Arizona football recruiting: 3-star safety Steve McIntosh letting the process play out after offer from Wildcats

The SoCal defensive back is taking things slow but will be keeping an eye on Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats have kicked their 2018 recruiting into overdrive during the Spring Evaluation Period, working on current and future classes. The coaches have put more focus into Texas, but California is still their main recruiting ground.

Steve McIntosh, a 3-star defensive back from Bishop Alemany High School (Mission Hills, CA), was the beneficiary of a visit from the Arizona staff and an offer that followed.

As of right now, McIntosh is just enjoying the recruiting process since he says he only holds offers from Stetson, Montana, and Arizona.

“Right know, you know, I’m just enjoying the process and everything. Really taking it all in,” he said. “You only get to go through all of this once. I’m not really trying to focus on all that stuff right now (favorites, standout offers, etc). I’m just trying to enjoy it and enjoy this high school experience.”

McIntosh is hearing from other schools as well but is not sure if they’ll offer or not.

“I’ve been talking to a few schools,” he explained. “But I’m not sure what they are going to do. So I can’t say (if they’ll offer).”

“I’ve visited Washington, the local schools (USC and UCLA), and Fresno State,” McIntosh continued on what visits he has taken. “In a week or two I’m going to go up to San Jose State for a visit and then head to Arizona and Arizona State also.”

When it comes to the next level, all of the schools that are recruiting McIntosh are looking at him as an overall defensive back with the ability to move him around the secondary.

“They said I can play both positions.”

When it comes to the Wildcats, McIntosh was offered on May 4th when defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Marcel Yates made a stop by his school.

"It was kind of unexpected,” McIntosh remembered. “I hadn’t really talked to those coaches a lot. So when (Yates) came up there and (Alemany Head) Coach (James) Washington let me know that they did offer, it was something else.”

ALL GLORY TO GOD!! BLESSED TO HAVE RECEIVED AN OFFER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ! #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/zv31dB2eq9

— Steve McIntosh (@stevemcintosh28) May 4, 2017

“Obviously Arizona is a great school,” McIntosh continued. “Just that element of surprise, I didn’t see it coming at all.”

McIntosh and the Arizona staff have still kept in contact, almost a month after the offer.

“Yeah I’ve been in contact with Coach Yates,” McIntosh stated on who he talks to on the UA staff. “It’s small talk really. ‘How are you doing? How’s spring? How’s practice going?’”

Obviously with this being McIntosh’s first offer from a major school, Arizona is going to be high up on his list for the time being.

“Oh yeah, for sure!” McIntosh said when asked if he has interest in the Wildcats. “They were the first big Power Five school to pull the trigger on me. I respect them a lot and I owe them a lot because they put a lot of faith in me.”

“There are a lot of things I like about Arizona,” he continued on what catches his interest. “The tradition of the football team. I remember I would watch them when they played the local teams and thinking ‘Oh man!’ I’ve always liked Arizona.”

When choosing a school, McIntosh knows what he is looking for and that is a good education among other things.

“A good education first,” he explained. “I want to be able to do something after football because I know football isn’t going to last forever. And then coaches that are willing to put in the time with me. If I need to stay after practice with them they’ll do that with me. Coaches that will go on the field with me and help me work on some of my technique and have my best interest in mind.”

Right now McIntosh isn’t 100% sure what he wants to major in but he is looking at a business degree.

At the next level, McIntosh could be moved around all over the secondary. I feel he could make his biggest impact in the Wildcat secondary in either the Spur or Bandit positions though. He shows great awareness of the ball carrier and when the ball is in the air. He plays the run well and is a hard hitter, causing a lot of forced fumbles his junior year.

Last year he played for Chaminade College Prep (West Hills, CA) before transferring to Bishop Alemany. Last year for the Eagles he racked up 82 tackles, 2.0 TFL, a sack, an interception, 7 forced fumbles, and 4 fumble recoveries.

You can view his junior highlights here.

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