Rich Rodriguez and the Arizona Wildcats know they're going to need to recruit the nation's very best high school athletes if they hope to compete in an always-improving Pac-12 conference. After piecing together a solid first class in very limited time in Tucson, Rodriguez and his coaching staff are now working hastily to secure commitments from players in next year's class.
While most schools are still evaluating prospects to offer scholarships to at this point, Rodriguez is locking up verbal commitments at an alarming rate. Just how many kids does he have set to be Wildcats as of today?
After locking up two more players over the weekend, Arizona now has 19 players prepared to sign in the spring. A typical recruiting class has 25 players or so, meaning RichRod has most of his 2013 class wrapped up with more than seven months remaining until National Signing Day.
Rodriguez and his staff, most of which transferred over from West Virginia, have always placed an emphasis on speed while determining which players to offer a scholarship to. They seemingly pay no interest to the recruiting rankings, which is for the best.
For every sure-fire, four-star linebacker that turns into absolutely nothing at the college level is an unranked running back who goes on to rush for 2,000 yards in his career. For every five-star quarterback is an undersized kid who goes on to lead his team to numerous bowl game victories.
This staff led WVU to numerous BCS bowl appearances, and that's now the goal in Tucson. Why mess with a winning formula?
UA will keep multiple spots open for some of the elite recruits still yet to decide, but it appears the next few months will be boring ones for the 'Cats on the recruiting trail. Consider this college football fan -- one who saw Mike Stoops miss out on top-level guys on Signing Day seemingly every year -- appreciative of coach Rodriguez's early efforts.
For more on the Wildcats be sure to check out AZ Desert Swarm.