Arizona HSFB showcases recruiting intel: Decisions looming, visits set, lists trimmed and new offers extended
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It was a busy week throughout the state of Arizona, with eight showcases held throughout the state during the week at various high schools.
Rivals was out and about at nearly all of them, taking in the Chandler District Showcase, which had six schools hosting them, the Higley Showcase in Gilbert, the East Valley Showcase at Williams Field, with four schools, the Northwest Valley Showcase at O’Connor HS, featuring six schools, the Tempe Union Showcase at Marcos De Niza HS with five schools, the Brophy Prep Showcase in Phoenix, the Mesa Jackrabbit Spring Game and the East Valley Showcase at Horizon HS which hosted six schools.
Here are some of the main recruiting nuggets from the week.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha offensive lineman Jake Hildebrand had plenty of attention on him at the Basha Showcase, most notably, Arizona State offensive line coach Saga Tuitele, who has honed in on Hildebrand as his primary target in this class. But Utah, which is in his final four, was also flanking him at the showcase. Hildebrand will announce his decision on Tuesday and will choose from the Sun Devils, Utes, Texas A&M and Oregon.
—Peoria (Ariz.) receiver Dontay Tyson is down to two schools himself, Texas A&M and Washington. And the Huskies had running backs coach Scottie Graham at the Northwest Valley Showcase to shadow Tyson throughout the day. He was also chopping it up with current Husky pledge Jeremy Adeyanju, the O’Connor back who was at the host school. Tyson will visit the Huskies on May 29 and Texas A&M hosts him on June 12.
–Mesa (Ariz.) Mountain View offensive lineman Tye Kennedy has four official visits lined up – to Cal on May 29, Utah on June 5, Michigan on June 12 and Washington on June 19 and the latter three were all in Arizona last week. Kennedy has longstanding ties to the Huskies- his father, Lincoln, was an All-American for Washington in the 1990s.
—Chandler (Ariz.) athlete Jai Jones has a pair of official visits lined up – to Arizona and to Cal and the Wildcats have made him a major target of their in-state efforts. The Wildcats are recruiting him for both sides of the ball and they’ll host him for an official on June 12, with a number of Wildcat coaches at the Chandler Showcase. Cal, though, has him visiting first, at the end of this month.
–Queen Creek (Ariz.) American Leadership Academy tight end Talan Scott was fresh off his official visit to Stanford when ALA Queen Creek was at the East Valley Showcase. That showcase preceded his in-home visit with SMU, which saw him at the showcase then went in-home that night. But he also added a significant offer from the showcase, when Michigan, with tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham there, offered him. Scott will be plenty busy in the coming weeks, and is having to adjust some dates, but plans to visit Auburn, Oklahoma State, SMU, Michigan, Kansas and Cal as well.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton offensive lineman Richie Dexter also had SMU at his showcase and the Mustangs extended an offer to Dexter, his first ACC offer. He has visits lined up with UConn for this month and Oklahoma State for next month, but SMU is working for an official while Colorado, which offered him in late April, is also working to get a visit from Dexter.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough is down to four schools, eliminating Rutgers from his top five, and he’s honed in on Cal, Florida State, Mississippi State and Washington. The Huskies were in full force at his showcase and they get the last official visit from him on June 19. He’ll start with a visit to Mississippi State on May 29, Florida State on June 5 and Cal on June 11 before he heads to Seattle, where their starting quarterback is a Basha alum in Demond Williams.
–Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain safety Hassan Smith had plenty of eyes on him, with each of the four schools he’s planning to take official visits to at the East Valley Showcase. Nevada gets him last on June 18 and cornerbacks coach Joey Thomas did an in-home visit following the showcase. San Diego State starts the visits on May 29 while Utah State has him coming in on June 4 and Boise State is the following weekend on June 11 before he goes to Reno.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha receiver Jaden Baldwin was limited at the showcase because he’s a part of the Basha track team but he narrowed down his list to a final four after the showcase. Colorado, Iowa State, Penn State and Pittsburgh make up his final schools with a decision coming on June 16. Pitt is where his father, Jonathan, played, but Penn State and Colorado seem to be in a better spot for him, with both
–Mesa (Ariz.) Red Mountain defensive lineman Leonidas To’oto’o had a good week, with a pair of Ivy League offers but he also had New Mexico join the mix, with the Lobos offering him following the showcase.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha edge TK Cunningham had plenty of followers at the Basha Showcase, including Washington, with defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi watching him, and then offering him. The Huskies could be in line for an official visit from Cunningham. That said, four visits are set in stone, starting with Purdue on May 30, followed by Florida State on June 6, Kentucky on June 13 and then rounding out with Kansas State on June 20.
—Mesa (Ariz.) receiver Kingston Anetema was the WR MVP at the Under Armour Next Camp in March and then after Mesa wrapped spring ball. North Dakota State, a newcomer to the FBS level, but a power nonetheless, offered him after their showcase, right after defending FCS champ Montana State did. Boise State, though, could be in the best spot for him.
–Gilbert (Ariz.) Higley linebacker Brysen Wilkinson impressed at the same UA Next Camp, walking away with LB MVP honors. But it was a slow burn until his first offers came in – and the Higley Showcase provided those- offers from Idaho and from New Mexico for the rising ‘backer.
—Chandler (Ariz.) offensive tackle Sire Stewart added an offer from San Diego State following the Chandler Showcase and he’s working to line up a visit with the Aztecs. He does, though, have officials lined up with Utah on May 29, Washington State on June 5 and Boise State on June 19, with all three schools having coaches there checking him out.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha defensive back Taylan Patterson also had Utah watching him, with safeties coach Derrick Odum at the Basha Showcase. And the Utes offered Patterson, his first Power 4 offer and he’s planning to set up an official visit with the Utes.
–Tempe (Ariz.) McClintock athlete Aidan Whitaker had Illinois State and New Mexico State immediately offering him after the two showcases McClintock participated in. He also had previously been offered just days before by the last two FCS national champs, Montana State and North Dakota State, while San Diego State, which had offered him in January, was also mirroring him during the morning showcase.
—Mesa (Ariz.) 2028 linebacker Kainula Skipps had his first offer come in shortly after Mesa’s showcase when Northern Arizona offered but then New Mexico was at their final spring practice and the Lobos joined the mix in offering the 2028 ‘backer.
–Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon receiver James Klopfenstein had Nevada, Utah State and Idaho State all offer him after the East Valley Showcase. His younger brother, 2028 athlete Sam Klopfenstein, was also offered, his first offer coming from Northern Arizona.
—Marana (Ariz.) receiver Sean Roebuck is working to set up an official visit to Washington, where his older brother, Dezmen Roebuck, plays. New Mexico State is also in line for an official visit, with Taylor Mazzone spending a lot of time with Roebuck at the East Valley Showcase.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha quarterback Jake Rogers was the No. 2 performer by Rivals at last month’s Elite 11 Regional in the Bay Area and the Basha Showcase gave him a chance to open some more eyes, which he did. Eastern Washington was watching him throw and offered him, while Utah, Idaho and Arizona State all took a long look at him. He started the latter part of the season when Oklahoma State signee Brodie Vehrs got hurt, and took the Bears to a state title so his film was limited, but he’s impressed in throwing for coaches.
–Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe tight end Mekhi Hodge added San Diego State to the mix after the Tempe Showcase on Thursday and the Aztecs are working on bringing Hodge in for an official either this month or next.
–Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain edge Davian Whitener has two official visits set in stone, with Idaho set for June 6 and Fresno State locked in for June 18. The Vandals had a whole host of coaches on him at their showcase, including head coach Thomas Ford, with Whitener a major priority of Ford.
–There were plenty of players throughout the week who have already made their college commitments and had their future coaches there watching them at their respective showcases – Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry quarterback Kael Snyder threw in front of several Boise State coaches, where he committed last fall while Washington running back commit Jeremy Adeyanju had his future running backs coach Scottie Graham at his showcase at Phoenix (Ariz.) O’Connor and Gilbert (Ariz.) Higley defensive back Nasim Eason worked out in front of San Diego State coaches.
–Other commits we saw during the week were USC receiver commit Roye Oliver at Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton, Texas running back pledge Noah Roberts, Kansas State defensive line commit Anitoni Tahi and Arizona State kicker commit Mikey Barth, at Chandler (Ariz.) Basha, Oregon quarterback commit Will Mencl at Chandler (Ariz.), Cal linebacker commit Gunnar Perry from Cave Creek (Ariz.) Cactus Shadows at the North Valley Showcase at O’Connor and UNLV quarterback commit Luke Farrell from Tempe (Ariz.) Corona del Sol, who is still working his way back from an injury he suffered at the Elite 11 Regional in the Bay Area.
–Of course, the showcases were also key for underclassmen and no one was hotter the last few weeks in landing offers than Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton 2028 cornerback Keaton Fields, who was invited to play in the 2027 Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio and 2028 safety Kacey Allen. Fields had Texas Tech offer with the Red Raiders at the showcase, and that came after offers from UCLA, Purdue, North Carolina and Washington for the top 20 player nationally in his class. Allen’s showcase performance netted him offers from Michigan and Texas Tech and Tennessee also offered him.
–If anyone rivaled them, though, it was Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 2028 edge Landen Wade, another 2027 Navy All-American Bowl selection. The last week saw Wade get offered by UCLA, Florida, Texas Tech, Kansas, New Mexico and UCLA before he visited Washington over the weekend after Jason Kaufusi spent much of the Basha Showcase next to Wade.
—Mesa (Ariz.) 2028 edge Sione Taueliwas right there with Wade, Fields and Allen with the week he had as the Jackrabbits wrapped their spring on Thursday. While Florida offered Taueli on Monday, he was also offered by Washington, Oregon State, Kansas, New Mexico, Sacramento State and Iowa State, each who were in Arizona last week and stopped in to see him as well as Auburn.
–Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe 2028 teammates Aiden-Caleb Rodriguez and Legarrette Blount Jr. both had San Diego State offer them along with Hodge after the Tempe Showcase. Rodriguez also added a Wisconsin offer and Blount an Oregon State offer.
–Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry 2028 receiver Amos Augustine had his quarterback Kael Snyder throwing in front of his future coaches at Boise State at the Perry Showcase, and Augustine impressed the Bronco coaches and they offered him after the showcase with the hopes of reuniting the two in college.
–Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon 2028 offensive lineman Liam McNeal also added an offer after the East Valley Showcase, from San Diego State, while Minnesota had offered him just days before.
–From the 2029 class, few people had the week like the Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy Prep trio of defensive back Bishop Allen and offensive linemen Yuen Taufete’e and Colin Itule. Allen had SMU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt offer while Taufete’e had Kansas, UCLA and SMU offer and Itule picked up offers from Kansas and SMU after Purdue and Penn State offered days before.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton has a loaded 2028 class, but their 2029 class features a pair of Power 4 recruits, with Preston DeGraffenreid and Roman Oliver. Oliver had his most recent offers come from Oregon State and Washington while DeGraffenreid got his first offer, and it came from the SEC, when Missouri offered after the Hamilton Showcase.
–Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 2029 safety Jayden Jamerson also had his first SEC offer come in during the week after Missouri offered following the Basha Showcase. San Diego State was the first offer for Jamerson.
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