Arizona lands commitment from 3-star California athlete Nicholas Fernandez

The Arizona Wildcats got some good news from the recruiting trail on Wednesday when Nicholas Fernandez, a 3-star athlete from the Los Angeles area, announced his commitment to the UA.

Fernandez, who sits at 6-foot-4 and around 265 pounds, is a very good athlete for San Pedro High School in Southern California. He plays both tight end and defensive line for the Pirates, and is very productive in both roles. One wouldn’t think so, but he is surprisingly quick and has very good hands and concentration. Defensively, he is explosive. He is pretty quick off the snap and uses his hands effectively to shed blocks. There are times he is able to out-muscle his blocker and get into the backfield in a hurry. He is a little raw, but he has fantastic upside. It is worth noting that Arizona is brining him in as a defensive end.

Fernandez chose Arizona over 15 other offers: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Princeton, Penn, Utah State and Washington State.

He has yet to receive a Composite Ranking, but he has been ranked internally by 247Sports. They rank Fernandez as the 79th-best ranked athlete and the No. 97 prospect in California.

So far, during his senior season, Fernandez has racked up 28 tackles, 4 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 PBUs, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 blocked punts.

You can view his senior season highlights below.

Fernandez is Arizona’s 19th known commitment in the 2023 recruiting class, which can begin signing on Dec. 21. The class currently ranks 43rd nationally by 247Sports and fifth in the Pac-12.