The Arizona Wildcats recently completed their 2021 recruiting class, and it looks a lot different than in years past.
While the UA signed 18 high school and junior college players, it also added nine transfers from other FBS programs. This fits with a nationwide trend, as 247Sports’ Bud Elliott wrote that FBS schools signed more than 400 fewer high school prospects than in the 2020 class.
For many schools, the shift was the result of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the ability to observe and meet those recruits in person. For Arizona, though, it was a matter of trying to get up to speed quickly with a coaching staff hired after most of the 2021 class had already been signed.