

Figuratively, at least. The NCAA instituted a mandatory dead period, through at least May 31, prohibiting any sort of in-person contact between recruits and college coaches while the world deals with coronavirus. But communication via phone calls, text messages, emails and video chats are still allowed, and Arizona is one of many schools doing what they can to stay connected with prospects.

Evidence can be found in the handful of scholarship offers Arizona’s staff has extended to 2021 recruits, news of which has been shared by the prep athletes on social media.

Arizona has offered more than two dozen 2021 prospects since the dead period began, including:

• 4-star California defensive end Derek Wilkins
• 4-star Georgia linebacker Barrett Carter
• 4-star Louisiana wide receiver Keon Coleman
• 4-star Texas linebacker Clayton Smith
• 4-star Texas running back Cam’ron Valdez
• 3-star Arizona running back Eli Sanders
• 3-star California offensive lineman Thomas Cole
• 3-star California offensive lineman Noah Pulealii
• 3-star California linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr
• 3-star California cornerback Kaleb Higgins
• 3-star Illinois linebacker Matthew Weerts
• 3-star Indiana defensive end Austin Booker (who has Arizona in his top 12)
• 3-star Louisiana running back Logan Diggs
• 3-star Louisiana safety Jardin Gilbert
• 3-star Louisiana offensive lineman Kenneth Bannister
• 3-star Louisiana cornerback Tyrell Raby
• 3-star Louisiana linebacker Jackie Marshall
• 3-star Louisiana wide receiver Jack Bech
• 3-star New Mexico defensive end Tyler Kiehne
• 3-star Texas defensive end E’Maurion Banks
• 3-star Texas defensive end Terrell Tilmon
• 3-star Texas offensive lineman Cole Carson
• 3-star Texas wide receiver Carlton Guidry
• 3-star Texas wide receiver Joseph Manjack
• 3-star Texas cornerback Chase Lowery
• 3-star Texas linebacker Keith Cooper
• 3-star Texas linebacker Jackson Bailey
• 3-star Texas tight end Landen King
• 3-star Texas tight end Mason Tharp
• 3-star Texas safety Devin Lemear
• 2-star California tight end/defensive end Nicholas Fryhoff
• 2-star Illinois offensive tackle Otto Hess

The Wildcats do not have any commitments yet for the 2021 class but that’s not for a lack of trying. The prospects listed above are among the 120-plus scholarship offers the program has extended, per 247Sports, in an effort to improve off a 2020 class that ranked 62^nd nationally and last in the Pac-12.