With national signing day approaching Wednesday, high school seniors are making their college decisions known.
Arizona has gone to the outlying areas of Thatcher and Sierra Vista to land preferred walk-on linemen Jacob Rasmussen of Thatcher and Toafia Fruean of Buena.
Catalina Foothills receiver Cole Revis also announced on Sunday that he is bound for NAU.
Felt like home. Committed🔴⚪️🔵 Thank you coach @CoachBeyRasool and @bolin_theodore 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2wlpsvVnJS
— Jacob Rasmussen (@JacobRas77) January 29, 2023
Rasmussen is a 6-foot-3 and 250-pound lineman who was selected the 3A Defensive Player of the Year by coaches last month. He was a significant player in Thatcher’s run to the state championship game. The Eagles finished 13-1 with the lone loss to Eastmark in the championship.
He led Thatcher with 62 tackles, including 10 for loss with eight sacks.
Fruean, a nose guard at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, was also instrumental in Buena’s 7-3 season.
He had a team-high 95 tackles with seven tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks.
He is Buena’s first player to move on to the Arizona program since receiver Devin Neal from 2008-11.
Being a preferred walk-on means that they will be on Arizona’s roster but won’t receive financial assistance at least for their first year in the program. They can earn a scholarship going into their second season but nothing is guaranteed.
While preferred walk-ons do not receive athletic scholarship funding, they do receive other amenities that scholarship players have — use of the training facility, athletic gear and meals, etc.
Former CDO lineman Chase Randall, who played at Valparaiso last season, accepted a preferred walk-on offer by Arizona earlier this month.
Salpointe graduate Cruz Rushing, a preferred walk-on as a defensive back at Florida last season, is also transferring to Arizona.
Former Rincon/University standout Beyah Rasool, an assistant defensive backs coach, has been instrumental landing preferred walk-ons with the hope they can establish themselves from this year to next.
Super excited to announce I’m committed to @NAU_Football!! Thank you @COACHMACNAUTE @aaronpflugrad @CoachChrisBall for this opportunity! #CHOP 🪓 @coachdsainz @gridironarizona @SOAZFootball pic.twitter.com/viU49wx9OV
— Cole Revis (@colerevis6) January 29, 2023
Revis, an athletic 6-foot-5 and 210-pound prospect, is a late-bloomer in football who started playing the sport in his time at Catalina Foothills. He led the Falcons with 30 receptions for 604 yards with eight touchdowns last season.
He began his high school athletic career as a volleyball player. He is also one of the top soccer players in Southern Arizona.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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