Arizona football recruiting: Get to know Wildcats commit Jace Whittaker

It's no secret that Rich Rodriguez and the Arizona Wildcats love speed. The former track and field star will fit right in.

Jace Whittaker, a 6'0" 170 pound athlete from Oceanside High School, played wide receiver and defensive back in high school and also occasionally served as punt and kick returner. In 2013, Whittaker was named as Oceanside's Defensive Player of the Year and also received first-team all-conference honors.

Whittaker originally committed to Arizona in June of 2013 as a 2014 prospect, but a knee injury led him to reclassify as a 2015 prospect. Before the injury, Scout.com rated Whittaker as a three-star prospect and the 189th best receiver in the 2014 class. Whittaker also had offers from Boise State, San Diego State, Nevada, and Washington State.

Take a look at some of Jace's highlights below:

Because defensive backs are a position of need for the Wildcats, Whittaker is expected to stick to the defensive side of the ball at the collegiate level. While you shouldn't expect the freshman to make an instant impact like Cam Denson did, it's certainly not out of the question. The secondary was a weakness of Arizona's defense this year and with the departures of Tra'Mayne Bondurant and Jared Tevis it's hard to imagine that will change. Whittaker will certainly get a shot to compete for playing time in training camp.