Jeff Casteel proved himself to be one of the top defensive coordinators this year. The 2014 Linebacker Coach of the Year voted by FootballScoop has been able to tap into the potential of his players. With a strong display of defense this season, Rich Rodriguez will now be able to recruit accordingly, which leads us to the two latest linebacker offers.
Arizona's first offer went to 6'3 205lb 4-star linebacker Curtis Robinson out of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA), the same high school as 2016 4-star OT Frank Martin, who has already been offered by Arizona, and our very own Stanley Johnson. Robinson, the 20th ranked OLB in the nation, holds offers from USC, Notre Dame, and Washington, among others.
When you watch his highlights, it's hard not to smile. These are the type of defensive recruits we've been waiting for at Arizona. Robinson displays great speed, power and physicality. He swarms the ball relentlessly and has the speed of a defensive back shooting the gap to get to the backfield.
The next offer went to an interesting prospect in Kahi Neves, 3-star athlete who has already been committed to Utah since October 6, 2014. Neves is listed as a DT quarterback and inside linebacker at 6-3 238lbs. Strange to see Rich Rodriguez going after a recruit who has already committed, especially since we know how he feels about the word commitment.
A bit of an odd mix, but he makes it work in his highlights below. At linebacker, he has great instincts and lateral speed to stop the play before turning outside. At quarterback, he has a strong arm to stretch the defense out and makes great decisions on the option. It would be interesting to see where Rich Rodriguez could put him, should he decide to decommit from Utah.
Arizona is searching for their next Scooby Wright III type linebacker. With so much success on the field and in the rankings, Arizona is able to go after some of the top recruits in the nation. No longer should the Wildcats be playing with undersized linebackers and defensive linemen.
Now is the time to take advantage and rebuild what was the Desert Swarm.