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The college football season doesn’t start until the fall but it’s never too early to start looking ahead.
USA TODAY Sports

Arizona’s top recruit from 2015 is no longer with the program.

Tuesday, offensive lineman Keenan Walker announced his intention to leave the UA. Walker told the Star he plans to transfer and play elsewhere.

Walker’s decision to leave ends a bumpy couple of years since he headed Arizona’s 2015 recruiting class as a four-star recruit from Scottsdale Chaparral.

RECRUITING: Amphitheater OL David Watson following family bloodlines, commits to Arizona

After suffering a knee injury during his senior high school season, Walker grayshirted Arizona’s 2015 campaign and joined the UA in the spring session of 2016.

That summer, Walker had some legal trouble after being arrested in Scottsdale. He was charged with assault and disorderly conduct after events that transpired outside of a nightclub.

In the fall, UA coach Rich Rodriguez implied that Walker was suspended as a result of the summer incident, and Walker wound up redshirting his true freshman season anyway.

Walker, a redshirt freshman, was held out for much of Arizona’s spring drills this year as he dealt with an ankle injury.

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The 6-5, 283-pounder was a highly regarded recruit in 2015, picking the Wildcats over offers from Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Washington, Nebraska and Arizona State.

With Walker’s departure, that leaves the Wildcats with 12 scholarship offensive linemen, without any new additions as part of Arizona’s 2017 recruiting class. The Wildcats are set to lose key seniors Jacob AlsadekLayth Friekh and Gerhard de Beer after this season.

Walker was expected to play a reserve role in 2017 with a shot at playing time in 2018. Sunday, Arizona added a commitment from 2018 offensive lineman David Watson, a local product from Amphitheater.

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