Football
*At practice Sunday night, you could tell there was some frustration over letting the game slip away like it did. But right back to work the team went with the 24-hour rule after perhaps a tougher pill to swallow than the 49-0 loss the previous week at Oregon..
However, you could tell they took note of exactly what went wrong as John Bonano was out there - not taking actual kicks but instead simulating the snap and kicking motion, but at a slowed down trot, with the rest of the field goal unit. Meanwhile, the receivers were running simple routes and appeared to emphasize how to secure the catch properly.
In other words, a lot of fundamentals.
Other observations: Defensive lineman Lamar De Rego worked with coach Spencer Leftwich on what appeared to be blocking. The offensive line could use an extra body, if that is the case, but we'll see if that goes any further.
*The plan is to redshirt those freshmen with bright futures that they want to bring along and give the benefit of an extra year in the system to learn and/or get bigger - Kyle Kelley being one of them. With Kelley, it's really more about defending the run because his pass-rushing ability is definitely there.
Not many players on defense from a pure skill and eye-test standpoint looked as good as Kelley did in fall camp.
The staff still knows that recruiting can be a crapshoot - whether it's guys they personally recruited or not. There are adjustments to be made; some guys handle the college level better than others, while some show a different side when they are coached by a different side. There are several more factors during the transition, obviously.
To be clear, though, that is not the case with Kelley. The staff really likes him and just wants to make sure he reaches his potential without burning his first year of eligibility. Imagine they would use just about every last capable lineman before being forced to use Kelley before next season.
*But the problem over deciding who to redshirt remains the worry over injuries, which obviously took a major spike this week with a number of players leaving Saturday night's loss.
While all the hits were crushing in their own way, it was the loss of safety Jared Tevis that stands out above the rest. Him, Tra'Mayne Bondurant and Jake Fischer are clearly the heart of the 3-3-5, and losing one just puts more strain on the defense to make plays in their absence. When Rich Rodriguez says his best 11 are starting, he's serious even when he's trying to make light of the fact that one play can change the entire look and performance of the unit.
The lack of depth left from last year to this year is astonishing to the program. But even with another coaching staff's players, the expectation level remains high.
* Back to Tevis, he tweeted that the left ankle injury is just a bad sprain and he could break his own news once the X-rays results come through. He also wrote that he plans to be back, so we'll see if that holds true.
As for the rest of the banged up personnel, here's what I'll say while staying in line with the media policy in place: Look, if you saw someone leave Saturday night's game and not continue, then things are not looking good for the immediate, short-term future - as in, next week's game at Stanford. All you have to know is there was one too many set of crutches at Sunday's practice and it is not hard to guess those players.
For anyone even wondering, though: No, Matt Scott was not one of them, although he - like many others - were still feeling the effects of a physical game.
While on the topic of sidelined players, however, place-kicker Jake Smith is now walking without crutches. Smith, a transfer who battled Bonano for the starting job all spring and fall, was hurt after getting run into on an attempt in camp.
*Drops continue to be an issue, and the No. 1 culprit is Richard Morrison. Whether it's on balls thrown or punted his way, Morrison always looks as if he's due for a few adventurous moments with his hands.
Johnny Jackson continues to wait his turn, and from what I'm hearing that time could be very soon. Does that mean a start? Not necessarily, but more playing time appears to be in his future with the way things are going.
Speaking of receivers, even Garic Wharton was in for a few snaps while lining up on the outside against the Beavers. Even at a deeper position like receiver, it's amazing to see what the absence of even a steady but not superstar talent in Terrence Miller can do to throw off the offense.
*By The Numbers: No. 18 Oregon State at Arizona
7 1/2 - Tackles for a loss by Bondurant this season, already eclipsing the team best of 7 by Derek Earls last year and with more than half of the season still to be played
14 - Plays of 20 or more yards via the catch or run from both teams combined
30 - Yards in penalties against Arizona defensive back Jourdon Grandon on one drive - and consecutive plays - before the Beavers scored around the midway point of the fourth quarter
70 - Yards covered on Kyle Dugandzic's longest punt, four of which landed inside the 20-yard line
Basketball
*Expect Arizona to win the Pac-12 Conference and reach the Elite Eight this season - at least, according to one publication.
Athlon Sports, which released its annual college basketball yearbook, has the Wildcats returning to the same round it lost in two seasons ago.
It also picked Brandon Ashley to finish on the five-man, all-conference first team, with Solomon Hill and Mark Lyons on the second team. UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad was tabbed as the conference player of the year.
Those picks were much different than Lindy's, which named Hill the preseason player of the year, Grant Jerrett to the second team and the Wildcats finishing second behind the Bruins in the Pac-12.
*A pair of former Wildcats are headed in different directions.
Kyle Fogg is on the 20-man training camp roster with the Houston Rockets, but Josiah Turner's overseas career is over after just three weeks.
Other guards on the Rockets include former Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin, Toney Douglas, Carlos Delfino, Gary Forbes, Jeremy Lamb, Shaun Livingston, Scott Machado, Kevin Martin and Demetri McCamey. Needless to say the road to an NBA career will be tough for Fogg, who spent the summer with the Rockets.
Meanwhile, Turner left his team in Hungary for "personal reasons" and Eurobasket reported that the former Wildcat found it tough to hang in Europe. Turner, of course, cut his college career short this offseason when he transferred to SMU - only to call it quits before ever starting.
*Most of the 1988 Final Four team is expected to show up when the school's first-ever Final Four team is honored Oct. 21 at Red-Blue.
As Steve Kerr told GOAZCATS.com a few weeks ago, himself, Sean Elliott, Matt Muehlebach and Jud Buechler will be in attendance. Other confirmed names include Hall of Famer Lute Olson, Sean Rooks, Tom Tolbert, Kenny Lofton, Harvey Mason, Craig McMillan, Joe Turner and manager Eric Meyer.
Now, here's Matt Moreno's weekly recruiting breakdown:
Well, this week the Wildcats will be on the road again as they take on yet another ranked opponent in Palo Alto, Calif. With this weekend's game taking place on the road, the UA staff could get out and see some recruits in the Bay Area. One thing the staff has been doing has been making the effort to get involved with plenty of 2014 prospects, including many of the top in-state recruits.
On the basketball side of things, the process continues to sort itself out in the class of 2013, but Sean Miller and his staff continue to check in on recruits and watch potential options for the future.
With plenty to discuss this week, let's get right into it.
Football recruiting
The current UA recruiting class continues to go through its final season of high school football and many of the future Wildcats are now getting into the league portion of their schedules.
* Here is the weekly rundown of UA commits and some of their notable performances over the weekend.
Pierre Cormier and Lee Walker: The pair of UA commits have been playing well this season for their team from San Diego (Calif.) Madison and it continued Friday night against San Diego (Calif.) Mira Mesa in a 34-10 win. Cormier scored a 7-yard touchdown at the end of the first half to give his team a 10-point lead.
Walker, who has had a very good senior season, scored another touchdown late in the game from eight yards out.
Cormier finished the game with 104 yards on 20 carries, and so far this season he has rushed for 565 yards and four touchdowns. Walker also has four receiving touchdowns of his own this year.
Paul Elvira and Mauriece Lee: A week after losing their first game of the season, Tempe (Ariz.) Marcos de Niza was back to their old selves Friday night against Phoenix (Ariz.) Camelback in a 50-0 win.
Elvira got the Padres on the board first with a 20-yard touchdown catch and the team never looked back en route to the win. Elvira added a two-point conversion run later in the game, but it was his future Wildcat teammate who had an even more impressive game.
Lee scored on a 53-yard touchdown run, a 41-yard touchdown run and a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first half to help his team get out to a huge lead. With the three touchdowns Friday night, the future Wildcat has eight touchdowns on the year.
Zachary Green: After nearly beating one of the nation's top teams the previous week, the UA running back commit and his team from Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure proved it could bounce back with a 31-23 win over a tough team from Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake Friday night.
Green continued his impressive season with another 100-yard plus game as the senior rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries. He added a 22-yard touchdown run for the Seraphs.
Nate Phillips: It was another high-scoring night for the UA receiver commit and his team from Chandler (Ariz.) Basha as the Bears put up more than 600 yards of offense in a 42-13 win over Gilbert, Ariz. Phillips led the team with nine catches and he also was second on the team with 146 receiving yards.
The future Wildcat also pulled in his eighth touchdown of the year on a 49-yard pass play.
Anu Solomon: The four-star UA quarterback commit and his team from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman deliberately schedule tough opponents during the non-league portion of their schedule because there are not many teams in their league who can compete with the three-time defending state champions.
The Gaels showed why Friday night.
Solomon went completed all 12 of his pass attempts in Bishop Gorman's 70-0 win over Las Vegas (Nev.) Legacy Friday night. Four of those 12 attempts went for touchdowns in the big win. Solomon finished the game with 270 yards passing, including a 60-yard pass play.
Tommy Woodson: The UA two-star commit passed for two touchdowns Friday night as Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway picked up its fifth win of the year Friday night against Greensburg (Pa.) Hempfield Area. Both of Woodson's touchdown passes came from 19 yards out.
*As we've been saying for a while now, even with 25 commitments the Wildcats continue to leave the door open for more verbal pledges in the 2013 class. Naturally, as season progresses many things can happen and recruits could possibly look to sign elsewhere. Things will definitely work themselves out when it comes to the scholarship situation as National Signing Day approaches in the next few months.
UA remains active in pursuing many different targets for the 2013 class to make sure it is prepared for whatever comes its way.
A couple of prospects said last week that UA is on their short lists for visits and there is a solid chance of them making it out to Tucson at some point in the future.
*Four-star defensive tackle Elijah Qualls is one of those prospects, and despite currently being committed to Washington, the Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Grande standout wants to take an official visit to UA.
"I've been to a couple college games so I know the atmosphere," Qualls told Rivals.com this week.
"I know they're all a little different but I got the base of it. It's better so I can spend actual time with the coaches now that I'm taking the officials after the season. I have academics and football on my plate so that will be a better time.
"Those are the two places (Arizona and Miami) I'd definitely like to go to. I don't know the other places but those two are still up there."
Qualls spoke highly of the 'Cats even before his commitment to UW and he continues to do so after his commitment. He has maintained his commitment to the Huskies is solid, yet he has also not been shy to say that he will continue to look for his best fit - wherever that may be.
UA certainly still has a decent chance of landing the four-star defensive tackle and getting him on campus is going to be a big part of that process.
*Three-star defensive back Patrick Enewally is another 2013 prospect who plans on visiting UA. The Cerritos (Calif.) Gahr recruit was offered first by Arizona and that has put the 'Cats in a very good position.
"I like Boise a lot," Enewally told Rivals.com this week. "I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and they just got some more defensive coaches. I think they can be a dominant school.
"(Arizona) was the first ones to offer me so they're always going to be one of my top schools."
Enewally is just now starting to plan his trips and a decision isn't likely soon, however, the programs that have offered certainly sit well with the senior.
"The ones that have offered me I'm pretty close with all of them and I could make a decision now," he said. "I want to make the right decision."
*Even though Rich Rodriguez and his staff love to utilize players who are on the smaller side, big targets are always useful for a quarterback. UA is recruiting a number of big players for the future and two of them are from right here in Arizona.
Two of the tall players UA is recruiting come from the Scottsdale in Chaparral tight end Trevor Wood and Desert Mountain wide receiver Mark Andrews. Wood is 6-foot-5 but he will miss the remainder of his junior season with a torn labrum.
Andrews is a 6-foot-6 wide receiver who has played well this year for squad.
Wood has plenty of ties to the Wildcats' program but at this point the 2014 prospect doesn't want to name any favorites.
"I don't really have favorites right now, but I do like the program," he said about Rodriguez's team. "I've grown up my whole life watching them and going to all their games, so definitely U of A has been a big part of my life for my whole life. My dad went there and my whole family goes there, but I don't know how much they use the position that I play.
"At this point, everybody's looking good to me right now."
The in-state prospect currently holds four offers - UA, Arizona State, Washington, Utah - but he doesn't plan on making his decision just yet.
Andrews already has an extensive list of offers, but he recently named the two programs that are coming after him the hardest.
"Arizona State and Arizona are really recruiting hard," Andrews told Rivals.com last week. "Other schools are too, but the in-state schools are really pushing."
Like Wood, Andrews doesn't want to name the schools that are standing out most at this point.
"I'm not really looking at any one school harder than the others," Andrews told Rivals.com this week. "I think I'll start doing that after the season and figure out where I have to go with this."
The Wildcats stand a good chance for both recruits, but one program to keep an eye on is Oklahoma.
The Sooners have been on Andrews hard and former UA linebackers coach and interim head coach Tim Kish was at Desert Mountain's recent game against Wood's Chaparral squad.
Oklahoma is also a player for Wood, who is planning to take an unofficial visit to Norman later this month. He expects to be offered on that trip and that could have a big effect on his recruitment.
One thing that really concerns Wood is UA's use of the tight end.
"I just want to be put in the best position to help my team win," he said. "I want to be that guy they can put in a three-point stance and they can have as an extra tackle on the line to get a good block. And I also can be a kid who can be a mismatch for anybody against a corner or linebacker.
"Or you can flex me out and put me out there and be able to use me all over and have schools thinking there's not much they can scheme to."
How teams use the tight end is one of the most important things he will be looking at when it comes to his recruitment.
Basketball recruiting
There is obviously reason to be more selective now for Sean Miller and Co., with two commitments in the 2013 class. At this point there are a trio of five-star recruits who UA continues to look at.
Aaron Gordon and James Young each took visits to their perceived leaders over the weekend with Washington and Kentucky, respectively. Both prospects haven't yet committed to either school and that is naturally a good sign for UA.
Keith Frazier is the other prospect the Wildcats are looking at, and the five-star wing continues to take his time with the process.
Of the three prospects named above it sounds like Young is the closest to making his decision and that would put some strain on adding him from UA's perspective. At this point, the Wildcats would like to wait to add another member to the 2013 class until the spring and after the season.
At that time, roster moves could happen and the scholarship situation will be fully figured out.
Gordon and Frazier have both been adamant that their decisions won't be made until the spring.
Getting Young out on a visit will be the next key move, and the five-star wing has expressed interest in taking an official visit to UA.
Young has not been shy about naming Kentucky as his dream school, but he has also continued to look around. It will be interesting to see where things go from here with Young as his recruitment moves along. The longer he waits the better the chances become for him ending up at UA, however it is still a long way from reaching that point.
* The UA staff has continued to look for recruits in other classes as well and the staff recently stopped by Compton High School to check out four-star wing Isaiah Bailey last week. The staff watched him some during the summer but he could be a prospect to keep an eye on for the future as well.
[/B]
*At practice Sunday night, you could tell there was some frustration over letting the game slip away like it did. But right back to work the team went with the 24-hour rule after perhaps a tougher pill to swallow than the 49-0 loss the previous week at Oregon..
However, you could tell they took note of exactly what went wrong as John Bonano was out there - not taking actual kicks but instead simulating the snap and kicking motion, but at a slowed down trot, with the rest of the field goal unit. Meanwhile, the receivers were running simple routes and appeared to emphasize how to secure the catch properly.
In other words, a lot of fundamentals.
Other observations: Defensive lineman Lamar De Rego worked with coach Spencer Leftwich on what appeared to be blocking. The offensive line could use an extra body, if that is the case, but we'll see if that goes any further.
*The plan is to redshirt those freshmen with bright futures that they want to bring along and give the benefit of an extra year in the system to learn and/or get bigger - Kyle Kelley being one of them. With Kelley, it's really more about defending the run because his pass-rushing ability is definitely there.
Not many players on defense from a pure skill and eye-test standpoint looked as good as Kelley did in fall camp.
The staff still knows that recruiting can be a crapshoot - whether it's guys they personally recruited or not. There are adjustments to be made; some guys handle the college level better than others, while some show a different side when they are coached by a different side. There are several more factors during the transition, obviously.
To be clear, though, that is not the case with Kelley. The staff really likes him and just wants to make sure he reaches his potential without burning his first year of eligibility. Imagine they would use just about every last capable lineman before being forced to use Kelley before next season.
*But the problem over deciding who to redshirt remains the worry over injuries, which obviously took a major spike this week with a number of players leaving Saturday night's loss.
While all the hits were crushing in their own way, it was the loss of safety Jared Tevis that stands out above the rest. Him, Tra'Mayne Bondurant and Jake Fischer are clearly the heart of the 3-3-5, and losing one just puts more strain on the defense to make plays in their absence. When Rich Rodriguez says his best 11 are starting, he's serious even when he's trying to make light of the fact that one play can change the entire look and performance of the unit.
The lack of depth left from last year to this year is astonishing to the program. But even with another coaching staff's players, the expectation level remains high.
* Back to Tevis, he tweeted that the left ankle injury is just a bad sprain and he could break his own news once the X-rays results come through. He also wrote that he plans to be back, so we'll see if that holds true.
As for the rest of the banged up personnel, here's what I'll say while staying in line with the media policy in place: Look, if you saw someone leave Saturday night's game and not continue, then things are not looking good for the immediate, short-term future - as in, next week's game at Stanford. All you have to know is there was one too many set of crutches at Sunday's practice and it is not hard to guess those players.
For anyone even wondering, though: No, Matt Scott was not one of them, although he - like many others - were still feeling the effects of a physical game.
While on the topic of sidelined players, however, place-kicker Jake Smith is now walking without crutches. Smith, a transfer who battled Bonano for the starting job all spring and fall, was hurt after getting run into on an attempt in camp.
*Drops continue to be an issue, and the No. 1 culprit is Richard Morrison. Whether it's on balls thrown or punted his way, Morrison always looks as if he's due for a few adventurous moments with his hands.
Johnny Jackson continues to wait his turn, and from what I'm hearing that time could be very soon. Does that mean a start? Not necessarily, but more playing time appears to be in his future with the way things are going.
Speaking of receivers, even Garic Wharton was in for a few snaps while lining up on the outside against the Beavers. Even at a deeper position like receiver, it's amazing to see what the absence of even a steady but not superstar talent in Terrence Miller can do to throw off the offense.
*By The Numbers: No. 18 Oregon State at Arizona
7 1/2 - Tackles for a loss by Bondurant this season, already eclipsing the team best of 7 by Derek Earls last year and with more than half of the season still to be played
14 - Plays of 20 or more yards via the catch or run from both teams combined
30 - Yards in penalties against Arizona defensive back Jourdon Grandon on one drive - and consecutive plays - before the Beavers scored around the midway point of the fourth quarter
70 - Yards covered on Kyle Dugandzic's longest punt, four of which landed inside the 20-yard line
Basketball
*Expect Arizona to win the Pac-12 Conference and reach the Elite Eight this season - at least, according to one publication.
Athlon Sports, which released its annual college basketball yearbook, has the Wildcats returning to the same round it lost in two seasons ago.
It also picked Brandon Ashley to finish on the five-man, all-conference first team, with Solomon Hill and Mark Lyons on the second team. UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad was tabbed as the conference player of the year.
Those picks were much different than Lindy's, which named Hill the preseason player of the year, Grant Jerrett to the second team and the Wildcats finishing second behind the Bruins in the Pac-12.
*A pair of former Wildcats are headed in different directions.
Kyle Fogg is on the 20-man training camp roster with the Houston Rockets, but Josiah Turner's overseas career is over after just three weeks.
Other guards on the Rockets include former Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin, Toney Douglas, Carlos Delfino, Gary Forbes, Jeremy Lamb, Shaun Livingston, Scott Machado, Kevin Martin and Demetri McCamey. Needless to say the road to an NBA career will be tough for Fogg, who spent the summer with the Rockets.
Meanwhile, Turner left his team in Hungary for "personal reasons" and Eurobasket reported that the former Wildcat found it tough to hang in Europe. Turner, of course, cut his college career short this offseason when he transferred to SMU - only to call it quits before ever starting.
*Most of the 1988 Final Four team is expected to show up when the school's first-ever Final Four team is honored Oct. 21 at Red-Blue.
As Steve Kerr told GOAZCATS.com a few weeks ago, himself, Sean Elliott, Matt Muehlebach and Jud Buechler will be in attendance. Other confirmed names include Hall of Famer Lute Olson, Sean Rooks, Tom Tolbert, Kenny Lofton, Harvey Mason, Craig McMillan, Joe Turner and manager Eric Meyer.
Now, here's Matt Moreno's weekly recruiting breakdown:
Well, this week the Wildcats will be on the road again as they take on yet another ranked opponent in Palo Alto, Calif. With this weekend's game taking place on the road, the UA staff could get out and see some recruits in the Bay Area. One thing the staff has been doing has been making the effort to get involved with plenty of 2014 prospects, including many of the top in-state recruits.
On the basketball side of things, the process continues to sort itself out in the class of 2013, but Sean Miller and his staff continue to check in on recruits and watch potential options for the future.
With plenty to discuss this week, let's get right into it.
Football recruiting
The current UA recruiting class continues to go through its final season of high school football and many of the future Wildcats are now getting into the league portion of their schedules.
* Here is the weekly rundown of UA commits and some of their notable performances over the weekend.
Pierre Cormier and Lee Walker: The pair of UA commits have been playing well this season for their team from San Diego (Calif.) Madison and it continued Friday night against San Diego (Calif.) Mira Mesa in a 34-10 win. Cormier scored a 7-yard touchdown at the end of the first half to give his team a 10-point lead.
Walker, who has had a very good senior season, scored another touchdown late in the game from eight yards out.
Cormier finished the game with 104 yards on 20 carries, and so far this season he has rushed for 565 yards and four touchdowns. Walker also has four receiving touchdowns of his own this year.
Paul Elvira and Mauriece Lee: A week after losing their first game of the season, Tempe (Ariz.) Marcos de Niza was back to their old selves Friday night against Phoenix (Ariz.) Camelback in a 50-0 win.
Elvira got the Padres on the board first with a 20-yard touchdown catch and the team never looked back en route to the win. Elvira added a two-point conversion run later in the game, but it was his future Wildcat teammate who had an even more impressive game.
Lee scored on a 53-yard touchdown run, a 41-yard touchdown run and a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first half to help his team get out to a huge lead. With the three touchdowns Friday night, the future Wildcat has eight touchdowns on the year.
Zachary Green: After nearly beating one of the nation's top teams the previous week, the UA running back commit and his team from Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure proved it could bounce back with a 31-23 win over a tough team from Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake Friday night.
Green continued his impressive season with another 100-yard plus game as the senior rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries. He added a 22-yard touchdown run for the Seraphs.
Nate Phillips: It was another high-scoring night for the UA receiver commit and his team from Chandler (Ariz.) Basha as the Bears put up more than 600 yards of offense in a 42-13 win over Gilbert, Ariz. Phillips led the team with nine catches and he also was second on the team with 146 receiving yards.
The future Wildcat also pulled in his eighth touchdown of the year on a 49-yard pass play.
Anu Solomon: The four-star UA quarterback commit and his team from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman deliberately schedule tough opponents during the non-league portion of their schedule because there are not many teams in their league who can compete with the three-time defending state champions.
The Gaels showed why Friday night.
Solomon went completed all 12 of his pass attempts in Bishop Gorman's 70-0 win over Las Vegas (Nev.) Legacy Friday night. Four of those 12 attempts went for touchdowns in the big win. Solomon finished the game with 270 yards passing, including a 60-yard pass play.
Tommy Woodson: The UA two-star commit passed for two touchdowns Friday night as Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway picked up its fifth win of the year Friday night against Greensburg (Pa.) Hempfield Area. Both of Woodson's touchdown passes came from 19 yards out.
*As we've been saying for a while now, even with 25 commitments the Wildcats continue to leave the door open for more verbal pledges in the 2013 class. Naturally, as season progresses many things can happen and recruits could possibly look to sign elsewhere. Things will definitely work themselves out when it comes to the scholarship situation as National Signing Day approaches in the next few months.
UA remains active in pursuing many different targets for the 2013 class to make sure it is prepared for whatever comes its way.
A couple of prospects said last week that UA is on their short lists for visits and there is a solid chance of them making it out to Tucson at some point in the future.
*Four-star defensive tackle Elijah Qualls is one of those prospects, and despite currently being committed to Washington, the Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Grande standout wants to take an official visit to UA.
"I've been to a couple college games so I know the atmosphere," Qualls told Rivals.com this week.
"I know they're all a little different but I got the base of it. It's better so I can spend actual time with the coaches now that I'm taking the officials after the season. I have academics and football on my plate so that will be a better time.
"Those are the two places (Arizona and Miami) I'd definitely like to go to. I don't know the other places but those two are still up there."
Qualls spoke highly of the 'Cats even before his commitment to UW and he continues to do so after his commitment. He has maintained his commitment to the Huskies is solid, yet he has also not been shy to say that he will continue to look for his best fit - wherever that may be.
UA certainly still has a decent chance of landing the four-star defensive tackle and getting him on campus is going to be a big part of that process.
*Three-star defensive back Patrick Enewally is another 2013 prospect who plans on visiting UA. The Cerritos (Calif.) Gahr recruit was offered first by Arizona and that has put the 'Cats in a very good position.
"I like Boise a lot," Enewally told Rivals.com this week. "I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and they just got some more defensive coaches. I think they can be a dominant school.
"(Arizona) was the first ones to offer me so they're always going to be one of my top schools."
Enewally is just now starting to plan his trips and a decision isn't likely soon, however, the programs that have offered certainly sit well with the senior.
"The ones that have offered me I'm pretty close with all of them and I could make a decision now," he said. "I want to make the right decision."
*Even though Rich Rodriguez and his staff love to utilize players who are on the smaller side, big targets are always useful for a quarterback. UA is recruiting a number of big players for the future and two of them are from right here in Arizona.
Two of the tall players UA is recruiting come from the Scottsdale in Chaparral tight end Trevor Wood and Desert Mountain wide receiver Mark Andrews. Wood is 6-foot-5 but he will miss the remainder of his junior season with a torn labrum.
Andrews is a 6-foot-6 wide receiver who has played well this year for squad.
Wood has plenty of ties to the Wildcats' program but at this point the 2014 prospect doesn't want to name any favorites.
"I don't really have favorites right now, but I do like the program," he said about Rodriguez's team. "I've grown up my whole life watching them and going to all their games, so definitely U of A has been a big part of my life for my whole life. My dad went there and my whole family goes there, but I don't know how much they use the position that I play.
"At this point, everybody's looking good to me right now."
The in-state prospect currently holds four offers - UA, Arizona State, Washington, Utah - but he doesn't plan on making his decision just yet.
Andrews already has an extensive list of offers, but he recently named the two programs that are coming after him the hardest.
"Arizona State and Arizona are really recruiting hard," Andrews told Rivals.com last week. "Other schools are too, but the in-state schools are really pushing."
Like Wood, Andrews doesn't want to name the schools that are standing out most at this point.
"I'm not really looking at any one school harder than the others," Andrews told Rivals.com this week. "I think I'll start doing that after the season and figure out where I have to go with this."
The Wildcats stand a good chance for both recruits, but one program to keep an eye on is Oklahoma.
The Sooners have been on Andrews hard and former UA linebackers coach and interim head coach Tim Kish was at Desert Mountain's recent game against Wood's Chaparral squad.
Oklahoma is also a player for Wood, who is planning to take an unofficial visit to Norman later this month. He expects to be offered on that trip and that could have a big effect on his recruitment.
One thing that really concerns Wood is UA's use of the tight end.
"I just want to be put in the best position to help my team win," he said. "I want to be that guy they can put in a three-point stance and they can have as an extra tackle on the line to get a good block. And I also can be a kid who can be a mismatch for anybody against a corner or linebacker.
"Or you can flex me out and put me out there and be able to use me all over and have schools thinking there's not much they can scheme to."
How teams use the tight end is one of the most important things he will be looking at when it comes to his recruitment.
Basketball recruiting
There is obviously reason to be more selective now for Sean Miller and Co., with two commitments in the 2013 class. At this point there are a trio of five-star recruits who UA continues to look at.
Aaron Gordon and James Young each took visits to their perceived leaders over the weekend with Washington and Kentucky, respectively. Both prospects haven't yet committed to either school and that is naturally a good sign for UA.
Keith Frazier is the other prospect the Wildcats are looking at, and the five-star wing continues to take his time with the process.
Of the three prospects named above it sounds like Young is the closest to making his decision and that would put some strain on adding him from UA's perspective. At this point, the Wildcats would like to wait to add another member to the 2013 class until the spring and after the season.
At that time, roster moves could happen and the scholarship situation will be fully figured out.
Gordon and Frazier have both been adamant that their decisions won't be made until the spring.
Getting Young out on a visit will be the next key move, and the five-star wing has expressed interest in taking an official visit to UA.
Young has not been shy about naming Kentucky as his dream school, but he has also continued to look around. It will be interesting to see where things go from here with Young as his recruitment moves along. The longer he waits the better the chances become for him ending up at UA, however it is still a long way from reaching that point.
* The UA staff has continued to look for recruits in other classes as well and the staff recently stopped by Compton High School to check out four-star wing Isaiah Bailey last week. The staff watched him some during the summer but he could be a prospect to keep an eye on for the future as well.
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