Arizona’s Rodriguez knows importance of recruiting

Oct 16, 2012, 11:22 PM | Updated: Oct 17, 2012, 12:37 am

Rich Rodriguez is trying to build Arizona into one of the premier football programs in the nation, and he knows that will not be accomplished without solid recruiting.

A guest of Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf, the first-year coach said things have gone well on the recruiting so far.

“High school coaches have been very open to us and we’ve kind of said it, if we can get the best players in the state to stay home and come to our place, we’ve got a chance to win the championship every year,” he said.

Rodriguez, though, said part of the issue he and his staff face is the perception of the University of Arizona football program. After all, Arizona is known for being a basketball school, and rarely makes noise on the gridiron.

“We just want them to give us a shot,” Rodriguez said. “Sometimes if you’re an in-state guy you just assume ‘well I know what UofA is all about, I know what they’re doing.’

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