3-star California CB Emmanuel Karnley commits to Arizona

Arizona saw its most accomplished cornerback from this past season enter the NCAA transfer portal earlier this week. Might it have just picked up his successor?

The Wildcats have earned a commitment from Emmanuel Karnley, a 3-star cornerback from Walnut Creek, Calif.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Karnley is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 797 player in the country as well as the 80th-best corner in the 2023 recruiting class and the No. 68 prospect from California. He picked the Wildcats over offers from ASU, San Diego State, Utah and Washington, among others.

Karnley, who visited the UA in June, played both receiver and corner for Las Lomas High School, where as a senior he had one interception and also four touchdown catches.

The UA lost Christian Roland-Wallace, who started every game in 2022, to the transfer portal on Wednesday. But Karnley helps fill that void as one of four corners it has committed in the 2023 class, which can begin signing Wednesday.

Another corner commit, 3-star California prospect Sean Brown, flipped to Michigan State earlier Friday.

Arizona also returns Treydan Stukes, Isaiah Rutherford and Ephesians Prysock, who combined to start 12 games in 2022, as well as rising sophomore Tacario Davis. Davis and Prysock were big parts of Arizona’s 2022 class, the highest-ranked group in at least 15 years.

Karnley is the 19^th known commitment for 2023, 14 of which are defensive prospects and eight hailing from California. That doesn’t include ex-UCLA defensive lineman Tyler Manoa, whom the Wildcats have picked up from the portal.