Arizona Football: Top Remaining 2016 Recruiting Targets for Wildcats

With just five commitments for the 2016 recruiting class, Arizona has a lot of work to do in order to assemble another solid group of prospects and maintain the momentum Rich Rodriguez has built over the past three seasons.

Rodriguez's recruiting strategy with the Wildcats has been to get as many of his pledges in place before the upcoming season begins. Last year he had 21 commits by the first week of August and ended up signing 25 players to land the nation's No. 42 class (per 247Sports).

The five commits already in place for 2016 include two quarterback prospects—after not signing one in 2015—and has the Wildcats ranked 43rd. There are several other areas of need that still need to be addressed in this class, however.

Here's a look at some of Arizona's top remaining recruiting targets for 2016.

DT Boss Tagaloa

247Sports

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 295 lbs.

Hometown: Concord, California

Rank: 56th

Arizona's 3-3-5 defensive alignment wasn't very effective rushing the passer last season, and the Wildcats only got eight sacks from the defensive line. A player with Boss Tagaloa's speed and strength could make for a major improvement in that area.

"For a 300-pounder, Tagaloa moves very well laterally and uses his leg and upper-body strength to frustrate offensive linemen," Bleacher Report's Damon Sayles wrote.

This prospect, who is no relation to Arizona offensive tackle Freddie Tagaloa, has the Wildcats in his top 12 along with Alabama, Arizona State, California, Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Tennessee, UCLA, Utah and Washington.

CB Byron Murphy

247Sports

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 160 lbs.

Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

Rank: 121st

In the pass-happy Pac-12, you can never have too many defensive backs. Arizona has at least five on the field at all times, so depth at the cornerback position is essential in order to cycle fresh bodies and avoid major breakdowns.

The Wildcats signed five corners in the 2015 class, and their projected starters this season are both sophomores. But Byron Murphy would likely work his way into the rotation as a true freshman if Arizona could pull the in-state product away from suitors such as UCLA, USC and Washington.

Those schools are likely all ahead of the Wildcats in the pecking order, according to Barton Simmons of 247Sports.

The big advantage Arizona could have on all others, though, is a family connection: Murphy's uncle, Mike Bibby, was a star basketball player at the school in the late 1990s.

ATH Chase Lucas

247Sports

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 166 lbs.

Hometown: Chandler

Rank: 172nd

Rich Rodriguez plans to make the most of his players' diverse skills this season by using receivers Samajie Grant, Tyrell Johnson and others in the backfield while also sending his running backs out wide. He also shifted receiver DaVonte' Neal to cornerback to maximize his speed and athleticism.

Chase Lucas would likely be another multiuse player for the Wildcats, as the Chandler High School star played both running back and cornerback for the Wolves last season.

According to Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic, 10 schools visited Chandler during spring football to look at Lucas and fellow prospect N'Keal Harry, a wide receiver. Lucas has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Louisville, Montana, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas, UCLA, Utah, Utah State, Washington and Washington State.

Though it's still early in the process, 247Sports' Crystal Ball has it as a neck-and-neck battle between Arizona, ASU and UCLA for Lucas' services.

LB LaMar Winston

247Sports

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 200 lbs.

Hometown: Portland, Oregon

Rank: 230th

Though Arizona was the most recent school to offer LaMar Winston a scholarship, it has apparently made enough of an impression on him to make his top eight, which the 4-star prospect posted on Twitter Thursday. The Wildcats are one of seven Pac-12 schools to make the list, though Bleacher Report's Tyler Donohue considers Oregon, Washington, USC and the Big Ten's Michigan the favorites.

Winston starred as both a receiver and linebacker in high school, but he projects as more of a defensive player at the collegiate level. For Arizona, he'd make a great replacement for what will likely be a major hole in its linebacker corps in 2016, assuming that Scooby Wright declares for the NFL draft after his junior year.

RB Tre Turner

247Sports

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 193 lbs.

Hometown: New Orleans

Rank: 349th

Arizona already has a running back commitment for 2016 in 3-star Georgia product Russell Halimon, but it can never have too many ball-carriers. Halimon was supposed to be the second piece of that unit's haul for this cycle, but a few days later, the Wildcats saw 3-star Texas rusher Trevor Speights decommit.

If Tre Turner were to join Arizona's class, it would more than make up for the loss of Speights while also setting the Wildcats up well for the future, with Nick Wilson only heading into his sophomore year.

Most of Turner's offers have come from the South, but Arizona has made inroads in Louisiana under Rich Rodriguez. Four players in Arizona's 2015 class came from the Bayou State, and at one point, 5-star 2016 Shreveport quarterback Shea Patterson—who later flipped to Ole Miss—had pledged to come to Tucson.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.