With the Arizona football team off this week, Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan said a 鈥渃ritical piece of this bye week is our coaches are going all over the country recruiting.鈥
As another week of the high school football season approaches, the UA coaching staff will trek around the US to 鈥渇ind the next great Wildcat and do everything we can to keep our recruiting class intact and also find the pieces that we know will make us better in the future.鈥
Arizona鈥檚 21-player recruiting class for 2025 currently ranks fourth in the Big 12, according and ; both websites rank the Wildcats鈥 鈥25 class in the Top 40 nationally. The Wildcats have eight commits from California, seven from Texas, four from Arizona and one apiece in Hawaii and Florida.
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Arizona coach Brent Brennan celebrates a bit after the Wildcats scored in the first quarter against Colorado on Oct. 19 in Tucson.
The Wildcats aren鈥檛 anticipating losing their top commitments for the upcoming recruiting cycle in the wake of a five-game losing streak, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 an ongoing conversation,鈥 Brennan said.
鈥淩ecruiting is about relationships and trust, and those kids that chose to commit to us chose to do so because they believe in us and put trust in us,鈥 said Brennan said. 鈥淲e have to continue to ensure and help them see that when you come here, you are going to get developed at a really high level, you are going to be a part of great football teams, you are going to be a part of a great college football experience. ... I think we鈥檙e moving in the right direction. I still think we have some pieces to add to it.鈥
If anything, Brennan is hopeful Arizona鈥檚 losing skid and lack of depth can solidify the Wildcats鈥 commits with the early signing period on the horizon in December.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what position, every player that you recruit thinks they鈥檙e going to walk in the door and start,鈥 said Brennan. 鈥淚f they can look at some of the struggles and say, 鈥楬ey, I think I can have a positive impact on that football team,鈥 I think that has a chance to help.鈥
Brennan noted the 鈥渇luid nature of college football鈥 with the transfer portal opening in December adds to the challenges of forming a recruiting class, because 鈥渢here are so many unknowns,鈥 he said.
Sometimes an exodus of transfers can poke holes on the depth chart despite the Wildcats targeting that position for their upcoming recruiting class.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who is going to walk into my office someday and say, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 going to hit the (transfer) portal.鈥 Everything is based on your best guess,鈥 Brennan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an educated projection on what you think the roster is going to look like, but then there鈥檚 also going to be some surprises there, so you have to have contingency plans upon contingency plans, so you can make sure to build the program the right way to have the proper depth, proper talent, proper size, speed, everything at every position.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a constant evaluation and we鈥檙e working at that. The recruiting effort has been awesome. I love where we鈥檙e at. I think we have great recruiters on our staff and I think we have a great plan with how we鈥檙e going to build it. ... I鈥檓 excited about where we鈥檙e going.鈥
Here鈥檚 a look at five Arizona commits and how they鈥檙e performing this season:

Gilbert Higley quarterback and Arizona commit Luke Haugo looks for an opening during an October 2023 game at Higley High School.
Luke Haugo
Position: Quarterback
Height, weight: 6-5, 200 pounds
Hometown (High school): Gilbert (Higley)
Rating: Three stars (247/Rivals)
How they鈥檙e doing: Haugo has completed 118 of 177 passes for 1,545 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games. Haugo and Higley wrap up the regular season on Friday against Gilbert Williams Field before preparing for the Class 5A playoffs.

Robert McDaniel has been one of the top passers in California as a senior.
Robert McDaniel
Position: Quarterback
Height, weight: 6-1, 195 pounds
Hometown (High school): Hughson, California (Hughson)
Rating: Three stars (247/Rivals)
How they鈥檙e doing: Following a summer that included a spot at the 鈥淓lite 11,鈥 a quarterback camp and showcase that features 11 of the top high quarterbacks nationally, McDaniel has risen to elite status in California, completing 132 of 212 passes for 2,201 yards, 29 touchdowns and three interceptions for the undefeated Hughson Huskies (10-0). In his four-year career, McDaniel, whose family owns 150 goats, has passed for 7,172 yards, 91 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Arizona landed three-star Florida receiver Isaiah Mizell for 2025.
Isaiah Mizell
Position: Wide receiver
Height, weight: 6-0, 160 pounds
Hometown (High school): Orlando, Florida (Boone)
Rating: Three stars (247/Rivals)
How they’re doing: The lone commit from Florida has 35 catches for 810 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Mizell visited Notre Dame in September and received an official offer from the Fighting Irish. Mizell told that his visit to Notre Dame “opened my eyes.” Said Mizell: “I wasn’t expecting to come here and just decommit from Arizona, but I’ve definitely got a couple things to think about and what’s best for me in the future. Like I said, all my expectations were fulfilled. It’s a very nice place, somewhere I could definitely see myself being (at) the next couple years.”

Basha Bears wide receiver Gio Richardson (5) dodges a tackle attempt by American Leadership Academy Patriots strong safety Diesel Mack at Basha High School in Chandler on Nov. 17, 2023.
Gio Richardson
Position: Wide receiver
Height, weight: 5-11, 170 pounds
Hometown (High school): Chandler (Basha)
Rating: Three stars (247/Rivals)
How they鈥檙e doing: Richardson leads Basha with 38 receptions for 721 yards and seven touchdowns. The Bears (8-1) conclude the regular season on Friday against Gilbert Perry. A win would likely solidify Basha鈥檚 spot in the Open Division bracket. Richardson committed to Arizona on the Fourth of July, but recently received significant interest from Vanderbilt. Richardson is taking an official visit to Vanderbilt this week in Nashville.

Four-star 2025 running back Wesley Yarbrough committed to the Arizona Wildcats.
Wesley Yarbrough
Position: Running back
Height, weight: 5-10, 195 pounds
Hometown (High school): Crosby, Texas (Crosby)
Rating: Four stars (Rivals), three stars (247)
How they鈥檙e doing: Yarbrough eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his three-year career at Crosby. This season, the Houston-area product has 176 rushes for 1,371 yards and 15 touchdowns 鈥 more than his previous two seasons combined. Yarbrough will play his final high school football game on Friday, when Crosby (5-4) hosts Angleton (8-1). Yarbrough is the only running back committed to Arizona for 鈥25.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star鈥檚 Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports