UPDATED: 4/29/22

Colleges across the nation continue to take notice of the prep talent in Arizona each season. More than 360 players from the Class of 2022 have signed with schools to advance their football careers, and receive an education.

A three-sport athlete in the East Valley received his first football offer last Friday. That would be Braeden Kaczmarek, and it came from Air Force for the D-End from Red Mountain. Kaczmarek, a 6-4, 250-pounder, led the Mountain Lions with five sacks last season. Earlier this month, he visited Northern Arizona and Southern Utah for their Junior Days. In addition to football, Kaczmarek plays baseball (pitcher and first base) and throws the discus. This year's Air Force-Army game will again be played at a neutral site. Globe Life Field in Arlington Texas will host the Lockheed Martin Commanders' Classic on Nov. 5. This will be the second consecutive year the home of the Texas Rangers will stage the game. Air Force leads the all-time series 38-16-1. The Falcons finished the 2021 season with a 10-3 record, including a win in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas over Louisville.

Elijah Paige, a 6-6, 285-pound rising junior at Pinnacle, collected an offer last Friday to play for Baylor out of the Big 12. He recently took a trip to East Lansing and has scheduled an official visit to Michigan State for June. Other officials are planned for UCLA and USC in May. Despite a challenging schedule for the Pioneers, Paige has dominated in the trenches. Pinnacle will host a Spring Showcase on May 18 in North Phoenix. In addition to the Pioneers, fans and coaches can watch Centennial, Bradshaw Mountain, O'Connor, and North. Baylor started five seniors on the offensive line last year and four of them will return, taking advantage of the NCAA ruling for an extra year of eligibility due to games missed during the pandemic. The super-seniors will give the Bears one of the most experienced and oldest lines in the country. BU held its Green & Gold Game last Saturday in Waco. The Bears finished 12-2 last year, including a perfect 7-0 at home in McLane Stadium. Three of those were wins over ranked teams (Iowa State, BYU, and Oklahoma).

Mountain Ridge brings back one of the most prolific passers in the state with Brendan Anderson. The 6-1, 185-pound signal caller earned an offer from the University of St. Thomas last Saturday. Anderson, in his second year as the varsity starter for the Mountain Lions, threw for 3,037 yards and 39 touchdowns. He had seven games with four or more TD passes. Like Kaczmarek, Anderson was up in Flagstaff for Junior Day at NAU. Earlier this month, he also took in a practice at Arizona State. St. Thomas, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, played its first season at the FCS level in 2021 and went 7-3 playing in the Pioneer Football League. The Tommies recently announced future games with Harvard (starting in 2023 in Boston with a home game in 2029) and Black Hills State (home games in 2023 & 2024). Black Hills State is a Division II university in South Dakota.

Ivy League member Pennsylvania extended an offer to Sirri Kandiyeli last Saturday, adding to the choices for the Mesa Mountain View offensive lineman. A 6-3, 270-pound offensive tackle, Kandiyeli is a prospect who is coming off a strong year with the Toros. He was a First Team All-6A Central Region selection on a Mountain View team that went 8-3 and averaged 31.9 points per game. Kandiyeli also passes the academic requirements with his 4.0 GPA. He also made the trip up to Flagstaff for NAU Junior Day earlier this month. Penn closed out 2021 with a 3-7 record. The Quakers were just 1-6 in conference play. Pennsylvania will stay at home at Franklin Field in Philadelphia for its first two games this fall against Colgate (N.Y.) and Lafayette (Pa.) on Sept. 17 and 24, respectively.

Kandiyeli picked up another Ivy League offer on Wednesday from Cornell. The Big Red went just 2-8 last season, but one of them was a win at Penn. That allowed Cornell to bring the Trustees' Cup back to its Ithaca, New York campus. The 15-12 victory ended a six-year losing streak against the Quakers. Cornell begins the '22 season in Lexington, Va. against VMI (6-5 in 2021) on Sept. 17.

Offensive lineman Jake Carbajal landed his first offer last Saturday from Northern State. Carbajal, a 6-2, 290-pound guard at Corona del Sol, is a member of the 1,000-pound club, bolstered by his 450-pound squat. He possesses a long (79-inch) wingspan and can finish a block. The scholarship offer from NSU came after a visit to the Aberdeen, South Dakota campus. Northern State has a new assistant coach with Arizona ties. Trevor Bonifasi, the new running backs coach, is a Boulder Creek alum. He comes to the Wolves from Missouri Western State, where he was also a running backs coach along with recruiting coordinator. NSU, a Division II school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, went 7-4 last season.

Jason Kirkland has his fourth offer from a Midwest school as he gained one on Sunday from South Dakota School of Mines, where he recently visited. The 6-4, 235-pound defensive end at Mountain Ridge, had six sacks and two fumble recoveries last season. South Dakota Mines is one of the top engineering schools in the nation and Kirkland carries a 4.17 GPA. Like a few others in this update, Kirkland was up at Northern Arizona earlier this month for its Junior Day. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (Div. II). The Hardrockers finished 6-5 last season. Higley alum Isaiah Eastman caught 46 passes for 492 yards and scored four touchdowns in his freshman year.

Saguaro will begin its Spring Ball next week, but on Monday, quarterback Devon Dampier got an offer from South Dakota. Sabercat fans are excited to see what the dual-threat can do over a full season. Dampier took the reins for the three Open Division playoff games and went 3-0 while rushing for more than 100 yards in each game (204 vs. Hamilton). The 6-foot, 190-pounder played for Tucson Turf during the offseason in 7x7 ball and won three tournaments. South Dakota ran an open practice last Saturday in the DakotaDome. The Coyotes return most of its roster from a team that went 7-5, its best FCS season. The practice closed out the spring schedule for USD.

The week ended on Friday with a pair of offers for Hamilton linebacker Alex McLaughlin. He obtained them from Northern Arizona and Western Illinois. The 6-2, 195-pound defender was a First Team All-6A Premier Region selection last year following an 80-tackle output with two sacks. McLaughlin is running track this spring and was on the winning 4 x 200 relay team at the Hohokam International track meet earlier this month. Northern Arizona held its Spring Game last Friday in the Skydome. Higley alum Draycen Hall had one of four rushing touchdowns for the Blue team, which won 29-6. The Lumberjacks return to the field in August for practices leading up to their opener in Sun Devil Stadium against Arizona State on Thursday, Sept. 1. NAU finished 5-6 last season. Western Illinois also put on its annual Spring Game last Friday night. The Leathernecks (2-9 last year) put in a new offense, new defense, and new special teams. This will be the first year for Myers Hendrickson as the head coach at WIU. He's an alum and was most recently at Kansas Wesleyan, where his teams went 30-4 in three seasons.

Here's the rest of the offers since last Friday (4/22):

Centennial defensive tackle Dylan Roberts received an offer from Colorado.
Mountain Ridge offensive tackle Alex Doost received an offer from BYU.
Williams Field cornerback Josiah Dye received an offer from Air Force.
Chaparral defensive end Gavin Geweniger received an offer from Air Force.
Red Mountain wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane received an offer from San Jose State.
Coconino linebacker Pierson Watson received an offer from Northern Arizona.
ALA-Queen Creek running back/linebacker Mitch Jensen received his first offer from Northern State.

This list shows four-year college offers received by juniors throughout the state. It's not limited to just 6A and 5A. It will be constantly updated as we approach the Early Signing Period from December 14-16. Those are the first days that high school seniors can sign a letter of intent to agree to attend an institution.

Verbal commitments are shown in bold.

CLASS OF 2023 OFFERS

Brendan Anderson - Mountain Ridge (QB): St. Thomas, Yale

Ryan Blum - Basha (C): Air Force, Central Michigan, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, San Diego

Jackson Bowers - Mesa Mountain View (TE): Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, California, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, UNLV, USC, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Yale

Taye Brown - Hamilton (LB): Air Force, Idaho State, New Mexico State

Deshaun Buchanan - Basha (RB): Arizona, Grambling State, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Portland State

Aidan Buggs - Casteel (OG): Whittier

John Butler - Saguaro (LB): Arizona

Jake Carbajal - Corona del Sol (OG): Northern State

Roch Cholowsky - Hamilton (QB/P): New Mexico State

Kavaughn Clark - Centennial (RB): Nevada, Northern Arizona

Daniel Contreras - River Valley (OG): Arizona Christian

Zaccheus Cooper - Saguaro (RB): Alcorn State, Morgan State, New Mexico

Stephon Daily - Sierra Linda (WR): Army, Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Arizona

Devon Dampier - Saguaro (QB): Air Force, Arizona, Army, Idaho State, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Pennsylvania, Rice, South Dakota, Yale

Ryan Davis - O'Connor (DE): Idaho State, Northern Arizona

Alex Doost - Mountain Ridge (OT): Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan State, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Northwestern, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah State, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia

Layton Duncan - Brophy (WR): Idaho State, Morgan State, Nevada

James Durand - Basha (OG): Arizona, BYU, California, Colorado, Harvard, Indiana, Iowa State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oregon State, Pennsylvania, Princeton, San Diego State, Utah, Utah State, Wisconsin, Yale

AJ Dutchover - Highland (OG): Concordia Coll. (Minn.), Grinnell

Joshua Dye - Williams Field (RB): Northern Arizona

Josiah Dye - Williams Field (CB): Air Force, Army, Northern Arizona, Utah State

Jack Endean - Tanque Verde (OT): Arizona, California, OKLAHOMA STATE

Deric English - Saguaro (WR): Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Morgan State, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Washington

Dominic Esposito - Higley (WR): Lake Forest

Shea Freibaum - Saguaro (LS): Marshall

My'Keil Gardner - Liberty (DE): Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas, UCLA, USC, Utah State, Washington State, Wisconsin

Gavin Geweniger - Chaparral (DE): Air Force, Colorado State, Nevada, San Diego State, UNLV, Washington

Austin Glimpse - Sunrise Mountain (QB): Grinnell, Wesleyan

Carlos Griffin - Saguaro (CB): Army, Syracuse

Terrance Hall - Mountain Ridge (WR): Morgan State

Dominic Hanger - Chandler (LB): Augustana Univ. (S. Dak.)

Aiden Herring - Perry (DE): Air Force, Army, Idaho, Idaho State, Nevada, Northern Arizona

Gavin Hogencamp - River Valley (QB): Arizona Christian

Mitch Jensen - ALA-Queen Creek (RB/LB): Northern State

Damian Jiles - Cactus (RB): Montana Tech

Braeden Kaczmarek - Red Mountain (DE): Air Force

Sirri Kandiyeli - Mesa Mountain View (OT): Arizona State, Cornell, New Mexico State, Pennsylvania

Jason Kirkland - Mountain Ridge (DE): Butler, Morehead State, South Dakota School of Mines, Valparaiso

Matthew Klopfenstein - Horizon (TE): Arizona, Arizona State, BAYLOR, Buffalo, California, Colorado, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, Massachusetts, Michigan, Michigan State, Nevada, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Tennessee, Utah State, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Ja'Kobi Lane - Red Mountain (WR): Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Massachusetts, Nevada, Northern Arizona, San Jose State

Lenox Lawson - Red Mountain (WR): Central Michigan, Idaho State, New Mexico State, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah

Cooper LeDuc - Hamilton (CB): New Mexico State

Myles Libman - Pinnacle (WR): Arizona, Arizona State, Columbia, Idaho State, Pennsylvania, Portland State

Caleb Lomu - Highland (OT): Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Indiana, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, Utah State, Washington, Washington State

Cole Martin - Basha (CB): Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, OREGON, San Jose State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Nicolas Martin - Chandler (OG): Graceland

Gianni Mascolino - Cooldige (QB): Washington

Sean Mathews - Thunderbird (LB): Grinnell

Kaiden McCarty - Eastmark (FS): Ottawa

Alex McLaughlin - Hamilton (LB): Army, Illinois State, Navy, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Ohio, Western Illinois

Wyatt Milkovic - Basha (LB): Army, BOISE STATE, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa State, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Utah State

Aaron Monroe Jr. - Centennial (CB): Arizona Christian

Tyler Mustain - Pusch Ridge (LB): Northern Arizona

Andereya Nsubuga Jr. - Chandler (CB): Portland State

Elijah Paige - Pinnacle (OT): Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, California, Cincinnati, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, San Diego State, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Utah, Utah State, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Keona Peat - Corona del Sol (OG): Fort Valley State, Johnson C. Smith

Porter Reynolds - Queen Creek (LB): Colorado, Eastern Washington, Washington State

Dylan Roberts - Centennial (DT): Arizona, California, Colorado, Northern Arizona, Northwestern

Levi Robins - Saguaro (CB): Columbia

Duce Robinson - Pinnacle (TE): Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Clemson, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Nevada, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pittsburgh, San Jose State, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah, Washington

Dorae Scott - Basha (WR): New Mexico State

Cole Shivers - Saguaro (CB): Arizona, Boise State, Buffalo, Colorado, Florida State, Fresno State, Iowa State, Kansas, Nevada, Northwestern, UNLV, Utah State, Washington State, Wisconsin

Tyson Simmons - Basha (DE): Air Force, Nevada

Genesis Smith - Hamilton (FS): Arizona, Army, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, San Diego State, Utah State

Tre' Spivey - Hamilton (WR): Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Kansas State, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Portland State, UNLV, Utah State, Washington State, Wisconsin

Griffin Stalfort - Hamilton (LS): New Mexico State

Richard Stallworth - Yuma Catholic (QB): Adams State

Mason Stromstad - Marcos de Niza (FS): Whittier

Nick Switzer - Hamilton (RB): New Mexico State

Viliani Tongotea - Buckeye (RB): Arizona Christian

Jeremiah Vessel - Basha (S): Arizona State, Boise State, Buffalo, Colorado, Columbia, Grambling State, Iowa State, Kansas, Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, SMU, Southern, Tulane, Virginia

Blake Ware - O'Connor (LB): Lake Forest, Puget Sound

A'Mauri Washington - Chandler (DT): Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Utah, Washington

Demari Washington - Centennial (FS): Army, Colorado

Pierson Watson - Coconino (LB): Nevada, Northern Arizona, South Dakota

Will Way - Pusch Ridge (OT/DE): Idaho State, Northern Arizona, South Dakota

Jaron Winters - Mountain Ridge (C): Mayville State

Tanner Wood - River Valley (LB/RB): Arizona Christian

UPDATED: 4/8/22

After an unofficial visit to Baylor two weeks ago, Matthew Klopfenstein said he was blown away with what the Bears' program had to offer. On Thursday, he held a commitment ceremony at Horizon High School in the centrally-located quad and verbally committed to BU.

"It is an overall great program," Klopfenstein said in a text message. "The culture is rich and I can't wait to be a part of it."

The 6-5, 230-pound tight end caught 45 passes for 575 yards and scored 10 touchdowns during a breakthrough junior year for the Huskies. Horizon won the 5A Conference championship in 2021 after a 12-2 season.

Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes loves to use the tight end in his scheme. Last season, Ben Sims and Drake Dabney combined for 41 catches, 452 yards, and eight touchdowns for the Bears, who went 12-2 and won the Sugar Bowl over Ole Miss.

Klopfenstein is the ninth known commitment for Baylor in the '23 class and second tight end. He had 24 offers, including Louisville, Michigan State, and Arizona.

Baylor is at about the halfway point of its spring drills. The Bears finished up a third week of practice on Thursday and will scrimmage this Saturday. The annual Green & Gold Spring Game is set for Saturday, April 23 at 10 am Arizona time. Baylor kicks off its 2022 season at home in Waco's McLane Stadium against FCS-opponent Albany (2-9 in 2021) on Sept. 3.

Another Valley player impressed with a college visit made his decision on Friday as Wyatt Milkovic committed to Boise State. The Basha linebacker was offered by the Broncos last Friday upon his arrival to Boise, went on what he called a "great visit" where he had an "awesome time" over the weekend and has chosen BSU.

Milkovic played on the inside for the Bears last season and led the team in tackles with 132. Basha finished 10-1 and made the Open Division playoffs for the first time. Milkovic had 4.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.

Arizona Varsity's Cody Cameron caught up with Milkovic earlier this week and discussed his visits to Utah State and Boise State in a video interview. Milkovic had 11 offers, including Nevada, Colorado, Cal, and Iowa State.

Milkovic is the second commitment for Boise State in this class. The other is a name familiar to Arizona HS football fans as quarterback CJ Tiller was the first to pledge to the Broncos. Tiller has recently moved to Southern California and will play his senior year at Rancho Cucamonga HS.

This week, Boise State announced plans for an Athletics Master Village. The project includes facility improvements and additions for all 18 of its sports programs. Included for the football team are completion of a 360-degree concourse, increasing capacity of Albertsons Stadium to 40,000 (from its current 36,400), and renovating the restrooms and concessions. Boise State finished 7-5 last season and was invited to the Arizona Bowl in Tucson, but had to withdraw due to COVID-19 issues. The Broncos begin 2022 with a trip to Corvallis to face Oregon State (7-6 last year) on Sept. 3.

BAYLOR BEARS

Matthew Klopfenstein (TE) - Horizon

BOISE STATE BRONCOS

Wyatt Milkovic (LB) - Basha

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Jack Endean (OT) - Tanque Verde

OREGON DUCKS

Cole Martin (CB) - Basha