On300 4-star safety Zeke Berry decommits from Arizona
The Arizona recruiting class took a major blow Sunday when Concord (Calif.) De La Salle four-star safety Zeke Berry decommitted from Wildcats.
Berry is the No. 157 player in the 2022 On300 rankings, and was one of two Arizona commits in the top 300 along with Anaheim (Calif.) Servite tight end Keyan Burnett.
The Wildcats had originally sold Berry on his potential to play in a Jabril Peppers-like role on Arizona as a safety who also gets touches on offense and special teams. Wildcats defensive coordinator Don Brown coached Peppers at Michigan.
But that was not enough to keep Berry fully committed until signing day.
Zeke Berry went on an official visit to Oregon on Sept. 25 for the Ducks game against Arizona. He is hoping to make one to Michigan in the coming weeks.
Ducks safeties coach Marcel Yates made the trip to northern California this past weekend to watch Berry play during Oregon’s bye week.
Where does Zeke Berry’s decommitment leave Arizona’s recruiting class?
Zeke Berry’s decommitment leaves the Wildcats with 15 recruits in the 2022 class.
Berry was the defensive star of the class, leaving a hole for one of the remaining recruits or a future signee to fill.
It also leaves a hole in the secondary as Long Beach (Calif.) Millikan three-star cornerback Tacario Davis is the only other defensive back recruit in the class.
Arizona’s class is led offensively by Anaheim (Calif.) Servite teammates Noah Fifita and Burnett. The two make up one of the best QB-Receiver trios along with Oregon commit Tetairoa McMillan.
Through the first six games of the season, Fifita threw for 1,807 yards and 21 touchdowns on 102-of-154 passes. His performance has put many people across the country on notice, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power.
“Fifita has emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in high school football,” Power said. “Fifita is an electric playmaker behind center. He has considerable arm strength which pairs with his mobility and ability to make off-schedule plays. He’s very small, at just 5-foot-9. Still, he is clearly one of the better quarterbacks in high school football with some physical skills that could transcend his lack of height at the next level.”