Football news
* The loss of safety Adam Hall is a crushing blow for an Arizona team that could not avoid the injury bug last season.
Just like last spring, Hall tore his ACL - an injury that typically takes between six to nine months to recover from. Hall returned from the injury for a mid-October game at Oregon State last season but was shut down for the remainder of the year.
This year’s injury to the Wildcats’ secondary could prove to be a bigger loss compared to last year. In defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel’s 3-3-5 system, five defensive backs are used on the field and three are safeties.
In the past, Hall has proven to be a capable run-stopper who adds a physical presence on the field. Many times this spring, head coach Rich Rodriguez has stressed the need for physical playmakers.
We’ll have reaction on GOAZCATS.com after Monday’s practice.
But for now, let’s take a look at who Arizona has in the secondary, not including the incoming freshmen who will arrive this fall.
OUT: Cortez Johnson (transfer)
UP IN THE AIR: Jourdon Grandon (suspended along with offensive lineman Fabbians Ebbele)
Cornerbacks: Jonathan McKnight (limited, ACL tear last season), Derrick Rainey, Shaquille Richardson and Douglas Samuels
Safeties: Tra’Mayne Bondurant (spur position), Marquis Flowers (spur position), Blake Brady (spur position), Mark Watley, Jared Tevis and Stephen Ascher
Other defensive backs: Kyrel Parker and Connor Sohns
In Saturday’s spring game, I noticed Tevis, Rainey, Richardson, Bondurant and Watley all playing with the unofficial first team on defense. But that’s not to say things would’ve stayed that way by the time the season starts, if Hall were healthy.
It will be interesting to see if Flowers, another physically imposing safety similar to Hall’s size, switches back to a normal safety position.
* Speaking of ACL injuries, defensive tackle Willie Mobley was one of the players last year who fell victim to the setback last spring. After struggling early in the spring, the senior has become a factor since the defense was allowed to blitz more.
Mobley, who started up front with 1s alongside Justin Washington and Tevin Hood, collected four tackles including two for a loss and a sack.
“I’m doing good,” Mobley said. “I won’t say 100 percent, I’ve got a lot of work to do this summer. All of us do but, personally, I definitely have to do a lot more and get more in football shape.”
* Richard Morrison looked very comfortable when he lined up as a wide receiver in the game. He will still be used as quarterback but it looks all but impossible to unseat Matt Scott outright for the starting job.
But Morrison is OK with that, referring to himself as “slash,” kind of like former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback/wide receiver Kordell Stewart.
“I expect to be wherever (the coaches) want me to be - everywhere,” Morrison said. “I want to be a quarterback, wide receiver, punt returner … I want to be everywhere.”
Morrison made five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
* The Wildcats have one more practice this afternoon before the spring ends. The seniors will run part of the practice.
That should come in handy this summer when the players will have to workout on their own without the coaches. Several players said player-run workouts will be the norm this summer.
“We’ve got a strong group of seniors and they’ll be able to lead us,” running back Kylan Butler said.
Basketball news
* Josiah Turner’s decision to transfer last Wednesday was not an overwhelming surprise given the ultimatum head coach Sean Miller presented the point guard regarding team rules.
Turner battled with the decision back and forth, and the coaching staff was more than willing to have him if he decided to give it a shot.
Alas, Turner elected to get a fresh start elsewhere once the semester is over. There is still the matter of leaving in good academic standing, which Miller said Turner would do.
* Meanwhile, Kyryl Natyazhko decision to leave the program was less surprising.
The 6-11 center started off on the wrong foot by reporting to the team overweight after a summer in Ukraine. He never recovered and his playing time was sporadic and quickly declined after the Wildcats’ first six games.
And now, here’s Matt Moreno’s recruiting breakdown:
For the second straight weekend it was a busy couple of days for Arizona on both the football and basketball recruiting fronts. Both Rich Rodriguez’s program and Sean Miller’s program earned commitments over the weekend.
Let’s not waste any time and get to it.
Football recruiting:
The Wildcats had a number of recruits - both committed and signed and uncommitted - visit campus this weekend. With the abundance of visitors it certainly seemed likely that UA would earn a commitment before the weekend was out, and that is exactly what happened.
* Cornerback prospect Darius Allensworth had interest in the ‘Cats ever since receiving his first offer from Rodriguez’s program last month. He hinted earlier in the week that there was a strong possibility he would pull the trigger and a commit should he like the campus, coaching staff and city of Tucson enough.
“That’s probable,” Allensworth said earlier in the week. “If I really like the place and I fall in love and I feel like I’m at home, then I could commit this weekend.”
Saturday night the two-way standout from Menifee (Calif.) Heritage had seen enough and officially gave the Wildcats his verbal pledge.
"The spring game was nice and I like what RichRod is bringing in," Allensworth told GOAZCATS.com Saturday night. "I think his philosophy is going to fit in well there. I thought the campus tour was nice, I like all the new buildings they're going to put up.
"And I just want to be a part of that."
Allensworth does play on both sides of the ball (wide receiver and cornerback), but the plan right now is to have the junior standout stick to playing defense for the Wildcats when he arrives in 2013.
Being the first defensive commit of the Wildcats’ 2013 class, Allensworth said he hopes to lure more prospects to the desert to play alongside him on the defensive side of the ball - and offense too.
“Hopefully,” Allensworth said about getting others to join him in Tucson. “I’m going to do my best to recruit and get our class the best we can get it.”
One of the biggest things that stood out to Allensworth was the philosophy Rodriguez is putting in place at UA. The defensive back very much has the same thoughts on football that the Wildcats’ head coach does, and that was a big part of why he liked the program so much.
“I feel like there’s that same thing where we want to accomplish the same goals,” Allensworth said. “They’re trying to get a fast-paced offense, get on the ball and do things quickly. So it fits my abilities well.”
The Wildcats were the only program to offer Allensworth - although he always felt BYU and Colorado were schools that were close to offering - so at this point he’s content with his commitment, but things are definitely not completely shut down when it comes to his recruitment.
“I’m not going to shut everything down,” he said. “But I like Arizona a lot. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m not going to shut everything down just yet.”
Allensworth’s commitment gave the Wildcats four verbal pledges overall to go along with running back Zachary Green, athlete prospect Mauriece Lee and four-star offensive lineman Logan Stott.
It was not a big surprise that Allensworth left Tucson as a Wildcat as it seemed like a better and better possibility as the week went on. Nonetheless, the program is certainly happy to see its recruiting class grow and to now add a recruit on the defensive side of the ball.
Rodriguez said earlier in the spring that he expected the program to have around six commitments by the time the summer hit, and it certainly looks like that number will be reached if the ‘Cats keep going at their current pace.
* As was stated above, there were quite a few visitors over the weekend and at the spring game. Most of the prospects in attendance were recruits who have already signed to play with the ‘Cats beginning next season. Among those 2012 recruits was San Antonio (Texas) Clark quarterback Josh Kern.
Kern is one of the players who was committed to the former UA staff, but reaffirmed his commitment after taking an official visit to Tucson before Signing Day. The Wildcats have continued to add signal callers and Kern will be one of many once the fall hits.
The three-star quarterback is an interesting prospect as he was mostly seen throughout his recruitment as a pro-style player. However, he did a lot of running during his senior year and he has maintained that he can play in Rodriguez’s style of offense.
“What stood out to me was how fast everything looks,” he said. “But it looks like it’s coming together.”
He was able to get a first-hand look at the offense Saturday and he came away feeling confident that he could handle the task, despite being a taller quarterback.
“I loved it,” Kern said. “I really like having the run-pass option. That’s one of the many reasons I chose to stay after the coaching changes.”
The ‘Cats are pretty much set at the top of the depth chart with Matt Scott leading the way, but behind him there is a lot of uncertainty. Kern said that he definitely feels that there is an opportunity to make an impact should he put in the necessary work.
“Yeah, I’m going to come in and try to adapt as quickly as possible,” he said. “I want to learn and build upon what I know, and hopefully be able to move quickly up the depth chart.”
* Along with Kern here are the recruits who were in attendance during Saturday’s spring game:
Beau Boyster
Dakota Conwell
BJ Denker
Josh Kern
Mauriece Lee
Darius Allensworth
Ryan Dunn
Trey Griffey
Zach Hemmila
Cody Ippolito
One other recruit who took an unofficial visit, but did not attend the spring game was athlete prospect Elijah Qualls of Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Grande. The three-star recruit was on campus Friday and then he visited Arizona State Saturday.
Basketball recruiting:
Moving on to basketball recruiting now, it was another big weekend for the Wildcats as the program secured its sixth member of the 2012 recruiting class Sunday afternoon. It has certainly been a busy time for Miller’s squad over the last week. The ‘Cats added both Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell as well as Cochise College big man Matt Korcheck early last week.
Just a couple days later the Wildcats announced that Josiah Turner would be leaving the program to pursue a career at a different college. They also announced that same day that junior Kyryl Natyazhko would be leaving the program to pursue a professional career overseas.
Although not a scholarship player, the Wildcats added another member to their program Sunday afternoon when Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola guard Jacob Hazzard decided to give Miller his verbal pledge to join the program next season.
If you’re not familiar with Hazzard, here’s a little background on the three-star prospect.
Hazzard is the grandson of former UCLA coach Walt Hazzard and he is a solid pick up for the ‘Cats. At this point, the 5-foot-11 guard still hasn’t earned an offer from any program. He averaged over 12 points last season for the Cubs, but his size has certainly worked against him.
"The family environment and the team is kind of a family in itself," Hazzard said of what really helped sway his decision. "And definitely the support of the fans at the University of Arizona made me want to go there. I'm a basketball junkie and I love basketball whether I'm playing or not.
"Just knowing that everyone there supports you, it was a big deal."
At this point, he’ll be part of the scout team that helps the team get prepared each week, but he hopes that his role can grow into something more down the line.
As for his position?
Although he is just 5-foot-11, Hazzard’s natural position is shooting guard. When he joins the Wildcats in the coming months he will likely play some of both guard positions.
“Right now it’s probably going to be a little bit of both,” he said. “With Josiah leaving a couple days ago I’ll probably play a little at the point, but they have a great guard coming in with Gabe York. I’m naturally a two, but I’m trying to become a one because I’m undersized.
“But it really depends on what position they need me at, I just want to play anywhere I can.”
Hazzard, who made his college choice on the his grandfather’s birthday, said that now he’ll mostly just train in preparation of joining the ‘Cats this summer.
“Mostly I’m just going to be working out to get ready for the season, and get ready to come out there in July,” he said.
* The big question that most might have is: Why add a player like Hazzard if you’re the Wildcats?
Well, for one, he is a solid defensive player, which will really come in handy during practice situations as the team will look to Nick Johnson and Jordin Mayes to handle the point guard duties. Both Mayes and Johnson are more natural playing off the ball, but having guys like Hazzard go up against them in practice will help prepare them for game situations where more ball handling might be needed.
Also Hazzard is teammates with 2014 point guard target Parker Jackson-Cartwright, a prospect who is a top priority in that class for the Wildcats. While this move doesn’t ensure anything for the ‘Cats - and it is a nice pick up in its own right - it certainly won’t hurt the program’s chances of eventually landing the four-star point guard from Loyola.
Going forward, it really is a move that is a positive on many fronts for the Wildcats.
* Hazzard is close friends with a couple members of the Wildcats’ 2012 class and a few of those recruits played in yet another postseason all-star game over the weekend.
Brandon Ashley, Grant Jerrett and Kaleb Tarczewski all played in the Jordan Brand Classic Saturday with some of the nation’s other elite prospects. Ashley and Jerrett both started for the West squad, while Tarczewski suited up for the East team.
The two West players didn’t have their best games as Ashley finished the contest with just two points, but he did pull down five rebounds. Jerrett finished the contest with six points and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action. He also had a nice dunk during the all-star game.
Tarczewski had one of the better outings for the East squad as the Southborough (Mass.) St. Mark’s center finished the contest tied for second on his team with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was the only player in the game on either side to finish with a double-double.
* The loss of safety Adam Hall is a crushing blow for an Arizona team that could not avoid the injury bug last season.
Just like last spring, Hall tore his ACL - an injury that typically takes between six to nine months to recover from. Hall returned from the injury for a mid-October game at Oregon State last season but was shut down for the remainder of the year.
This year’s injury to the Wildcats’ secondary could prove to be a bigger loss compared to last year. In defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel’s 3-3-5 system, five defensive backs are used on the field and three are safeties.
In the past, Hall has proven to be a capable run-stopper who adds a physical presence on the field. Many times this spring, head coach Rich Rodriguez has stressed the need for physical playmakers.
We’ll have reaction on GOAZCATS.com after Monday’s practice.
But for now, let’s take a look at who Arizona has in the secondary, not including the incoming freshmen who will arrive this fall.
OUT: Cortez Johnson (transfer)
UP IN THE AIR: Jourdon Grandon (suspended along with offensive lineman Fabbians Ebbele)
Cornerbacks: Jonathan McKnight (limited, ACL tear last season), Derrick Rainey, Shaquille Richardson and Douglas Samuels
Safeties: Tra’Mayne Bondurant (spur position), Marquis Flowers (spur position), Blake Brady (spur position), Mark Watley, Jared Tevis and Stephen Ascher
Other defensive backs: Kyrel Parker and Connor Sohns
In Saturday’s spring game, I noticed Tevis, Rainey, Richardson, Bondurant and Watley all playing with the unofficial first team on defense. But that’s not to say things would’ve stayed that way by the time the season starts, if Hall were healthy.
It will be interesting to see if Flowers, another physically imposing safety similar to Hall’s size, switches back to a normal safety position.
* Speaking of ACL injuries, defensive tackle Willie Mobley was one of the players last year who fell victim to the setback last spring. After struggling early in the spring, the senior has become a factor since the defense was allowed to blitz more.
Mobley, who started up front with 1s alongside Justin Washington and Tevin Hood, collected four tackles including two for a loss and a sack.
“I’m doing good,” Mobley said. “I won’t say 100 percent, I’ve got a lot of work to do this summer. All of us do but, personally, I definitely have to do a lot more and get more in football shape.”
* Richard Morrison looked very comfortable when he lined up as a wide receiver in the game. He will still be used as quarterback but it looks all but impossible to unseat Matt Scott outright for the starting job.
But Morrison is OK with that, referring to himself as “slash,” kind of like former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback/wide receiver Kordell Stewart.
“I expect to be wherever (the coaches) want me to be - everywhere,” Morrison said. “I want to be a quarterback, wide receiver, punt returner … I want to be everywhere.”
Morrison made five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
* The Wildcats have one more practice this afternoon before the spring ends. The seniors will run part of the practice.
That should come in handy this summer when the players will have to workout on their own without the coaches. Several players said player-run workouts will be the norm this summer.
“We’ve got a strong group of seniors and they’ll be able to lead us,” running back Kylan Butler said.
Basketball news
* Josiah Turner’s decision to transfer last Wednesday was not an overwhelming surprise given the ultimatum head coach Sean Miller presented the point guard regarding team rules.
Turner battled with the decision back and forth, and the coaching staff was more than willing to have him if he decided to give it a shot.
Alas, Turner elected to get a fresh start elsewhere once the semester is over. There is still the matter of leaving in good academic standing, which Miller said Turner would do.
* Meanwhile, Kyryl Natyazhko decision to leave the program was less surprising.
The 6-11 center started off on the wrong foot by reporting to the team overweight after a summer in Ukraine. He never recovered and his playing time was sporadic and quickly declined after the Wildcats’ first six games.
And now, here’s Matt Moreno’s recruiting breakdown:
For the second straight weekend it was a busy couple of days for Arizona on both the football and basketball recruiting fronts. Both Rich Rodriguez’s program and Sean Miller’s program earned commitments over the weekend.
Let’s not waste any time and get to it.
Football recruiting:
The Wildcats had a number of recruits - both committed and signed and uncommitted - visit campus this weekend. With the abundance of visitors it certainly seemed likely that UA would earn a commitment before the weekend was out, and that is exactly what happened.
* Cornerback prospect Darius Allensworth had interest in the ‘Cats ever since receiving his first offer from Rodriguez’s program last month. He hinted earlier in the week that there was a strong possibility he would pull the trigger and a commit should he like the campus, coaching staff and city of Tucson enough.
“That’s probable,” Allensworth said earlier in the week. “If I really like the place and I fall in love and I feel like I’m at home, then I could commit this weekend.”
Saturday night the two-way standout from Menifee (Calif.) Heritage had seen enough and officially gave the Wildcats his verbal pledge.
"The spring game was nice and I like what RichRod is bringing in," Allensworth told GOAZCATS.com Saturday night. "I think his philosophy is going to fit in well there. I thought the campus tour was nice, I like all the new buildings they're going to put up.
"And I just want to be a part of that."
Allensworth does play on both sides of the ball (wide receiver and cornerback), but the plan right now is to have the junior standout stick to playing defense for the Wildcats when he arrives in 2013.
Being the first defensive commit of the Wildcats’ 2013 class, Allensworth said he hopes to lure more prospects to the desert to play alongside him on the defensive side of the ball - and offense too.
“Hopefully,” Allensworth said about getting others to join him in Tucson. “I’m going to do my best to recruit and get our class the best we can get it.”
One of the biggest things that stood out to Allensworth was the philosophy Rodriguez is putting in place at UA. The defensive back very much has the same thoughts on football that the Wildcats’ head coach does, and that was a big part of why he liked the program so much.
“I feel like there’s that same thing where we want to accomplish the same goals,” Allensworth said. “They’re trying to get a fast-paced offense, get on the ball and do things quickly. So it fits my abilities well.”
The Wildcats were the only program to offer Allensworth - although he always felt BYU and Colorado were schools that were close to offering - so at this point he’s content with his commitment, but things are definitely not completely shut down when it comes to his recruitment.
“I’m not going to shut everything down,” he said. “But I like Arizona a lot. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m not going to shut everything down just yet.”
Allensworth’s commitment gave the Wildcats four verbal pledges overall to go along with running back Zachary Green, athlete prospect Mauriece Lee and four-star offensive lineman Logan Stott.
It was not a big surprise that Allensworth left Tucson as a Wildcat as it seemed like a better and better possibility as the week went on. Nonetheless, the program is certainly happy to see its recruiting class grow and to now add a recruit on the defensive side of the ball.
Rodriguez said earlier in the spring that he expected the program to have around six commitments by the time the summer hit, and it certainly looks like that number will be reached if the ‘Cats keep going at their current pace.
* As was stated above, there were quite a few visitors over the weekend and at the spring game. Most of the prospects in attendance were recruits who have already signed to play with the ‘Cats beginning next season. Among those 2012 recruits was San Antonio (Texas) Clark quarterback Josh Kern.
Kern is one of the players who was committed to the former UA staff, but reaffirmed his commitment after taking an official visit to Tucson before Signing Day. The Wildcats have continued to add signal callers and Kern will be one of many once the fall hits.
The three-star quarterback is an interesting prospect as he was mostly seen throughout his recruitment as a pro-style player. However, he did a lot of running during his senior year and he has maintained that he can play in Rodriguez’s style of offense.
“What stood out to me was how fast everything looks,” he said. “But it looks like it’s coming together.”
He was able to get a first-hand look at the offense Saturday and he came away feeling confident that he could handle the task, despite being a taller quarterback.
“I loved it,” Kern said. “I really like having the run-pass option. That’s one of the many reasons I chose to stay after the coaching changes.”
The ‘Cats are pretty much set at the top of the depth chart with Matt Scott leading the way, but behind him there is a lot of uncertainty. Kern said that he definitely feels that there is an opportunity to make an impact should he put in the necessary work.
“Yeah, I’m going to come in and try to adapt as quickly as possible,” he said. “I want to learn and build upon what I know, and hopefully be able to move quickly up the depth chart.”
* Along with Kern here are the recruits who were in attendance during Saturday’s spring game:
Beau Boyster
Dakota Conwell
BJ Denker
Josh Kern
Mauriece Lee
Darius Allensworth
Ryan Dunn
Trey Griffey
Zach Hemmila
Cody Ippolito
One other recruit who took an unofficial visit, but did not attend the spring game was athlete prospect Elijah Qualls of Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Grande. The three-star recruit was on campus Friday and then he visited Arizona State Saturday.
Basketball recruiting:
Moving on to basketball recruiting now, it was another big weekend for the Wildcats as the program secured its sixth member of the 2012 recruiting class Sunday afternoon. It has certainly been a busy time for Miller’s squad over the last week. The ‘Cats added both Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell as well as Cochise College big man Matt Korcheck early last week.
Just a couple days later the Wildcats announced that Josiah Turner would be leaving the program to pursue a career at a different college. They also announced that same day that junior Kyryl Natyazhko would be leaving the program to pursue a professional career overseas.
Although not a scholarship player, the Wildcats added another member to their program Sunday afternoon when Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola guard Jacob Hazzard decided to give Miller his verbal pledge to join the program next season.
If you’re not familiar with Hazzard, here’s a little background on the three-star prospect.
Hazzard is the grandson of former UCLA coach Walt Hazzard and he is a solid pick up for the ‘Cats. At this point, the 5-foot-11 guard still hasn’t earned an offer from any program. He averaged over 12 points last season for the Cubs, but his size has certainly worked against him.
"The family environment and the team is kind of a family in itself," Hazzard said of what really helped sway his decision. "And definitely the support of the fans at the University of Arizona made me want to go there. I'm a basketball junkie and I love basketball whether I'm playing or not.
"Just knowing that everyone there supports you, it was a big deal."
At this point, he’ll be part of the scout team that helps the team get prepared each week, but he hopes that his role can grow into something more down the line.
As for his position?
Although he is just 5-foot-11, Hazzard’s natural position is shooting guard. When he joins the Wildcats in the coming months he will likely play some of both guard positions.
“Right now it’s probably going to be a little bit of both,” he said. “With Josiah leaving a couple days ago I’ll probably play a little at the point, but they have a great guard coming in with Gabe York. I’m naturally a two, but I’m trying to become a one because I’m undersized.
“But it really depends on what position they need me at, I just want to play anywhere I can.”
Hazzard, who made his college choice on the his grandfather’s birthday, said that now he’ll mostly just train in preparation of joining the ‘Cats this summer.
“Mostly I’m just going to be working out to get ready for the season, and get ready to come out there in July,” he said.
* The big question that most might have is: Why add a player like Hazzard if you’re the Wildcats?
Well, for one, he is a solid defensive player, which will really come in handy during practice situations as the team will look to Nick Johnson and Jordin Mayes to handle the point guard duties. Both Mayes and Johnson are more natural playing off the ball, but having guys like Hazzard go up against them in practice will help prepare them for game situations where more ball handling might be needed.
Also Hazzard is teammates with 2014 point guard target Parker Jackson-Cartwright, a prospect who is a top priority in that class for the Wildcats. While this move doesn’t ensure anything for the ‘Cats - and it is a nice pick up in its own right - it certainly won’t hurt the program’s chances of eventually landing the four-star point guard from Loyola.
Going forward, it really is a move that is a positive on many fronts for the Wildcats.
* Hazzard is close friends with a couple members of the Wildcats’ 2012 class and a few of those recruits played in yet another postseason all-star game over the weekend.
Brandon Ashley, Grant Jerrett and Kaleb Tarczewski all played in the Jordan Brand Classic Saturday with some of the nation’s other elite prospects. Ashley and Jerrett both started for the West squad, while Tarczewski suited up for the East team.
The two West players didn’t have their best games as Ashley finished the contest with just two points, but he did pull down five rebounds. Jerrett finished the contest with six points and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action. He also had a nice dunk during the all-star game.
Tarczewski had one of the better outings for the East squad as the Southborough (Mass.) St. Mark’s center finished the contest tied for second on his team with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was the only player in the game on either side to finish with a double-double.
