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Arizona’s 2018 recruiting class ranks 11th in Pac-12

Or 10th if you look at it another way

By Ryan Kelapire
NCAA Football: Arizona at Oregon State Cole Elsasser-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats finalized their 20-member 2018 recruiting class on Wednesday.

It ranks 58th in the country, according to 247Sports. How does that stack up with the rest of the Pac-12? Not that well.

Arizona’s class ranks 11th in the conference, only ahead of Oregon State. UA and OSU were the only two schools in the Pac-12 that did not sign a four-star prospect.

Here are the full rankings, per 247Sports:

  1. USC
  2. Washington
  3. Oregon
  4. UCLA
  5. ASU
  6. Utah
  7. Stanford
  8. Cal
  9. Washington State
  10. Colorado
  11. Arizona
  12. Oregon State

However, not all class sizes are equal. For instance, Washington State signed 26 players, while Stanford signed 15. UCLA signed 28.

So when you break it down by the average caliber of recruit each team signed, here is how they rank:

  1. USC
  2. Stanford
  3. Washington
  4. Oregon
  5. Utah
  6. ASU
  7. Cal
  8. UCLA
  9. Colorado
  10. Arizona
  11. Oregon State
  12. Washington State

Technically this is Kevin Sumlin’s first class at Arizona, but it is mostly Rich Rodriguez’s. Arizona signed 16 players in December, and only added four in February, two of whom committed when Rodriguez was still the head coach.

Sumlin did not have a lot of time to scour the 2018 class as UA’s head coach, having just been hired in mid-January, and he figured it would be best to be selective with who the program adds instead of filling the spots just to fill them.

The one position Arizona seems to have recruited best this cycle is quarterback.

One of the few recruits Sumlin did bring on board is three-star quarterback Kevin Doyle. The tall pocket-passer was a former Michigan commit and is the Washington D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year.

Doyle completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,635 yards, 22 touchdowns, and five interceptions as a senior at St. John’s College High School. He is the No. 24 pro-style QB in his class, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings.

Doyle, along with Cienega quarterback Jamarye Joiner, gives the Wildcats two solid quarterback prospects in this class, meaning Arizona should have a viable successor once Khalil Tate exhausts his eligibility after the 2019 season.

But as a whole, UA’s 2018 class isn’t impressive from a numbers standpoint, though that is obviously not the be all and end all. Player development is crucial, too.

Not to mention the Wildcats had four true freshmen — linebackers Colin Schooler, Tony Fields II, and Kylan Wilborn and safety Scottie Young Jr. — who contributed at a high level this past season even though none were super highly-touted out of high school.

Plus, the Wildcats’ 2019 class should be better, because it is clear that Sumlin is going after higher-caliber recruits than the previous coaching staff.

Arizona’s full 20-man 2018 class is listed below.

It consists of 10 players from California, four from Texas, three from Arizona and one each from Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania — and over one-third of the class are linemen.

The Wildcats begin spring practice on March 19.

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