After a five-game losing streak to end the season, Arizona coach Mike Stoops needed something good to happen.

He started "winning the offseason" by hiring three assistant coaches who were well received. Former Arizona defensive tackle and NFL player Joe Salave'a will coach the defensive tackles, former BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae will coach the offensive line, and Duane Akina returns to Tucson to coach defensive backs.

Akina, who has coached three Jim Thorpe Award winners, left Texas -- where he had coached since the 2001 season -- to return to Arizona, where he served under Dick Tomey from 1987 to 2000.

While all that was happening, recruiting stalled. A fast start turned into a slumber. But Arizona closed well, getting last-minute signings from local running back Ka'Deem Carey and from receiver Patrick Onwuasor of Inglewood, Calif. They were both members of the Tacoma News-Tribune's Western 100 list.

Stoops acknowledges that the 22-player class ranks in the middle of the Pac-12 (at best), but he does think the new coaches, combined with the late recruiting flurry, regained his program's momentum after a 7-6 season.

"I'm really pleased with the way it finished for us. Things were starting to unravel a little bit, and we were able to pull it together," he said. "I'm really excited with the way we closed."

TOP OF THE CLASS

RB Ka'Deem Carey (Canyon del Oro High, Tucson, Ariz.) -- The headliner of Arizona's class, not just because he's a local kid and not just because the Wildcats won a late tug-of-war for his services against rival Arizona State. Carey has explosive skills, ending his high school career with 5,702 rushing yards and 82 rushing touchdowns. He was 177 yards away from the state rushing record and would have gotten there had his senior season not been marred by injuries. As a junior, he was the Arizona Republic's 2009 Big School Player of the Year, as he rushed for 2,738 yards and 43 touchdowns on 224 carries.

LB Rob Hankins (Parish Episcopal, Dallas) -- Part of the Dallas Morning News' 25-player all-prospect team, he was selected to the Sporting News' national top 100. He made 126 tackles, including seven sacks, to go with six forced fumbles as a senior. His "motor" is compared to that of Arizona legend Tedy Bruschi.

WR Patrick Onwuasor (Inglewood High, Inglewood, Calif.) -- He was Arizona's signing day surprise, picking the Wildcats over Miami and Arizona State. "That was a good way to start the day," coach Mike Stoops said. An explosive athlete who caught 37 passes for 745 yards and seven touchdowns, Onwuasor intercepted six passes and did some damage in the return game.

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