Justin Holt to Arizona: 3-star defensive lineman signs with the Wildcats

Justin Holt has been the one steady signing on the DL throughout this recruiting class, and he's exactly the sort of player Arizona should land.

The changes on the Arizona Wildcats' coaching staff this offseason have shaken up the Wildcats' recruiting class, particularly on the defensive line. Arizona has lost a number of recruits from that unit (losing Josh Barton to UCLA and Markell Utsey to Missouri). But throughout all this supposed turmoil, one highly regarded recruit has stuck with Arizona throughout the entire process. That recruit is Justin Holt.

Justin Holt is Arizona through and through. He played his high school ball at Salpointe Catholic, barely a mile from the Arizona campus. His father, Julius Holt, played linebacker at Arizona in the 1980s. In a lot of ways, he's the ideal Arizona recruit - a highly ranked prospect at a position of need (defensive line) that has strong Arizona ties.

Holt is already 6'2" 295 pounds, and putting in work in a college weight room is only going to make him bigger and stronger. Though it's hard to imagine many true freshman getting playing time immediately, I would expect we'll see Holt on the field making an impact (in some capacity) in his first two years at Arizona.

Holt is exactly the sort of recruit the Wildcats need. I have full confidence in Rich Rodriguez's ability to find quick, shifty skill position players on the offensive side of the ball. But I'm less confident in his ability to recruit elite talent on the defensive line. Justin Holt is that sort of talent, and he should be an important player for Arizona in the next four or five years.

Holt's highlights from his senior year are below:

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/1NQ0IoM
via IFTTT