Arizona football staying busy with recruiting despite shutdown

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College sports are on an indefinite hiatus right now, with no end in sight for when things will return to some semblance of normalcy. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Arizona Wildcats from continuing to hit the recruiting trail.

Figuratively, at least. The NCAA instituted a mandatory dead period, through at least April 15, prohibiting any sort of in-person contact between recruits and college coaches while the world deals with coronavirus. But communication via phone calls, text messages, emails and video chats are still allowed, and Arizona is one of many schools doing what they can to stay connected with prospects.

Evidence can be found in the handful of scholarship offers Arizona’s staff has extended to 2021 recruits, news of which has been shared by the prep athletes on social media.

Arizona has offered at least six 2021 prospects since the dead period began:

• 4-star Texas linebacker Clayton Smith
• 3-star Louisiana safety Jardin Gilbert
• 3-star New Mexico defensive end Tyler Kiehne
• 3-star Indiana defensive end Austin Booker
• 3-star California offensive tackle Thomas Cole
• 2-star Illinois offensive tackle Otto Hess

The Wildcats do not have any commitments yet for the 2021 class but that’s not for a lack of trying. The six listed above are among the 100-plus scholarship offers the program has extended, per 247Sports, in an effort to improve off a 2020 class that ranked 62^nd nationally and last in the Pac-12.

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