Junior college defensive lineman Keanu Mailoto commits to Arizona

It has been a busy, and very successful, last few days for Jedd Fisch and the Arizona Wildcats on the recruiting trail. And the good news keeps on flowing.

On Monday, junior college defensive lineman Keanu Mailoto announced his commitment to the ‘Cats.

Mailoto, who is 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds, took an official visit to Tucson this weekend and had a workout for the coaching staff to go with it. The workout went so well that the staff offered him and Mailoto jumped on the opportunity. Former Arizona d-line coach Iona Uiagaleilei works with Mailoto at Mount San Antonio College in California and has high praise for him and his play.

Mailoto prepped at Auburn Mountainside High School in Washington and did not have much recruiting interest. He played at Gila River Junior College in 2021 before moving over to Mt. SAC for 2022.

He posted a statline of 19 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks, and a pass breakup in 2022. Those might not be mind-blowing stats, but his film shows a different story. He is very quick and explosive off the snap and has a certain level of violence to his game. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops at the Pac-12 level.

You can view his 2022 highlights below.

Mailoto is Arizona’s 22nd known commitment for the 2023 recruiting class, which can begin signing on Wednesday. The Wildcats have landed five pledges in the past four days.