Arizona football recruiting: Wildcats in the mix for 5-star kicker Collin Riccitelli

A 5-star kicker was in town, and he really enjoyed his visit.

Arizona's kicking game has been fairly inconsistent to say the least with Casey Skowron, and the Wildcats haven't had a reliable kicker in quite some time. Too many horror stories stem from Arizona's kicking game, and that could change with a commitment from 5-star kicker Collin Riccitelli, out of Carlsbad, California.

He was on campus this weekend for Homecoming, and I got a chance to talk to him about his recruitment process as a whole, and got to learn a little bit more about how appealing Arizona is for kicker.

Great visit at the University of Arizona today! #beardown http://pic.twitter.com/GeA0mEklfd

— Collin Riccitelli (@criccitelli3) October 25, 2015

"I really enjoyed U of A and had a great time at the game. The program has great facilities and a great history even if the current situation with injuries isn't showing that. There is a great coaching staff and I definitely think Arizona will continue to be a force in the Pac-12 once they are at full strength," he said about his visit. "I really enjoyed being out on the field for warm ups. That's always a great way to kind of fell what the atmosphere would be like if you were playing in the stadium."

As a highly-touted kicker, the Arizona Wildcats might be a great fit for Riccitelli. "It's also one of the best places to kick, so that's a bonus. It is at a bit of elevation and the air is very dry, so the ball tends to fly further and straighter with less resistance," he explained.

The 5-star kicker is getting a lot of attention from schools across the country, with about 15 schools on his radar. He's in conversations with Stanford, Oregon, USC, Minnesota, Northwestern, Florida, and SDSU, to name only a few. He's already taken visits to Navy, Stanford and Arizona, and will likely visit USC and SDSU, with one more to be determined.

He only holds one offer right now, and that is to Navy. Most schools as of now are giving him a preferred walk-on position, but he feels like he has a good shot at landing a scholarship to quite a few schools, with Arizona being one of them.

"As of now, they have said they will let me know towards the end of/after their season," he said about Arizona offering him a scholarship. Once Riccitelli hears about potential scholarship offers, he will decide.

"I'm deciding by December, as kickers are often the last ones to get offered scholarships. I could end up committing close to signing day," Riccitelli said about his timeline to commit. "I'm looking for best fit athletically, academically, and socially. It's been my dream to play for a big D-1 program, but at the same time, I want to make sure I'm setting myself up for a successful career whenever football ends for me."

Arizona has a few spots open. The class currently sits at No. 31 in the nation, with 18 commits for 2016. Realistically, I see Arizona landing about three more recruits, five at the most, leaving a few spots open for Collin Riccitelli, making Arizona a very real destination for his 5-star leg.

His highlights are below.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1k8e34D
via IFTTT