It has been rare that Arizona has signed the best prospect in its state, but that's what the Wildcats were able to do when landing safety Marquis Flowers.

Flowers, from Goodyear Millennium High School in the Phoenix area, gives Arizona a big, athletic safety and the state's No. 1 recruit for the first time in at least several seasons. Those kids have gone to either Arizona State or USC recently.

"I thought this was our best year in-state," said coach Mike Stoops, who has been at Arizona for six seasons.

Overall, though, the class is ranked near the bottom of the Pac-10, which isn't exactly what you would expect for a program that has gathered momentum in the past two seasons, winning the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl and reaching the Holiday Bowl last season.

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