Arizona's 2010 recruiting class: From 43rd to Fiesta

Published Dec. 29, 2014 2:36 p.m. ET

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats' 2010 recruiting class didn't look like much on paper.

Scout.com ranked the group 43rd in the nation and ninth in the Pac-10 (ahead of only Oregon State) and even put the Wildcats below future conference member Utah.

Mike Stoops' efforts at Arizona had begun to ebb, even after two consecutive bowl seasons, and the talent gap between his teams and those at the top of the conference would eventually lead to his firing halfway through a 2011 season that ended with a 4-8 record.

And yet that 2010 class, misjudged and now all grown up, keeps on giving.

While Rich Rodriguez has replenished the younger classes -- All-American sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright, redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon, sophomore receiver Cayleb Jones, freshman running back Nick Wilson -- the backbone of this season's breakthrough team has come from its stalwart fifth-year seniors.

The Senior Seven of offensive tackles Mickey Baucus (51 career starts) and Fabbians Ebbele (50), safeties Jourdon Grandon (39) and Jared Tevis (36), cornerback Jonathan McKnight (35), defensive lineman Dan Pettinato (26) and receiver Austin Hill (26) have combined for 262 career starts -- and that doesn't even count multi-year starter Chase Gorham, a long-snapper.

"I can remember back like it was yesterday," said fifth-year senior running back Terris Jones-Grigsby, who, like Tevis, joined the team as a walk-on. "It was our first 6 a.m. workout as freshmen and now we're waking up at 9:15 for breakfast at the Fiesta Bowl."

The Wildcats, 10-3 and champs of the Pac-12 South, will take on Boise State on Friday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, trying to put a whopper of a topper on one of the best seasons in school history.

"The senior class is kind of quiet, a nice mix, fifth-€‘year guys, two-year guys, one-€‘year guys," Rodriguez said Monday. "They've been a fun team to coach because they're pretty competitive. I hope they've established the kind of attitude that the young guys have taken on."

Defensive lineman Dan Pettinato was unrated as an incoming recruit but finished his Arizona career as honorable mention All-Pac-12.

If the young guys are paying attention, they will see a group that is reaping the rewards of buying in through the coaching change and adapting to Rodriguez's fast-twitch world.

"When we went 4-8 in my redshirt freshman year, we were tired of it. Who likes to lose football games?" said Baucus, who has started every game in which he has played.

"We're all competitive and we all like to win, and what we were doing didn't work. We figured we needed a change. We put our faith in Coach Rod and trusted that he had the right formula, and he has.

"We knew we could all play. We just had to figure out a way to put it all togther."

Jourdon Grandon and Jonathan McKnight have made a combined 74 starts in Arizona's defensive backfield.

The best word to describe the group: Grinders.

There were no superstars in the class, although Hill's 2012 season, pre-ACL injury, was one of the most prolific in school history for a receiver (81 catches, 1,364 yards, 11 touchdowns). But no one from the 2010 class earned first-team all-conference honors.

Hill figures to be the best pro prospect of the group, likely as a third-day pick.

"We just want to be remembered as a bunch of tough, hard-nosed guys who didn't have all the talent in the world but worked extremely hard and were able to do something special as a group together," Baucus said.

"We fought for each other and didn't listen to what other people said about us and overcame the adversity to be where we're at."

Cornerback Shaquille Richardson, who was a summer addition to the 2010 class after being dismissed from UCLA, never redshirted and was a fifth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Safety/linebacker Marquis Flowers also never redshirted; he was a sixth-round pick last season.

"I thought we were really athletic when I first came in," Hill said.

"With guys like Marquis and Shaquille not redshirting ... it would have been awesome if we had been able to keep that together for five years. But the group we have here, I'm proud of us and where we've gone and how much we've improved."

In all, with one game to go, Arizona received 430 career starts from its 2010 recruiting class, with only a few players being total busts.

Here are the scholarship players from the class of 2010, not including a trio of five-year walk-ons (Tevis, Jones-Grigsby and safety Blake Brady):

Arizona's 2010 recruiting class

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VIDEO: Rich Rodriguez, Bryan Harsin discuss the big-time opportunity awaiting their teams in Wednesday's game.

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