3-star California safety Justin Johnson decommits from Arizona

Arizona’s coaches will be on the road this weekend recruiting, taking advantage of the bye to check in on commits from the 2023 class as well as scope out remaining targets in that class as well as 2024.

There’s one fewer of those current pledges, as 3-star California safety Justin Johnson has backed off his pledge to the Wildcats. He is the first 2023 recruit to decommit from the UA.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Johnson committed in April, picking the UA over Colorado State, Florida State, Grambling State and Michigan State. He is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1,246 player in the 2023 class, as well as the No. 107 safety in the country and the No. 115 prospect from California.

Johnson was the lowest-ranked of eight defensive backs (including two listed as athletes) the Wildcats had landed in the 2023 class. Defense is a huge emphasis in that class, with 13 of the remaining 18 known commits likely to play on that side of the ball in college.

“If you’re a defensive player, you have an opportunity to come in here and compete and start right away,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said Monday. “We have a lot of veteran players on the defensive side, so you have opportunity in that regard to make kind of the same impact that our offensive guys made this past offseason.”