Sonoran Hot Reads: Arizona football always facing uphill battle in recruiting

Will this ever change in Tucson?

When Lowell-Stevens Football Facility opened, everyone assumed that recruiting for the Arizona Wildcats staff would get easier. But I think we've seen that hasn't exactly happened. That is evidenced in this ESPN ranking of all 65 Power Five jobs, and how you can recruit to those schools. Arizona checks in at 47th, just ahead of West Virginia, which I find hilarious. South Carolina is 34th by the way. The rationale for Arizona's ranking:

"Attracting the state's best players to Tucson has proven exceedingly difficult over the years, meaning the Wildcats must be creative and branch out more than some others in their conference. The facilities and resources are decent, but the school's momentum on the trail seems destined to forever be hit-or-miss."

- Arizona offered Oregon linebacker Kaelin Himphill, and you should probably put this name in your memory bank

- The one and only Gronk was practicing for the Patriots on Friday

- Chantel Jennings names William Parks the team's 2015 MVP, and wonders if Anu Solomon and Nick Wilson will have the maturity to lead this team in 2016

- Sports Guys talk bowl prep

- Trevor Matich says Arizona has to run the ball to beat New Mexico, which, I think we can all agree on. They just haven't been able to lately. He does call Jared Baker the "one" in the 1-2 punch, which is bizarre. And says "you can do anything on those guys" when talking about the Wildcats defense

- Adam Rittenberg says Arizona will beat New Mexico 31-30. Seems low

- Here's a look at some of the other Pac-12 teams that had to deal with injuries this year

Basketball

- The Washington Post examines how Arizona can maintain its dominance over the Pac-12

- The Sports Guys are also talking Arizona hoops

Other sports

- Track is hosting an all-comers meet on Saturday morning

Tucson news

- Illegal Pete's is open for business, and there are protestors outside upset about the name

- Did you feel an earthquake?

@whatsuptucson - Lenticular cloud hanging out over east side Tucson today ☁️ http://pic.twitter.com/gZF7rJIbjR

— GolfBetterTucson.com (@GolfBetter2son) December 12, 2015

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