Arizona's strong three-year run under Rich Rodriguez has been fueled by moderate success on the recruiting trail, leaning more toward discovering hidden gems and developing strong mid-range prospects than landing high-profile targets.
The Wildcats have also concentrated most of their efforts on filling up a class early and then keeping it intact rather than chasing after big names right up until signing day.
The 2016 recruiting performance had been lagging in that respect until the calendar turned to July, when suddenly Arizona went from one of the least active teams in terms of commitments to maybe the hottest.