The 2017 Arizona football recruiting class is a special one for head coach Rich Rodriguez. While it includes top-300 overall recruit and four-star athlete/running back Nathan Tilford and features a lot of talent that will help shore up the defensive side of things in Tucson, unquestionably the player that means the most to RichRod is Rhett Rodriguez, a two-star quarterback who signed a letter of intent to play for his father at Arizona.

While it might have seemed like a sure thing all along that RhettRod would play for his pops, Rodriguez joked with the Pac-12 Networks crew about all the work he had to put in to get Rhett, who has been along for RichRod’s coaching ride across the country.

“He’s had about 10,000 home visits, unlimited meals before he enrolled on campus and the official contacts are off the roof,” Rodriguez quipped. “First he decommitted from Tulane, then he decommitted from Clemson, then he decommitted from West Virginia, then he decommitted from Michigan. He’s locked in at Arizona.”

He might not be a high-profile recruit, but Rhett can fling that pigskin down the field. Father Rich is quick to point out that Rhett is more than just his son; he’s a pretty good football player.

“I wouldn’t sign anybody or bring anybody into the program if I didn’t think they could contribute and play,” Rodriguez told the Arizona Daily Star regarding the signing of Rhett. “As his career went on I watched him… as a coach and as a dad. I knew the mental part of it, his intelligence, his work ethic, all that kind of stuff. But I needed to watch the football part in person. I was able to watch it pretty closely. He’s worked really hard to get to this point.”