Three-star Houston running back Wayne Shanks commits to Arizona football

One of Arizona's few silent commits unveiled their pledge to the Wildcats on Friday, when three-star Houston running back and The Kinkaid School star Wayne Shanks Jr. committed to Arizona's 2027 recruiting class. 

Shanks committed to Arizona over Arkansas, Kansas and Tulane. He also held offers from Notre Dame, Baylor, Florida, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Nebraska and Florida State, among others.

Shanks is rated by 247Sports.com as the 43rd-best running back in the 2027 recruiting cycle — the 82nd-best overall prospect from Texas. Shanks has an 87.7 grade on On3.com. 

Shanks is Arizona's first high school running back commit since elevating Lyle Moevao to running backs coach. Shanks is the latest Houston native to join the Wildcats.

Other Houston-area running backs currently on Arizona's roster are senior Kedrick Reescano and redshirt freshman Wesley Yarbrough. The Wildcats have also added running backs from Dallas in recent years, including redshirt freshman Cornelius Warren III and Ismail Mahdi, who graduated this year.  

The 5-11, 195-pound Shanks is entering his senior season at Kinkaid in Houston. In two seasons at Kincaid, Shanks had 484 rush attempts for 3,366 yards and 47 touchdowns, averaging 7 yards per carry.

Shanks also has 41 receptions for 575 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Shanks averages 28.7 yards as a kick returner, too. 

Arizona has four commits for 2027: Shanks, three-star tight end Max Markofski (Mission Viejo, California), three-star wide receiver Braylon Ross (Irvine, California) and wide receiver Trey Smith (Gilbert).

Shanks is the first Texas prospect in Arizona's 2027 recruiting class. Houston-area running back Curtis Zeno, a Katy, Texas native, is strongly considering the Wildcats.