Who says July is a slow period in college football?

The Arizona Wildcats had an eventful Monday. Defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu began the day by confirming that he will transfer to Hawaii. By the end of Monday night, however, the Wildcats received some good news: Jerry “JJ” Whittaker, a wide receiver/defensive back from Oceanside, Calif., verbally committed to the team’s 2010 recruiting class.
(Much love to San Diego preps guru John Maffei for landing Whittaker).

Tuipulotu’s decision to transfer is interesting, if not entirely surprising. The 6-foot-2-inch, 300-pound Tuipulotu was seemingly squeezed off the depth chart by returners (Mana Mikaele, Earl Mitchell and Donald Horton) and newcomers (Jonathan Hollins and Sione Tuihalamaka). Tuipulotu’s own injury history did’nt exactly help his cause: The burly Hawaii native battled shoulder and toe injuries during his two seasons with the Wildcats. He’s presently dealing with the aftereffects of shoulder surgery and a nasty elbow problem. He confirmed Monday that his elbow is “pretty messed up”. Odds are, he would have redshirted this season had he stayed.

Whittaker’s yet another one of Arizona’s intriguing WR/DB recruits who could end up playing on either side of the ball. Think Mike Turner. I’ll have more on Whittaker tomorrow; he looks to be an intriguing player.