May is an interesting time in the college world. School is coming to an end and that means saying goodbye to one set of players but another new group is right around the corner. There is a lot of recruiting going on still and things continue to change and shift plus lots of waiting. Here is the latest going on with Arizona in this week’s War Room.
Football
As Rich Rodriguez’s staff continues to make its way around the country checking in on recruits the UA head coach has been doing his duties with the AFCA and having meetings, but it will soon be time to turn his attention back to the team and the summer workouts. Now that the spring semester is coming to an end the next wave of Wildcats will not be far off when it comes to making it to campus. UA continues to add pieces for the upcoming season as it puts together the roster it hopes will start to turn things around from 2016’s 3-9 finish.
* The summer is going to dictate a lot about what the upcoming season will look like and as we have been doing in recent weeks we will continue our look at the position groups heading into that important time of the year coming out of spring ball and heading into the June and July. The coaching staff will get more opportunities to work with the players, but since they can’t use a ball it will be up to the players themselves to get even more work in on their own.
Last week we looked at a group on defense, the linebackers, that is undergoing plenty of changes heading into the 2017 season and this week we move back to the offensive side with a unit that is going through the same. Arizona’s receiver group also has a new coach as former UTEP assistant Theron Aych joined the staff once spring ball got underway. There was certainly an adjustment period for the receiver group, but the move comes at a good time since it is well before the season starts and Aych was able to get at least somewhat acclimated with his group.
It also comes at a time when the receiver unit itself is going through a bit of a transition time. Arizona lost three senior starters off 2016’s team with Trey Griffey, Nate Phillips and Samajie Grant all exhausting their eligibility after mostly successful college careers. All three brought consistency to the table for Arizona over the last four years and Grant was used in a number of different ways to help the team. Now, UA doesn’t have that group to rely on and that means things are changing.
- What went well: To begin with the other starter from that group a season ago is back and Shun Brown has the skill and now experience to make that next big jump in his development. The junior from Louisiana has stepped into a leadership role with the team and he has set himself up to be the go-to player for whoever ends up getting the job at the quarterback position. Brown has a knack for making plays and turning broken plays into big gains. With scrambling quarterbacks it’s important to have that element as part of the receiver group and it is setting things up for Brown to have a big season. Going into the summer Brown has set himself up as the No. 1 receiver for Arizona this season.
The emergence of others at the position was going to be necessary over the course of the spring, and although the passing numbers went down last season the Wildcats want those numbers to go back up and with some stability at the quarterback position the hope is the receivers can come into their own and make that a reality and get the offense back to where it wants to be from a balance perspective. The Wildcats started to do that in the spring and one of the players who stepped into a bigger role was now senior Shawn Poindexter. Arizona is hopeful it can get some time back for him since he has only been with the team for one season, but if not he will head into his final season on the right track. The big outside receiver looked more comfortable and flat out like a better player this spring and that will be important as Arizona has been lacking size at the outside receiver spots in recent times.
In addition to both of those players emerging there is a certain attitude among the receiver group right now that has things going in the right direction. It was clear the work over the summer last year wasn’t where it needed to be and so far the receivers have said the right things about making the extra time to work with the quarterbacks and build that timing and connection to have success once the games start. Having the right mindset is important in sports and the spring helped the Wildcats develop that.
- What needs work: The biggest thing that will need to improve for Arizona over the course of the summer and into August camp will be coming up with an actual rotation for the positions. There have been glimpses of players who could become part of the rotation, but nothing is set in stone quite yet. Cam Denson figures to factor into that equation going into his final season, but a foot injury in the spring meant more setbacks for him. Tony Ellison, Tyrell Johnson, Zach Benjamin, DeVaughn Cooper and Cedric Peterson all figure to be involved with the rotation as well but there hasn’t quite been the separation you would hope.
- More competition?: Receiver is one of the spots where what you saw in spring is really what it will look like when the season arrives in terms of who will contribute. Drew Dixon and Brian Casteel were the two receivers Arizona signed but Rodriguez has already said that Dixon will spend some time at quarterback as well. Casteel is certainly a darkhorse to compete for some early time, but that is not something that can be answered until he arrives on campus.
- Final word: Arizona is heading in the right direction with its quarterback group, but there remains plenty of unknowns. A lot of the potential success of the unit will be based quite a bit on the quarterbacks and their ability to get the ball out to those receivers. It is clear the receivers don’t want a repeat of last season where they had to do a lot of run blocking and were taken out of the equation for the most part on offense. There has been a lot of individual work between the receivers and quarterbacks to get on the same page this offseason, but the results of that won’t be seen until the team reconvenes back in August with the pads on and games start to get closer. The receiver unit has the talent to be good once again, but there are a lot of factors that will have to take place to make that so. For now it continues to be a waiting game as the summer approaches.
* Arizona has now added Donavan Tate and Dereck Boles as late additions to the 2017 roster, but don’t be surprised if some others start to come across as well. The Wildcats have continued to look at options all over the place and there are some, in particular an offensive lineman the Wildcats are interested in, who are still making some decisions or looking for new homes. Remember that the Wildcats added Larry Tharpe Jr. after August camp ended yet he was able to make a role for himself so things will continue until the Wildcats have exhausted what they believe is every avenue for finding players who can help win games.
Tate and Boles were two big ones the Wildcats had their eye on but there are some others still out there.
Football recruiting
It is an interesting time for Arizona as it makes its way around the country checking in with recruits and making new offers. The Wildcats have four commitments already in the class and the summer tends to bring some more. Last year at this time the Wildcats were already working on double-digit commits, but things have slowed down a bit after some reshuffling with the staff after the season and during spring ball. Now Rodriguez’s staff has some direction and has been more active in the spring evaluation period getting new offers out.
* One place the Wildcats have taken things to a completely new level and have completely changed philosophies is in Texas. Rodriguez has never put too many resources into recruiting Texas since he arrived which was a drastic change from when Mike Stoops was the head coach and Arizona routinely pulled talent from the Lone Star State. Rodriguez’s theory was that it was too difficult to get the players he wanted away from Texas since there are so many in-state options there. It wasn’t worth his program’s time. However, as he has learned how to recruit at a place like Arizona he has noticed there is a void there now where the Wildcats once recruited and has realized it is necessary for his team to have success.
In what has been a big change Texas now sits behind just California in terms of states Arizona has made offers in. Rodriguez said during spring ball that there are so many recruits in Texas he believes his theory about not getting any to leave was not correct and he hopes putting a greater emphasis on the region will help take things to a new level with his own program and recruiting. UA hired Aych in large part for that very reason and it has built a long offer list in Texas for this cycle and beyond.
To get you focused in on some recruits to keep an eye on there here are five names you should watch closely when it comes to Texas recruits and who could potentially end up making the move further west to Tucson.
- Chris Mills: The Converse, Texas cornerback has an interesting offer list with Arizona and Michigan State as his Power Five offers but Houston Baptist and Rice on there as well. The offer from Aych is pretty new only coming in the last couple weeks, but he will be one to keep an eye on as things unfold.
Football
As Rich Rodriguez’s staff continues to make its way around the country checking in on recruits the UA head coach has been doing his duties with the AFCA and having meetings, but it will soon be time to turn his attention back to the team and the summer workouts. Now that the spring semester is coming to an end the next wave of Wildcats will not be far off when it comes to making it to campus. UA continues to add pieces for the upcoming season as it puts together the roster it hopes will start to turn things around from 2016’s 3-9 finish.
* The summer is going to dictate a lot about what the upcoming season will look like and as we have been doing in recent weeks we will continue our look at the position groups heading into that important time of the year coming out of spring ball and heading into the June and July. The coaching staff will get more opportunities to work with the players, but since they can’t use a ball it will be up to the players themselves to get even more work in on their own.
Last week we looked at a group on defense, the linebackers, that is undergoing plenty of changes heading into the 2017 season and this week we move back to the offensive side with a unit that is going through the same. Arizona’s receiver group also has a new coach as former UTEP assistant Theron Aych joined the staff once spring ball got underway. There was certainly an adjustment period for the receiver group, but the move comes at a good time since it is well before the season starts and Aych was able to get at least somewhat acclimated with his group.
It also comes at a time when the receiver unit itself is going through a bit of a transition time. Arizona lost three senior starters off 2016’s team with Trey Griffey, Nate Phillips and Samajie Grant all exhausting their eligibility after mostly successful college careers. All three brought consistency to the table for Arizona over the last four years and Grant was used in a number of different ways to help the team. Now, UA doesn’t have that group to rely on and that means things are changing.
- What went well: To begin with the other starter from that group a season ago is back and Shun Brown has the skill and now experience to make that next big jump in his development. The junior from Louisiana has stepped into a leadership role with the team and he has set himself up to be the go-to player for whoever ends up getting the job at the quarterback position. Brown has a knack for making plays and turning broken plays into big gains. With scrambling quarterbacks it’s important to have that element as part of the receiver group and it is setting things up for Brown to have a big season. Going into the summer Brown has set himself up as the No. 1 receiver for Arizona this season.
The emergence of others at the position was going to be necessary over the course of the spring, and although the passing numbers went down last season the Wildcats want those numbers to go back up and with some stability at the quarterback position the hope is the receivers can come into their own and make that a reality and get the offense back to where it wants to be from a balance perspective. The Wildcats started to do that in the spring and one of the players who stepped into a bigger role was now senior Shawn Poindexter. Arizona is hopeful it can get some time back for him since he has only been with the team for one season, but if not he will head into his final season on the right track. The big outside receiver looked more comfortable and flat out like a better player this spring and that will be important as Arizona has been lacking size at the outside receiver spots in recent times.
In addition to both of those players emerging there is a certain attitude among the receiver group right now that has things going in the right direction. It was clear the work over the summer last year wasn’t where it needed to be and so far the receivers have said the right things about making the extra time to work with the quarterbacks and build that timing and connection to have success once the games start. Having the right mindset is important in sports and the spring helped the Wildcats develop that.
- What needs work: The biggest thing that will need to improve for Arizona over the course of the summer and into August camp will be coming up with an actual rotation for the positions. There have been glimpses of players who could become part of the rotation, but nothing is set in stone quite yet. Cam Denson figures to factor into that equation going into his final season, but a foot injury in the spring meant more setbacks for him. Tony Ellison, Tyrell Johnson, Zach Benjamin, DeVaughn Cooper and Cedric Peterson all figure to be involved with the rotation as well but there hasn’t quite been the separation you would hope.
- More competition?: Receiver is one of the spots where what you saw in spring is really what it will look like when the season arrives in terms of who will contribute. Drew Dixon and Brian Casteel were the two receivers Arizona signed but Rodriguez has already said that Dixon will spend some time at quarterback as well. Casteel is certainly a darkhorse to compete for some early time, but that is not something that can be answered until he arrives on campus.
- Final word: Arizona is heading in the right direction with its quarterback group, but there remains plenty of unknowns. A lot of the potential success of the unit will be based quite a bit on the quarterbacks and their ability to get the ball out to those receivers. It is clear the receivers don’t want a repeat of last season where they had to do a lot of run blocking and were taken out of the equation for the most part on offense. There has been a lot of individual work between the receivers and quarterbacks to get on the same page this offseason, but the results of that won’t be seen until the team reconvenes back in August with the pads on and games start to get closer. The receiver unit has the talent to be good once again, but there are a lot of factors that will have to take place to make that so. For now it continues to be a waiting game as the summer approaches.
* Arizona has now added Donavan Tate and Dereck Boles as late additions to the 2017 roster, but don’t be surprised if some others start to come across as well. The Wildcats have continued to look at options all over the place and there are some, in particular an offensive lineman the Wildcats are interested in, who are still making some decisions or looking for new homes. Remember that the Wildcats added Larry Tharpe Jr. after August camp ended yet he was able to make a role for himself so things will continue until the Wildcats have exhausted what they believe is every avenue for finding players who can help win games.
Tate and Boles were two big ones the Wildcats had their eye on but there are some others still out there.
Football recruiting
It is an interesting time for Arizona as it makes its way around the country checking in with recruits and making new offers. The Wildcats have four commitments already in the class and the summer tends to bring some more. Last year at this time the Wildcats were already working on double-digit commits, but things have slowed down a bit after some reshuffling with the staff after the season and during spring ball. Now Rodriguez’s staff has some direction and has been more active in the spring evaluation period getting new offers out.
* One place the Wildcats have taken things to a completely new level and have completely changed philosophies is in Texas. Rodriguez has never put too many resources into recruiting Texas since he arrived which was a drastic change from when Mike Stoops was the head coach and Arizona routinely pulled talent from the Lone Star State. Rodriguez’s theory was that it was too difficult to get the players he wanted away from Texas since there are so many in-state options there. It wasn’t worth his program’s time. However, as he has learned how to recruit at a place like Arizona he has noticed there is a void there now where the Wildcats once recruited and has realized it is necessary for his team to have success.
In what has been a big change Texas now sits behind just California in terms of states Arizona has made offers in. Rodriguez said during spring ball that there are so many recruits in Texas he believes his theory about not getting any to leave was not correct and he hopes putting a greater emphasis on the region will help take things to a new level with his own program and recruiting. UA hired Aych in large part for that very reason and it has built a long offer list in Texas for this cycle and beyond.
To get you focused in on some recruits to keep an eye on there here are five names you should watch closely when it comes to Texas recruits and who could potentially end up making the move further west to Tucson.
- Chris Mills: The Converse, Texas cornerback has an interesting offer list with Arizona and Michigan State as his Power Five offers but Houston Baptist and Rice on there as well. The offer from Aych is pretty new only coming in the last couple weeks, but he will be one to keep an eye on as things unfold.
