Evaluating the Defensive Linemen in Arizona's 2026 Class

The month of July, similarly to June, has been a busy recruiting month for Arizona and head coach Brent Brennan as the team has a total of 20 commitments for the 2026 class, which ranks 44th nationally according to 24/7 recruiting services.

One thing that is clear with this recruiting class is that Brennan and his staff are getting back to basics and building up both the offensive and defensive line. Games are won in the trenches and the Wildcats are taking a heavy focus on the trenches for the 2026 class.

On the defensive side, the addition of defensive line coach Joe Salave’a has proven to be massive for Brennan and his staff with them landing guys due to his hard work on the recruiting trail.

In the class, the Wildcats have four defensive lineman listed with all of them being listed as a three-star recruit, or higher. Arizona was able to win recruiting battles over teams like Cal, North Carolina, BYU, Utah, ASU, Colorado and UCLA to get these four highly coveted players.

The top rated player of the group is 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle Keytrin Harris, who is ranked as the third best prospect in the state of Arizona. The WIldcats were able to steal Harris right out of the Sun Devils backyard.

It was a process that started for Salave’a when he was the defensive line coach at Miami.

The NBA 2025 Summer League is here with new faces getting a chance from organizations and second-year players participating to get more reps and prove themselves to not only their teams but others around the league that are keeping an eye out for talent.

Although it isn’t the same as the regular season, it is a great chance for basketball fans to see young and upcoming talent that could be future stars in the NBA and inspire the next wave of players.

“The relationship with coach Joe is special,” Harris said. “Knowing that he went from recruiting me at one school and bringing me over to the next that shows dedication.”

When talking to multiple recruits, the No. 1 name that they talk about is Salave’a and how he has won them over during the process.

Arizona is building a strong defensive line with the guys it has landed so far in the 2026 recruiting class. Well the Wildcats add more?

It’s tough to say for certain but it would be tough to turn down any high-level defensive linemen interested in the program.

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