Arizona football recruiting: 3-star safety Rhedi Short verbally commits to Wildcats

Another member of the secondary in this 2017 recruiting class

The Arizona Wildcats coaching staff had been anticipating July 3rd for quite some time, waiting for the commitment of 3-star safety Rhedi Short. There was a whole lot of speculation around Short and his recruitment, but after missing out on Elijah Blades it was clear that there was still a need at defensive back.

When I spoke with Rhedi, he had told me that Arizona, Oregon and Penn State were his final three. Just a few days later, he expanded that list to include Arizona State and California. He had never visited Arizona State, but said that he would potentially take an official visit there.

While he may not have entirely closed down his process given his plan for official visits, the former UCLA commit has now committed to Arizona.

I am Proud to announce that I have committed to the University of Arizona!!#BearDown#DesertSwarm17 #CaliZona http://pic.twitter.com/sS2KGvJHBD

— Rhedi Short (@Rhedoggy) July 3, 2016

He had previously decommitted from UCLA just 12 hours after his unofficial visit to Tucson with his parents, which now played a huge role in his recruitment.

Short is a high-end 3-star safety, although he has dropped a bit in the rankings this offseason. He was once a top 600 player, but now he is just a couple spots shy of falling out of the top 800. Why the drop in rankings? I’m not entirely too sure, but surely with Oregon and some other top schools in the country still going after him he’s a good pick up.

The 6-foot-1, 190 pound prospect is ranked 57th among safeties and now gives Arizona five defensive backs for this recruiting class. Now it’s hard to tell whether the staff actually continues to pursue guys like Jaylon Redd or Jaylon Johnson, however I get a feeling that Blades is still a big time target the staff is possibly able to flip from Florida.

Short’s junior year highlights are below. He racked up 74 tackles and three interceptions, recovering three fumbles as well.

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