It is an interesting time on the college sports scene. Spring sports are well into their seasons while the others are focusing on recruiting. For Rich Rodriguez and Sean Miller that is squarely where things are this week with two important evaluation periods getting underway. There is plenty to discuss with the Wildcats, so here is the latest edition of the War Rom.
Football
The football team is back into its offseason program and for now the next few weeks will be about Rodriguez meeting with his players since he cannot head out on the road recruiting. It will give the UA head coach a chance to talk individually with the players and get a feel for where everyone stands. In addition to that the ‘Cats will have their meet the team event inside Arizona Stadium on Saturday from 12-1:30 p.m. That will conclude all the events of the spring and the next time anybody will be able to see the team together publicly will be in August camp.
* There will of course be plenty of progress and new faces coming on board between now and then, but we will continue our position-by-position look at the Wildcats coming out of spring ball this week jumping over to the defensive side of the ball and examining the defensive line. Vince Amey’s group has always gained lots of attention from fans and onlookers, but it has been mostly about the lack of size and productivity in recent years. Arizona has made an effort to get bigger and that will soon start to be seen more on the field.
Coming off a 3-9 season the defensive line knows it needs to make a jump to help improve the defense as a whole and this spring that centered around improving the pass rush. The Wildcats have not been able to generate much of a pass rush with just the defensive line and that meant a lot of man coverage on the back end which Arizona would prefer to play less of. Having an effective pass rush will eliminate or at least aid UA across the board on the defensive side of the ball.
There was some progress made in the spring and one of the biggest aspects UA has going for it this season along the defensive line is that there are numerous returners as part of the rotation.
- What went well: Well, first and foremost, the thing that was the most positive for Arizona was that all the impact players were able to stay healthy. The Wildcats had to play a number of players last season and that group was able to stay healthy throughout the spring. Now there were some players who were expected to contribute who were injured, but as far as players with experience the Wildcats had a string of good luck over the 15 practices. That meant less time trying to get others up to speed and more about making progress. The other element of the defensive line that was a positive is that work since the end of the season must have gone to a new level in the weight room because by in large the group looked more stout. The height is still not quite there, but weight wise the group looked stronger.
The starting unit will be made up of some veterans with Parker Zellers, Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap all back again for another year. Each one played significant roles last year and Bruno is now fully healthy after a season of pain last year coming off a foot injury. That unit is strong and there will be help as well with Larry Tharpe Jr., Jack Banda and Finton Connolly all having experience as well.
The element that stood out most, however, was the ability to get in the backfield and disrupt plays. There was no tackling of the quarterbacks during the spring, but in the open practices the ability to get in the backfield and get tackles or what would have been sacks improved. It was more up the middle that the changes were noticeable.
- What needs work: The element that still needs to improve is the speed along the defensive line. The size has improved, but getting faster will be that next step. UA will get some help as it moves forward with welcoming in some new players this summer, but that will be the next element of the team to make things happen. Combining that with the length now becoming more present it will raise the level of the overall defensive line.
Finding its group to go into the season with will be the big task come August. Arizona has a good handle on the starting rotation, but there are still some more bodies that will be needed going into the new season.
- More competition?: The starting unit seems to be set for the most part heading into the rest of the offseason as Amey often holds players like Zellers, Belknap and Bruno as what he wants the rest of the unit to play like. Still, the incoming freshman class is going to have a chance to make some noise. Getting bigger over the next few months will be important, but both My-King Johnson and Jalen Harris have the raw talent to be very good at the next level. The both have the length and speed that the line has been looking for and they will have a chance to make an impact right away if they can add some good weight.
In addition to those two newcomer junior college nose tackle Sione Taufahema made some good strides in the spring as a midyear enrollee. Rodriguez is already talking about him getting in shape, which has become a kiss of death of sorts for other players in the past. However, he does have the size Arizona has been missing right in the middle and if he can continue to progress he’ll be able to play this season.
- Final word: Like the rest of Arizona’s team this spring the real tangible progress will come in the summer with the team’s defensive line. Still, there was noticeable improvement from the group and Bruno being healthy was clearly a difference. He has a chance to be the key to the defensive line and his presence – while fully healthy – gives the ‘Cats a veteran to work around along with Zellers and the rest of the group. It still feels like a bit of a transition season for the Wildcats before some truly more effective play, but having a group that knows what it’s doing and has games under its belt should pay off.
Expecting a night and day difference just one season removed from a 3-9 year would not be logical, but like the rest of the team things are shaping up to look better in the 2017 season.
Football recruiting
Arizona has its coaches on the road for the spring evaluation period that runs through the end of May and that means not a lot of time at home for the coaching staff. Expect more offers to go out as the staff sees some of its newer targets in person and starts to make some determinations if it wants to offer or not. There should start to be at least a couple commits making their way through the pipeline as well in the coming weeks during the spring evaluation period – or at the very least start becoming more clear.
* To give you an idea about where the Wildcats will be looking to make additions in the 2018 class here is a breakdown and estimate of how things should shake out when the class is done. As you well know the numbers could change and philosophies could change as the season plays out, but there are some glaring holes right now that the Wildcats will need to address heading into the new cycle.
- Quarterbacks (likely targeted commits: 1-2): Right now Arizona has a commitment from local standout Jamarye Joiner, but it has offered others in the class. There is a bit of insurance going on right now because Joiner has not been secretive about his desire to look at other options while remaining committed to the ‘Cats. Still, Arizona also wants to add another one if the pieces fit together right. It was a bit thin during the spring, but there will be two more scholarship quarterbacks coming in this summer. As of now it will just be Joiner, but UA is going to continue to recruit and potentially offer others to make sure all options stay on the table in case anything happens late. If the situation presents itself though, it would not be shocking to see UA take two in the 2018 class. Jack Plummer is the other quarterback to watch closely as things progress.
- Running backs (2): UA obviously loaded up with a couple backs in the 2017 class with Gary Brightwell and Nathan Tilford coming on board, but it will be a position that the Wildcats will always take multiple prospects at unless something changes and the depth turns out to be much better than thought. UA will lose two scholarship players after this season with seniors Nick Wilson and Zach Green moving on. The Wildcats will always want to have moving forward five guys at the position for the most part because of what happened in 2016 with the injuries and other issues that left UA in a tough spot. The staff doesn’t want to be in that position again so you can expect the coaches to make a big push for a couple running backs each year. Kazmeir Allen, Jawhar Jordan and Greg Bell are a few prospects to watch, and don’t be surprised if Arizona waits it out to enter the picture with some more after the season when it sees how this year goes first.
- Receivers (3-4): The Wildcats have a ton of receiver offers out and after signing just a couple for 2017 it will be one of the areas the team loads up on in this class. Don’t be surprised if it’s closer to that four number and maybe even more than that if things go well. UA is going to need some more playmakers, especially on the outside, and that will need to be addressed in this class. Truly high-end prospects might not be in the cards this year, but there are some others to watch including Khalil Skahir, Jaden Mitchell and Jalen Nailor plus in-state option Gunner Romney. All three are three-star prospects, but each would provide some nice bang despite the non-four star ranking.
Football
The football team is back into its offseason program and for now the next few weeks will be about Rodriguez meeting with his players since he cannot head out on the road recruiting. It will give the UA head coach a chance to talk individually with the players and get a feel for where everyone stands. In addition to that the ‘Cats will have their meet the team event inside Arizona Stadium on Saturday from 12-1:30 p.m. That will conclude all the events of the spring and the next time anybody will be able to see the team together publicly will be in August camp.
* There will of course be plenty of progress and new faces coming on board between now and then, but we will continue our position-by-position look at the Wildcats coming out of spring ball this week jumping over to the defensive side of the ball and examining the defensive line. Vince Amey’s group has always gained lots of attention from fans and onlookers, but it has been mostly about the lack of size and productivity in recent years. Arizona has made an effort to get bigger and that will soon start to be seen more on the field.
Coming off a 3-9 season the defensive line knows it needs to make a jump to help improve the defense as a whole and this spring that centered around improving the pass rush. The Wildcats have not been able to generate much of a pass rush with just the defensive line and that meant a lot of man coverage on the back end which Arizona would prefer to play less of. Having an effective pass rush will eliminate or at least aid UA across the board on the defensive side of the ball.
There was some progress made in the spring and one of the biggest aspects UA has going for it this season along the defensive line is that there are numerous returners as part of the rotation.
- What went well: Well, first and foremost, the thing that was the most positive for Arizona was that all the impact players were able to stay healthy. The Wildcats had to play a number of players last season and that group was able to stay healthy throughout the spring. Now there were some players who were expected to contribute who were injured, but as far as players with experience the Wildcats had a string of good luck over the 15 practices. That meant less time trying to get others up to speed and more about making progress. The other element of the defensive line that was a positive is that work since the end of the season must have gone to a new level in the weight room because by in large the group looked more stout. The height is still not quite there, but weight wise the group looked stronger.
The starting unit will be made up of some veterans with Parker Zellers, Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap all back again for another year. Each one played significant roles last year and Bruno is now fully healthy after a season of pain last year coming off a foot injury. That unit is strong and there will be help as well with Larry Tharpe Jr., Jack Banda and Finton Connolly all having experience as well.
The element that stood out most, however, was the ability to get in the backfield and disrupt plays. There was no tackling of the quarterbacks during the spring, but in the open practices the ability to get in the backfield and get tackles or what would have been sacks improved. It was more up the middle that the changes were noticeable.
- What needs work: The element that still needs to improve is the speed along the defensive line. The size has improved, but getting faster will be that next step. UA will get some help as it moves forward with welcoming in some new players this summer, but that will be the next element of the team to make things happen. Combining that with the length now becoming more present it will raise the level of the overall defensive line.
Finding its group to go into the season with will be the big task come August. Arizona has a good handle on the starting rotation, but there are still some more bodies that will be needed going into the new season.
- More competition?: The starting unit seems to be set for the most part heading into the rest of the offseason as Amey often holds players like Zellers, Belknap and Bruno as what he wants the rest of the unit to play like. Still, the incoming freshman class is going to have a chance to make some noise. Getting bigger over the next few months will be important, but both My-King Johnson and Jalen Harris have the raw talent to be very good at the next level. The both have the length and speed that the line has been looking for and they will have a chance to make an impact right away if they can add some good weight.
In addition to those two newcomer junior college nose tackle Sione Taufahema made some good strides in the spring as a midyear enrollee. Rodriguez is already talking about him getting in shape, which has become a kiss of death of sorts for other players in the past. However, he does have the size Arizona has been missing right in the middle and if he can continue to progress he’ll be able to play this season.
- Final word: Like the rest of Arizona’s team this spring the real tangible progress will come in the summer with the team’s defensive line. Still, there was noticeable improvement from the group and Bruno being healthy was clearly a difference. He has a chance to be the key to the defensive line and his presence – while fully healthy – gives the ‘Cats a veteran to work around along with Zellers and the rest of the group. It still feels like a bit of a transition season for the Wildcats before some truly more effective play, but having a group that knows what it’s doing and has games under its belt should pay off.
Expecting a night and day difference just one season removed from a 3-9 year would not be logical, but like the rest of the team things are shaping up to look better in the 2017 season.
Football recruiting
Arizona has its coaches on the road for the spring evaluation period that runs through the end of May and that means not a lot of time at home for the coaching staff. Expect more offers to go out as the staff sees some of its newer targets in person and starts to make some determinations if it wants to offer or not. There should start to be at least a couple commits making their way through the pipeline as well in the coming weeks during the spring evaluation period – or at the very least start becoming more clear.
* To give you an idea about where the Wildcats will be looking to make additions in the 2018 class here is a breakdown and estimate of how things should shake out when the class is done. As you well know the numbers could change and philosophies could change as the season plays out, but there are some glaring holes right now that the Wildcats will need to address heading into the new cycle.
- Quarterbacks (likely targeted commits: 1-2): Right now Arizona has a commitment from local standout Jamarye Joiner, but it has offered others in the class. There is a bit of insurance going on right now because Joiner has not been secretive about his desire to look at other options while remaining committed to the ‘Cats. Still, Arizona also wants to add another one if the pieces fit together right. It was a bit thin during the spring, but there will be two more scholarship quarterbacks coming in this summer. As of now it will just be Joiner, but UA is going to continue to recruit and potentially offer others to make sure all options stay on the table in case anything happens late. If the situation presents itself though, it would not be shocking to see UA take two in the 2018 class. Jack Plummer is the other quarterback to watch closely as things progress.
- Running backs (2): UA obviously loaded up with a couple backs in the 2017 class with Gary Brightwell and Nathan Tilford coming on board, but it will be a position that the Wildcats will always take multiple prospects at unless something changes and the depth turns out to be much better than thought. UA will lose two scholarship players after this season with seniors Nick Wilson and Zach Green moving on. The Wildcats will always want to have moving forward five guys at the position for the most part because of what happened in 2016 with the injuries and other issues that left UA in a tough spot. The staff doesn’t want to be in that position again so you can expect the coaches to make a big push for a couple running backs each year. Kazmeir Allen, Jawhar Jordan and Greg Bell are a few prospects to watch, and don’t be surprised if Arizona waits it out to enter the picture with some more after the season when it sees how this year goes first.
- Receivers (3-4): The Wildcats have a ton of receiver offers out and after signing just a couple for 2017 it will be one of the areas the team loads up on in this class. Don’t be surprised if it’s closer to that four number and maybe even more than that if things go well. UA is going to need some more playmakers, especially on the outside, and that will need to be addressed in this class. Truly high-end prospects might not be in the cards this year, but there are some others to watch including Khalil Skahir, Jaden Mitchell and Jalen Nailor plus in-state option Gunner Romney. All three are three-star prospects, but each would provide some nice bang despite the non-four star ranking.
