HONOLULU – No two Polynesian Bowl participants had a more hectic arrival day than cornerback Rahshawn Clark and kicker/punter Michael Salgado-Medina. Both recruits signed with Arizona back in December and assumed they had been through the worst of the rumors of their head coach departing for another program.
That changed while they were in the air en route to Honolulu.
Upon their arrival, Clark and Salgado-Medina learned that Jedd Fisch was nearing a deal to become the next head coach at Washington. The news became official not long after they made their way through the interview line on check-in day.
The news of Fisch’s decision left a strong impression on the cornerback prospect.
“Honestly, I’m shocked,” Clark said. “I was on the plane with no service, and my phone was dying actually. So, I only had a little bit of time to really process it and see what’s going on. I’m shocked.”
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For Clark, it becomes an interesting scenario. The three-star recruit is from Seattle and has built a bond with the new Huskies head coach. So much so that he remained firm in his choice even after the recent decision by defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen to depart Arizona for Texas.
Cornerbacks coach John Richardson played a big part in Clark’s decision as well, so he is not opposed to looking to stay closer to home depending on how the staff comes together at UW.
“I have a great relationship with all the coaches at Arizona,” he said. “Coach Fisch is a great guy and a great person I want to be around. So, that’s definitely a place I can see myself at if it happens to fall that way.”
As Clark continues to find out more information, he says the option of requesting his release from the Wildcats remains on the table.
Scholarships can be a bit more difficult to come by for specialists so Salgado-Medina isn’t ready to make any decisions about his future just yet. The two-star prospect committed to the Wildcats back in June and has some connections to the team that could keep him in the mix in Tucson.
“I haven’t heard anything from anyone, it’s just like breaking news right now,” he said. “So, we’ll see where it goes from here. ... As of right now I don’t know [the next steps] but we’ll go on the fly, and we’ll be fine.”
