The 2017 recruiting cycle has come and gone, but analysis of how the recruiting year played out is ongoing. Today, we examine which programs successfully pursued prospects from the state of Arizona - and which struggled.
STATE CHAMPION: ARIZONA STATE
The Sun Devils had a great year in the state, landing seven total prospects, including the No. 3 prospect Tyler Johnson, the No. 4 prospect Ryan Kelley and the No. 7 prospect K.J. Jarrell. Kelley was a one-time Oregon commit, so flipping him was huge and Johnson had offers from programs all over the country. Arizona State also landed four prospects who didn’t make the state rankings, but figure to be contributors down the road.
HONORABLE MENTION: ARIZONA
The Wildcats came out with a lot of depth in the class and landed four of the state’s top 15 prospects, highlighted by No. 5 Drew Dixon. The versatile athlete was overlooked by several programs, but the Wildcats coaches think he could be the star of the class. Arizona also added two prospects that didn’t make the state rankings but could factor into the depth chart down the line, most notably quarterback Rhett Rodriguez.
SURPRISINGLY WEAK: OREGON
The Ducks have historically recruited the state of Arizona well and during the school’s glory years, from 2010-14, landed at least one of the state’s top 10 players every year. But the last few years things have fallen off and the lone prospect Oregon signed this year was unranked three-star prospect Johnny Johnson.
OUT-OF-REGION THREAT: USC
Some might argue that the Trojans should have been the state champions, especially considering that they signed the state’s top two prospects in Rivals100 offensive lineman Austin Jackson and Rivals100 athlete Isaiah Pola-Mao. When the Trojans were at their best on the recruiting trail, they routinely poached players coast-to-coast, so it should come as a concern to both the Arizona schools and the rest of the Pac-12 that USC signed both elite prospects.