On Jan. 22, Priest Willis slipped on a pair of powder blue football gloves, aligned his hands in the sign of a ‘U’ and confirmed to the college football world what everyone long suspected: He was verbally committing to UCLA.

The 'can’t-miss’ star is missing from this year’s group of East Valley football prospects. While dozens of local football standouts will sign their national letters of intent today to the college of their choice, various recruiting services have pegged this a down year for recruiting in Arizona.

SAGUARO

 Maybe in January or February, when it’s all over, a select group of Scottsdale Saguaro seniors can look back and see just what they’ve accomplished.

Football

Cactus football’s dominance keeps rolling as the Arizona Football Coaches Association named six players to its 4A-II All-State football team.

It's almost an entirely new look at Scottsdale Saguaro, where eight players from last year have moved on to Division I colleges and only three starters return.

4A football all-region teams

In the first half of Friday night's game against Apache Junction, the Scottsdale Saguaro football team showed off its inexperience, as defensive breakdowns allowed for 21 Prospectors points.

There's no place Ramon Abreu would rather be than on the football field. The last two seasons, particularly this past season, he spent more time on the field arguably than anyone. And Abreu's time was more than just quantity. It was quality.

When Peoria Centennial routed Chandler Hamilton early in the 2008 prep football season, the Coyotes staked their claim to the title of best team in Arizona.

Red Mountain (5-3, 1-2) at Hamilton (8-0, 3-0)