SAUL LOEB/Arizona Daily Wildcat Former UA quarterback Jason Johnson played an impressive game during the East-West Shrine contest over winter break.

UA's Potential commitments show talent on and off field

Texas and California were once again recruiting hotbeds for the Arizona football team.

So far, the Wildcats have gotten verbal commitments from 15 players, 13 of whom played high school football in either Texas or California, an impressive feat in the eyes of many, considering the quality of players from those states; that leads to intense competition, coupled with the midseason troubles head coach John Mackovic had with his team.

"We've had a lot of success with recruiting Texas and California," said offensive coordinator Rick Dykes. " We have gotten a lot of quality people who have excelled both on the field as well as in academics and we will continue to recruit those areas."

All high school commitments won't become official until after Feb. 5 on National Signing Day.

One of the Wildcats' more high-profile recruits to verbally commit was quarterback Richard Kovalcheck from San Diego. Kovalcheck was All-San Diego County as a junior and a senior. He threw for 2,626 yards and had 19 touchdowns last season for St. Augustine High School.

Another highly touted commitment the Wildcats received was from the Arizona Republic's High School Player of the Year, running back Marcus Thomas. Thomas played football at Tolleson Union High School outside of Phoenix. He rushed for 3,573 yards and 46 touchdowns as a senior and finished his high school career with 5,878 total rushing yards. Thomas is expected to move from running back to receiver in college.

Arizona has received verbal commitments from quarterbacks Kris Heavner (Johnson City, Texas) and Kovalcheck; running backs Chris Henry (Stockton, Calif.), Brenton Bolden (League City, Texas) and Thomas; offensive linemen Ishmael Garcia (Pomona, Calif.), Robert Gustavis (Torrance, Calif.), John Mahaffey (Tyler, Texas) and Peter Graniello (El Paso); wide receivers Syndric Steptoe (Bryan, Texas) and Anthony Johnson (San Diego); cornerbacks Solomon Smart (Phoenix) and Wilrey Fontenot (Humble, Texas); defensive lineman Cedric Cofer (Desoto, Texas); and linebacker Marquell Stinson (Fresno Community College).

Arizona was also able to sign four different junior college transfers, all of whom are expected to enroll in classes for the spring semester.

Tight end Ray Gurley (Independence Community College in Kansas), safety Zeonte Sherman (Western Arizona College in Yuma), defensive lineman David Sharp (Highland Community College in Kansas) and offensive lineman Tom Robinson (Cerritos Community College in California) make up the Wildcats' junior college transfers.

"Overall (recruiting) is going very well for us right now," said Dykes.

Winter break notes

A total of eight Wildcat seniors will be performing in various bowls this month.

Both linebacker Lance Briggs and wide receiver Bobby Wade are in Mobile, Ala., getting ready for the Senior Bowl on Jan. 18.

Offensive lineman Makoa Freitas and defensive tackle Young Thompson are scheduled to play in the Rotary Gridiron Classic on Jan. 25th in Orlando, Fla. and quarterback Jason Johnson, linebacker Ray Wells, cornerback David Hinton, and tight end James Hugo are slated to go to St. George, Utah to play in the Paradise Bowl on the same day.

All of these bowls are for college seniors from around the nation and can be a helpful tool in getting a shot to play for an NFL team.

Johnson and Freitas have already played in one postseason bowl game.

On Jan. 11, they participated in the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco for the West team.

Though the West team lost 20-17, Johnson threw two touchdown passes and completed 17 of 30 passes for 275 yards, an impressive performance that might help his potential NFL stock.

"For guys like Jason and Makoa, these games are really important," said Dykes.

He said that the practices the week before the games hold just as much weight as the game itself. With a good week of practice and a good game, players can really improve their chances of playing at the next level.

A familiar face will be donning the cardinal and navy next fall inside Arizona Stadium, as former Arizona quarterback John Rattay has decided to transfer back to Arizona.

As a prep All-American from Phoenix, Rattay originally went to Tennessee, but after dropping to third on the depth chart, the 6-foot-3, 205 pound lefty then transferred to Arizona.

Due to NCAA rules, Rattay sat out a year before backing up then-junior Jason Johnson for the Wildcats during the 2001 campaign. In limited action, Rattay completed 27 of 59 passes for 385 yards and two touchdowns.

Unhappy with his lack of playing time, he transferred again, this time to Pasadena City College in Southern California. Rattay earned the starting job at PCC, but he was ultimately sidelined after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the team's seventh game.

With the quarterback race wide open once again, following Johnson's graduation, Rattay chose to come back to Arizona and will compete for a spot on the team as a walk-on. Rattay is expected to be fully recovered from the knee injury by the start of fall practice.

Assistant coach Rob Ianello was elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association on Jan. 7 at the AFCA national convention in New Orleans.

Head coach John Mackovic is also on the Board of Trustees, which governs the activities and business of the AFCA.

Ianello joined the board with Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr.

Ianello is the board's assistant coach representative and has been active in AFCA activities as the Pac-10 representative.