New offensive coordinator Seth Doege has yet to call a play under the lights at Arizona Stadium, but that hasn’t stopped one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in the class of 2026 from putting his trust in the Wildcats’ new play caller. On Friday, 2026 4-star quarterback Oscar Rios announced his commitment to the Arizona Wildcats.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound signal caller is a native of Downey, California and currently preps at Downey High School. Rios held a total of 19 offers, but narrowed his choices down to Arizona and UCLA in mid-June after taking an official visit to Tucson on June 13. Per 247Sports.com‘s composite ratings, Rios is the No. 21 player from the Golden State, 12th-best quarterback, and No. 184 overall rated recruit in the class of 2026. Internally, Rios is the No. 10 QB and 146th-overall rated prospect in the 2026 class.
During his junior season, Rios led Downey to an 8-2 record, finishing the season with Gateway League MVP honors. He completed 154 of 254 passes (60.6%) for 2,554 yards with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Rios also tallied 108 rushing attempts for 735 yards (6.8 YPC) and 11 touchdowns while catching a touchdown as well.
“Rios is a fast rising signal caller and has quickly established himself as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks,” writes national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins of 247Sports.com. ” Has a whip for an arm and one of the quickest releases in the region. A true dual-threat and can take off and pick up chunks of yards or extend a play and use his arm to make a big throw down the field. Shows off a live, accurate arm and throws one of the prettier deep balls in the class. Decisive with his reads, gets the ball out on time and throws with anticipation. Extremely tough and has taken some big shots, both in the pocket and scrambling, but never flinches. Highly competitive player, natural leader and draws raves from his coaches for his work ethic and ability to rally his teammates.”
With the commitment from Oscar Rios, the Arizona quarterback room has considerable depth for the next several season. Noah Fifita is entering his redshirt junior season in 2025 and could decide to run it back for one final year in the Old Pueblo in 2026. The Wildcats also have 2025 early enrollees Sawyer Anderson from Texas and in-state signal caller Luke Haugo, who will each have a year of experience under their belt.
The Wildcats now have 15 players in their 2026 recruiting class. Rios is the first quarterback and fifth player from California, highlighting the staff’s continued focus on the Golden State, even with the move to the Big 12. The commitment from Rios makes him the 15th-highest rated recruit in program history and third-highest QB commit in program history behind John Rattay and Nic Costa.
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