Nathan Tilford to Arizona: Wildcats Land 4-Star Athlete Prospect

Arizona picked up a major commitment along the recruiting trail Tuesday, adding Nathan Tilford to its upcoming class, per Zack Rosenblatt of the Tucson Star.

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Tilford is the No. 10 running back and No. 141 overall in the 2017 recruiting class. He's also the 17th-best player in the state of California.

Ever since his freshman year, Tilford has wreaked havoc on opposing teams:

Here's a look at his rushing and receiving totals from his first three seasons, per MaxPreps:

Year	Carries	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Rec.	Rec. Yards	Rec. TDs
2013	92	478	4	4	75	2
2014	151	943	12	12	146	2
2015	106	887	15	6	82	1

Top schools have been following Tilford for years, with USC—then coached by Lane Kiffin—reportedly offering him a scholarship in 2013, when he was in eighth grade, per Blair Angulo of WeAreSC.com (via ESPN.com). That didn't necessarily give the Trojans an edge, though. Last December, Tilford made it clear he wasn't in any rush to make a decision about his college future.

"I'm not looking at recruiting at all right now," Tilford said, per Michael Luke of Scout's Wildcat Authority. "And I mean that seriously. If I take care of business the way that I know I can I will be fine. I'm not going to be one of these guys who lets things go to their heads. I've got a lot of schools giving me love and I know that I just need to keep improving and doing the things that got me to this point."

The end result will be well worth the wait for the Wildcats. It's not hard to see why Kiffin was so proactive in his recruitment of Tilford nearly four years ago. 

Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez has done a fantastic recruiting job for 2017 already. Tilford is Rodriguez's sixth commit for next season and second 4-star athlete after Greg Johnson, per 247Sports. 

Coming off a disappointing 7-6 season, albeit capped off with a nice win in the New Mexico Bowl, the Wildcats needed to build momentum as the Pac-12 continues to get stronger, with Stanford, USC, Oregon, Utah, Washington State and UCLA being formidable. 

The prep standout could play on either side of the ball at the next level. He has made his biggest impact in high school at running back, but he could easily feature at safety or linebacker on a full-time basis. If anything, defense might be his best option.

Tilford is a good athlete but doesn't possess the electrifying speed necessary to break big runs on a regular basis. Listed at 6'2", 190 pounds, he is a capable inside runner who can break tackles and also make defenders miss in space.

Should he transition to safety or linebacker, though, his lack of top-end speed (4.72 40-yard dash) would be much less of an issue. Tilford would have equal success lining up close to the line of scrimmage to pressure the quarterback, stopping the run or dropping back in pass coverage.

Arizona's staff will have plenty of time to figure out how to utilize Tilford next year now that he has committed to the school.

Recruiting information and star ratings are courtesy of 247Sports.