The offseason ahead of year two was when Jedd Fisch and his Arizona football staff made their most important jump. In the recruiting department, Fisch assembled a top 25 recruiting class of 2022 as the team moved towards the 2022 season. It ranked third in the Pac-12 and held five four-star recruits with 25 total commits. That’s compared to the year prior, where Arizona’s recruiting class fell outside the top 75 nationally.
Jedd Fisch Recruiting Trends
In the months leading up to Fisch’s first season as the head coach of the Wildcats, he was tasked with finalizing the 2021 recruiting class. This group ultimately ranked second-to-last in the Pac-12 and held just 18 commits. The jump in talent acquisition from the class of 2021 to the class of 2022 proved to be the catalyst of Arizona’s three-year rise to prominence under Fisch.
Right now, Fisch and Washington are in the midst of their first full offseason. A similar trend is taking shape. The Huskies’ 2024 class was pieced together after the late arrival of Fisch and his coaching staff in January of that year. Now, after his first season at the helm, Washington is breaking in its 2025 class that finished inside the top 25. As we speak, the 2026 class is starting to come together where the trajectory continues upward.
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Arizona’s 2022 Recruiting Class
Arizona’s top 25 recruiting class in 2022 was highlighted by future NFL Draft picks in wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea. The two went in the first and second rounds, respectively. The class also included several players who became starters at Arizona and are now expected to be starters at Washington.
Former four-stars Ephesians Prysock and Kevin Green Jr., along with former three-stars Jonah Coleman, Tacario Davis, Isaiah Ward, Russell Davis II, Jacob Manu, and Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, were all members of Fisch’s 2022 class at Arizona. That recruiting class also included Wendell Moe Jr., who’s expected to be a starting guard for Tennessee this fall. Quarterback Noah Fifita will be a third-year starter at Arizona this season. He, too, was a member of the Wildcats’ 2022 recruiting class.
“Blue Chip” Official Visits
But even before the class was finalized in mid-December, Arizona was able to earn official visits from a handful of the nation’s top prospects. Even though these players committed elsewhere, getting them on campus was a sign of the progress being made at Arizona in terms of talent evaluation and program building.
Four-star Zeke Berry was a top-five safety in the class of 2022 who visited Arizona that offseason. He’d eventually commit to Michigan, where he’d go on to lead the team in pass breakups with nine in 2024. Four-star tight end Colston Loveland visited Arizona that same summer, rated nationally as a top-ten tight end recruit. Loveland’s successful career at Michigan turned him into a top ten pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Fisch and staff also hosted four-star Keionte Scott, a junior college cornerback transfer. Scott was the second-rated JUCO transfer that offseason who became a starter at Auburn and the SEC leader in average punt return yards in 2023.
Fisch’s Second Class at Washington
Now compare Arizona’s two-year trend with Washington’s. While Fisch was assembling his staff in Seattle in early 2024, he managed to hold 18 players together in the 2024 recruiting class. It contained four four-star players but finished ranked 47th nationally and 14th in the Big Ten. It ultimately lost four of its members to the transfer portal prior to January of 2025.
But just like at Arizona, the recruiting class brought in after Fisch’s first full season as the head coach took a considerable step up. The Huskies’ 2025 class featured 27 players, ranking 23rd in the nation and seventh in the Big Ten. Eight four-star recruits highlighted the class, and several of its members were on campus for spring practice. Receivers Raiden Vines-Bright and Chris Lawson were two of the most impactful freshmen this spring, each stepping up in place of receivers with minor injuries. Vines-Bright had an MVP performance in the Spring Game, catching eight passes for over 130 yards and a touchdown.
On the offensive line, freshmen John Mills and Champ Taulealea each earned considerable reps with the first and second team offense at guard. This spring, Fisch compared these two linemen to two members of that foundational 2022 recruiting class at Arizona. “When we were at Arizona, Jonah Savaiinaea was a freshman All-American lineman. Then the next year, Wendell Moe was a freshman All-American lineman,” Fisch recalled. “I expect one of the freshmen, if not two, to be a significant contributor or starter [this year].” Moe redshirted his 2022 season, earning freshman All-American honors after the 2023 season.
Upward Trend Continues
It’s been a parallel trend over the first two recruiting seasons at Arizona and Washington for Fisch and staff. For the Huskies, it’s extending into the 2026 recruiting class this summer. The class has been bouncing around inside the top 20 nationally as it’s added members over the last couple of weeks. The 2026 group holds one five-star and five four-star commitments. Washington is one of just five Big Ten programs to hold the commitment of at least one five-star.
Washington flipped five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene from Oregon. It went into SEC country and poached four-star receiver Mason James out of Oklahoma, a player the Sooners were targeting. Four-star quarterback Derek Zammit recently competed at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles. He was there among 19 of the nation’s other elite quarterback recruits. The class also consists of four-star EDGE Derek Colman-Brusa – Washington’s top in-state recruit – and four-star Gavin Day, a top 20 safety nationally who was being heavily targeted by Iowa.
Elite “Blue Chip” Official Visits
Getting elite recruits on campus for official visits is another sign of the tides rising in recruiting. Washington earned official visits from five-star Brandon Arrington, the nation’s top-rated athlete, who has now committed to Texas A&M. Tristian Givens is a five-star EDGE from Georgia. He cancelled his official visit to Florida State to check out Washington in early June. He also committed to the Aggies. Four-star Vance Spafford – a top 15 wide receiver nationally – also stepped on campus this summer for his official visit. He recently flipped his commitment from Georgia to Miami.
Though these players pledged elsewhere, the work the staff has done to entice the nation’s elite athletes is already showing. Entering the second summer at the helm of Washington, Fisch and staff are laying a foundation of recruiting. “Recruiting is the lifeblood of our program,” Fisch said last summer at Big Ten Media Days. “We are going to build our team based on high school athletes.”
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