Even through coaching changes over the past two seasons, one constant in Tucson has been a committee of running backs to balance the workload in the backfield. On Sunday, the Arizona Wildcats’ staff took a step towards ensuring that trend will continue into 2026 and beyond, landing a commitment from three-star athlete Brandon Smith.
The 6-foot-0, 185-pound Smith is a native of Fresno, California and plays his high school ball at Central East. Smith originally committed to San Diego State in January, but backed off his commitment in late April before taking an official visit to Tucson on June 20. In total, he held offers from 13 programs, before choosing the Wildcats over the Cal Golden Bears during his updated recruitment.
Per 247Sports.com composite ratings, he is the No. 108 player from California, 86th-best running back, and No. 1,419 overall prospect in the class of 2026. Internally, the recruiting site rates him as the No. 41 player from the Golden State and 24th-best running back.
Smith is a two-way player that lines up as a both a running back and safety. During his 15-game junior campaign, Smith carried the ball 277 times for 1,871 yards and 25 touchdowns. He tacked on another 31 receptions for 354 yards and two more touchdowns. He also tallied 71 tackles, including 12.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, four defended passes, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, culminating with a Division I-AA Championship. The talented multi-sport athlete also competes in track and field, running in 100-, 200-, and 400-meter events, as well as 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
With his commitment to Arizona, Brandon Smith becomes the 16th player in the Wildcats’ 2026 recruiting class. He is expected to line up on the offensive side of the ball, making him the first running back for Alonzo Carter and Co. in the class of 2026. Smith is the second future offensive weapon the Wildcats have added this weekend, after landing a massive commitment from 2026 four-star quarterback Oscar Rios on Friday.
He is also the sixth commit from the state of California, joining Rios, wide receiver RJ Mosley, offensive linemen Nathan Allen and Michael Langi, and linebacker Dash Fifita, showing the staff’s continued prioritization of the west coast, even with the transition to the Big 12.
[…] by the Wildcats since late June, joining four-star quarterback Oscar Rios, three-star running back Brandon Smith, three-star edge Prince Williams, and three-star defensive linemen Manoah Faupusa and Keytrin […]