It was a busy day on the defensive side of the ball for Arizona. After the Wildcats promoted Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator and announced former defensive lineman Joe Salave’a is returning to Tucson to coach that unit, the UA has added a high-profile junior-college player. On Thursday, Cerritos College defensive lineman Leroy Palu announced his commitment to Arizona.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Palu is a native of Lakewood, California and played his high school ball at Mayfair. He was an unranked prospect in the class of 2023, and did not have an offers reported on 247Sports.com. In two seasons at Cerritos College, Palu appeared in 18 total games, tallying 83 tackles, 16.5 tackles-for-loss, 5.5 sacks. He also had three pass breakups and a blocked field in the Falcons 28-14 win at Orange Coast. This season, Palu finished with 39 tackles, all 5.5 of his career sacks, and 13 TFL.
Palu reportedly also held offers from West Virginia and Utah State, and also posted about offers from Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Nevada during his time as a Falcon. Jason Scheer of WildcatAuthority.com reports that former Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez, who recently returned to Morgantown as the head coach of West Virginia, was highly interested in Palu. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Arizona now has three additions from the junior-college ranks with the commitment from Leroy Palu. He joins defensive lineman Zac Siulepa from Garden City Community College and cornerback Elijah Brown from El Camino College.