San Diego (Calif.) Westview tight end Taylor McNamara showed Arizona that the early offer pays off.
McNamara committed to the Wildcats, one of the first schools to offer him early in his junior year, on Monday.
"The reason I picked Arizona was definitely the coaches and the players," McNamara told Scout.com "I feel really comfortable there. And the campus, it's close enough for my parents to come see me."
The Scout 300 prospect had offers that spanned the country, including Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and USC.
But Arizona, the first Pac-12 school to offer him, won out.
And the tight end who is often compared to former Wildcat tight end Rob Gronkowski, is excited about the chance to play early.
"I love the early playing time," said McNamara. "It's been a goal of mine to pay early and try to start as a true freshman and I think there's a good opportunity for me to do that there."
McNamara becomes the third known verbal commit to Arizona in the class of 2012 and the first in the Scout 300.