Notre Dame cornerback Isaiah Rutherford to transfer to Arizona

New Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch continues to make big moves in the transfer portal.

The Wildcats landed a commitment from former Notre Dame cornerback Isaiah Rutherford on Thursday.

The sophomore only appeared in three games in two seasons in South Bend, but was a four-star recruit coming out of Jesuit High School in Sacramento.

247Sports ranked him as the No. 202 overall player nationally, No. 23 cornerback nationally and No. 27 player from California. He also had offers from big-name programs like Alabama, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and USC.

A two-way player in high school, Rutherford logged 809 rushing yards, 38 rushing TDs, 13 100-yard rushing games, 45 receptions, 563 receiving yards, seven TD catches, 50 tackles and three interceptions.

His 247Sports scoring report says he is a “long, athletic corner, who uses his length and frame to muscle up receivers.”

“Fluid athlete, who could fill out and make the move to safety,” it says of the 6-foot, 193-pound cornerback. “Versatility is a strength, has length, hips and speed to play corner, but sees the field extremely well, closes on the ball and is a sure tackler to make safety also a potential destination. Shows good recovery and fairly good speed to run with the receiver. Solid in press coverage, but as he fills out, should become even better. Good ball skills.”

Arizona is extremely thin at cornerback after losing Lorenzo Burns to the NFL Draft, so Rutherford should be able to play immediately in Don Brown’s system, which requires quality cornerback play because of all the blitzes it brings.