ARIZONA FOOTBALL

Arizona Wildcats announce 22 signings in 2016 class

Feb 3, 2016, 7:14 PM

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez yells to his team during the first half of an NCAA college football ga...

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez yells to his team during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The University of Arizona football program announced their full 2016 National Letter of Intent Class Wednesday. The class has 22 players, with nine on offense and 13 on defense.

There were 15 National Letters of Intent that came in on Wednesday.

Five of the 22 signings are listed as four-star recruits by at least one recruiting service.

Some of the four-star recruits include California dual-threat quarterback Khalil Tate, who was the Los Angeles Times QB of the year and UA coach Rod Smith is quoted saying that “he is simply one of the best football players in the state of California.”

There’s also quarterback turned linebacker Kahi Neves from Utah. Neves is 6 feet 4 inches tall and threw for 2,439 yards and 19 touchdowns in his senior season. He had 64 tackles and three sacks in his time at linebacker his junior season.

The class has a predominant focus on defense. There are four linebackers, two cornerbacks and four safeties in the class.

Three of the signed players are mid-year enrollees, meaning that they have completed their high school course work in December and are enrolled in January classes at UA. There are also four “greyshirts,” who are already enrolled and participating in team functions.

“I think we filled a lot of needs and wants with this class,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I believe these are great additions and we are very excited to officially welcome them into our program.”

The full class is listed below:

Name Position Year Height Weight Hometown/Previous School
JJ Allen DE SO 6-4 250 Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach CC
Lorenzo Burns CB FR 6-0 185 Temecula, Calif./Linfield Christian HS
Bryson Cain OT FR 6-4 270 Temecula, Calif./Great Oak HS
Jalen Cochran LB FR 6-4 225 Canton, Mich./Canton HS
Jacob Colacion LB FR 6-1 210 La Habra, Calif./La Habra HS
Devaughn Cooper WR FR 5-11 175 Harbor City, Calif./Narborne HS
Tristan Cooper S FR 6-1 180 El Paso, Texas/Andress HS
Michael Eletise OT FR 6-4 295 Honolulu, Hawaii/Kaiser HS
Isaiah Hayes FS FR 6-0 165 Calabasas, Calif./Calabasas HS
Justin Holt DT FR 6-4 285 Tucson, Ariz./Saplointe Catholic HS
Francisco Nelson LB FR 6-3 215 Lakeland, Fla./Kathleen HS
Kahi Neves LB FR 6-4 240 Provo, Utah/Timpview HS
Jamie Nunley TE FR 6-5 205 Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta HS
Antonio Parks CB FR 5-10 177 Reserve, LA./East John HS
Shawn Pondexter WR JR 6-6 210 Peoria, Ariz./Glendale CC
Gavin Robertson S FR 6-2 200 Auburn, Wash./Mountain View HS
Harper Sherman OT FR 6-5 260 New Westminster, B.C./New Westminster School
Khalil Tate QB FR 6-2 206 Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra HS
J.J. Taylor RB FR 5-6 155 Corona, Calif./Centennial HS
Chaco Ulloa S FR 6-0 190 Corona, Calif,/Centennial HS
Keenan Walker OT FR 6-5 266 Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral HS
Jarrius Wallace S FR 6-2 180 Merrero, LA./John Ehret HS

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