There is no denying the southeastern portion of the country is ripe with college football talent. This is part of the reason the SEC has become so dominant on the national playing field. It is also why we are now seeing programs that have historically lacked any presence in the region starting to dip their toes in the waters of the southeast more and more. Penn State’s James Franklin, previously from Vanderbilt, has made an effort to take his coaching staff into the region, much to the ire of some SEC coaches. Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez also knows the value of establishing a presence in the area as well.
“We still come out here to the Atlanta area a little bit in recruiting,” Rodriguez said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our coaching staff has a good bit of experience out here. If we can get guys to visit, that’s the key. If we can get guys from this area to come out to the desert in Tucson, we’ve got a great shot to get them. And once we do that, it’ll be a pipeline that keeps coming out West.”
Arizona currently lists one player from the state of Georgia on its roster, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jack Banda. The Wildcats also have seven players listed from the state of Florida. Most of the recruits Arizona picks up will still be from the western states like Arizona, California and Nevada, but if Rodriguez keeps poking his head around the southeast he will eventually establish some new inroads to that talent.
Rodriguez may not be able to lure away any of the top recruits from the southeast, but if he can plug in some three or some four stars from the region that may be overlooked by some of the other SEC or ACC schools in the region, perhaps that is all Arizona will need to compliment the roster put together with a southwestern flair.
