Arizona football recruiting: Breaking down the June commitments

Taking a closer look at the wave of Arizona's June commitments

The Arizona Wildcats have had a flurry of commitments in the month of June. Rich Rodriguez typically likes to fill up his classes throughout the summer, but this has been a lot bigger than most could have expected. Last year, Arizona had around six commitments in the month of July. Arizona has landed nine this June.

There's been so many commitments that it's probably hard to keep track of a lot of them, or go in-depth about each of them. So that leads us to this, where I'll break down each June commit, explaining how they fit, and what I like about them.

Drew Dixon

Drew started the avalanche of commitments back on June 5th. This was a long time coming, as he often posted about potential decision dates, but often backed down. Finally, he committed to Arizona, staying close to home and opting to be a prized hometown kid such as Cam Denson and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.

I see Dixon as an Arizona version of Braxton Miller. He's a super athletic dual-threat quarterback that has the skills to play wide receiver. I don't like the fact that Dixon won't be getting a full set of reps at wide receiver this season, however he is in the mix to play multiple positions for Sabino, including safety. He has a great frame -- 6-foot-4, 211 pounds -- that will definitely give the Wildcats a big body to throw to. While I don't think he'll be one of the most polished receivers considering his heavy quarterback background, he's a guy I'm excited to see develop under Tony Dews.

Edgar Burrola

I spoke to Burrola just a few days before his commitment and he was extremely high on Arizona. While I didn't think he was ready to pull the trigger, I'll take the 6-foot-6, 295 pound offensive tackle. He's been doing exceptionally well at summer camps, landing an offer from Louisville and drawing interest from a few other schools. It seems like the Wildcats pounced at the right time, further proof that it's perfectly okay to offer unranked guys. Arizona has a young stable of linemen so it's hard for me to see Burrola seeing the field soon.

Brian Casteel

This was a commitment that was to be expected for quite some time. I like what Casteel brings to the table, as he is an extremely productive receiver at Charter Oak High School. He doesn't have blazing speed or incredible athleticism, but he seems to have a pretty solid route tree and a reliable set of hands.

Bryce Gilbert

Arizona was going after a whole lot of receivers but Gilbert was not a guy I was projecting the Wildcats to land. I know Arizona left an impression on him but I was not expecting a summer commitment either. He tells me that he is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, and that looks to be an extremely lean 230. Tight ends haven't exactly been prominent in the offense, but maybe Rodriguez is trying to change that with guys like Brion Anduze, Jamie Nunley and now Bryce Wolma and Bryce Gilbert. Gilbert could be used as more of a wide receiver in that Terrence Miller/Austin Hill position.

Joshua Brown

I really like Brown and his athleticism as a linebacker. I've seen his corrected size at about 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, which is an extremely nice frame for a rising senior. With his frame and speed, I think he can be an extremely well-balanced linebacker that Marcel Yates can mold. You also have to like the new potential pipeline that can come out of Long Beach Poly.

Bryce Brand

I've seen new measurables for Brand as well, which has him listed at 6-foot-1 and around 260 pounds. Both him and Kylan Wilborn could fill in the role of that third linebacker/fourth down lineman. Versatility is the trend in this recruiting class and certainly the Wildcats got it with Brand. Also, he comes from IMG Academy, probably the best college football program in the nation.

Scott Young

I'm hyping up Young quite a bit, but I don't care. His correct height and weight are 6-foot-even, 190 pounds, and that makes me feel even better about him. I see him primarily working out of the slot, similar to that Will Parks role. Arizona has a bunch of younger safeties in the works but that won't stop Young from seeing the field early in his career.

Xavier Bell

His size at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds reminds me a lot of Flannigan-Fowles coming out of high school. I see Bell as more of a spur safety simply because of his aggressive attack of ball carriers. He played in and out of the box and was quick to react to the run or pass. He's another guy who I think will climb in the rankings.

Malik Hausman

I figured Hausman was in line to commit, but he had said it was going to be a December commitment for him. It's good that Arizona got him on board early because I see him drastically climbing the rankings, sitting just inside the top 1000. I like his skill set, but I like his background even more, coming from Bishop Gorman. He's going to get this year at corner, and with their schedule, he'll be going up against some of the best programs in the country. While Arizona did land Anu Solomon, who is also from Gorman, it seems as if Jahmile Addae is really cracking down on the state of Nevada, with the entire staff locking down recruits from extremely rich programs.

Warren Jackson

So Jackson clearly stands out at 6-foot-5, giving Arizona four pass catchers in this class over 6-foot-4. I like Jackson a lot and given his size, you have to figure that he's in the mix to see the field early. I don't think he's completely grown into his body yet -- his routes look very rounded and awkward -- so that will be something for Coach Dews to work on in the future.

There's a lot of upside for Jackson if he pans out. I think he can get a lot faster with his longer strides and add about 20 pounds to his frame to push him to around 210 pounds.

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