Arizona football recruiting: 3-star defensive end Odua Isibor eyeing in-state Wildcats

Arizona has been hitting up the local talent in this recruiting cycle

The talent pool of Arizona high school recruits this year is massive compared to years past. The Arizona Wildcats have already secured three in-state commitments, and there will likely be more to come, despite a rapidly-filling 2017 class.

The need for defensive linemen is clear, and it seems as if the staff could be working their way down the list to help bolster that area.

To address those issues, Arizona is going in on Odua Isibor, 3-star defensive end out of Saint Mary’s (Phoenix, AZ). He checks in at 6-foot-6, 210lbs, and is ranked 37th in the nation at his position.

I got a chance to talk to Isibor about his recruitment process with the Wildcats.

"We've been talking since last season," he said of his communication. "Me and Abel Navarette, our middle linebacker, drove out with our head coach at the time and saw a game. Since then I've been to practices, junior days, barbecues...everything like that."

Constant communication is a huge key to success for the staff and it often tells you how hard they’re trying to sell their pitch.

"Yeah, Coach Vince Amey, and Coach Chris Singletary are just two off the top, but I talk to a large number of the staff very frequently," Isibor explained.

Isibor holds some pretty heavy offers, but Arizona remains in the thick of things as one of the schools recruiting him the hardest.

"Well, Arizona is recruiting me pretty hard too but, I'd say Yale and ASU have been recruiting hard. I also talk to Oregon, A&M, Stanford and Dartmouth a lot," he said when asked about which schools are giving him the most attention. "Arizona is definitely among the top schools I'm interested in. They have one of the top medical programs."

It became clear that with Dartmouth, Stanford and Yale in the mix, to go along with his interest in medical programs, academics was going to be a big role in his decision.

"Really just academics and the opportunities that will be made available to me for my future," Isibor said about his decision factors. "And the type of player the school plans to use me as or turn me into."

Proximity to home might also play a small role, but he won’t let it completely influence him.

"I love AZ but I'm going to have to balance it."

As for how Arizona plans to use him?

"I'll be a pass rusher. A guy coming hard off the edge," he explained, which is a fit that he feels uses his skill set best. "They know exactly what they want and the exact players that they are looking for and Coach Amey is looking for pass rushers on that line"

Isibor has no unofficial visits planned yet, but he has been a frequent visitor to Arizona State.

"Did a little academic orientation visit today at ASU, and went to a camp at Stanford last week where I talked to some Yale and Dartmouth coaches as well."

As for official visits: "I was thinking at least Yale, A&M, and Oregon because they are much farther than Arizona, ASU and USC."

He has no set official date as to when he wants to decide, but wants to wait until he has taken all of his official visits, which would make it sometime at the beginning or middle of the season.

He’s a dual-sport athlete at Saint Mary’s also playing basketball. On the field he racked up 88 tackles and nine sacks in nine games. He was named third team All-State and first team All-Section.

His junior year highlights are below.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts http://ift.tt/298eH0w
via IFTTT