Arizona athletes processing difficult recruiting process

Video: Byron Murphy mid-season highlights

The ink has dried, some of the players probably got their first good night sleep in a long time and the number of stars associated with them mean even less than before Wednesday's ordeal.

National Signing Day 2016 in Arizona was a whirlwind, but without much drama.

There were a few last-minute decisions, but for the most part all of the committed players ended up staying with their verbal choice.

It is widely considered a solid class, but of course only time will tell as the players assimilate to the next level and try to equal the impact they've had on their high school teams.

The process is so different for each individual.

Some find a spot, stick with it, never waiver, ignore the outside influences and sign on the line. Others are so conflicted it makes their stomach churn — sleeping becomes difficult and they worry about disappointing people with a decision that truly only they have to live with in the end.

Saguaro (Scottsdale) standout Byron Murphy fell in difficult decision category.

"The last couple of days were really hard on him," Saguaro coach Jason Mohns told reporters. "I think some of the coaches don't realize how hard it is on a kid. He is sick to his stomach. He can't sleep."

Murphy, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound defensive back, was close to staying home and picking Arizona State, which reportedly tried to entice him by saying he could play basketball as well, but his stayed with his original lean toward Washington. Then there was the case of Hamilton (Chandler) defensive lineman Garrett Rand, who disclosed this week he has dealt with dyslexia. He took a liking to Wisconsin and knew it was the perfect fit the whole time.

"I loved the process; it was a great process to go through," Rand told the East Valley Tribune. "I'm just happy to start the new chapter of my life to go to Wisconsin."

The closest thing to drama came from Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) quarterback Jack Smith, who turns out isn't a quarterback anymore.

Smith transferred from Indiana after his dad, Tracy, took the Arizona State baseball job. He enrolled at Mountain Pointe, committed to UNLV, led the Pride to an undefeated regular season, re-opened the recruiting process and committed to Northern Arizona.

Then late Tuesday Arizona State reached out about Smith playing safety for the Sun Devils, but the offer didn't officially come until after the cameras and reporter notebooks were put away.

He posed with an NAU hat on Wednesday morning knowing he might not ever head to Flagstaff, and his name never showed up on the Lumberjacks recruit list.

Pride coach Norris Vaughan confirmed the ASU offer and acceptance early on Thursday.

"They came late, and it happened eventually," Vaughan said. "The paperwork still has to happen. I guess it will get done today."

The Sun Devils did well in getting the Chandler duo of running back Chase Lucas and wide receiver N'Keal Harry from the state.

Arizona signed Salpointe Catholic (Tucson) defensive tackle Justin Holt and Chaparral (Scottsdale) offensive tackle Keenan Walker in their signing class.

Both schools lost out on Brophy College Prep (Phoenix) defensive end Connor Murphy, who chose USC instead.

"At the end of my official visit to USC, I didn't want to come home," Murphy told the Arizona Republic. "I wanted to stay there, strap up and play football there. I wanted to go to school there the next day."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic sports writer and current Prep Sports Director for 1013 Communications, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.