It’s a new week and a new chance to get the latest with Arizona as things unfold this spring. School is now over and in just a few weeks the Wildcats will start to welcome the newcomers to campus as the summer begins. Still, there is plenty to get to now so here is this week’s War Room.
Football
Arizona is currently in a bit of a break with the current team getting some time off now that school is over for the semester. That means a chance to go home for the players while the staff continues its work around the country recruiting. So, for the team it is a bit of a down time until things get back in action later this summer.
* For us we will continue our look at each position group heading into the summer and coming out of the spring where the 15 spring ball practices at least gave a glimpse into what the team is looking like at this point in the year. Last week was our second week looking at a position group that is going through some change and this week we look at one that will have all of its important pieces back and then some.
Still, Arizona’s safety group is going through a bit of change itself after some shuffling with the coaching staff in the offseason. Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates moved back to the secondary where he is taking on the cornerbacks and the “spur” safety group Jahmile Addae has remained with his “bandit” unit and added the free safeties. Previously the “spur” and “bandit” groups were together and the free safeties worked with the cornerbacks.
It was a move that seemed to be positive all around and didn’t mean a big change for Addae as he continues to work with strictly safeties. By the end of the season Addae found some combinations that he really liked with his unit and that carried over into the spring.
Arizona returned all its starters and even all of its second unit players from last season as the spring played out bringing some continuity to the defense. There could still be some shuffling as the summer plays out but it is one group that has some direction and depth.
- What went well: Arizona’s safety group was a bit quiet, but that’s not a bad thing. There was not a ton of drama with the unit since things are all but settled there with a rotation that features Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tristan Cooper, Isaiah Hayes, Chacho Ulloa, Anthony Mariscal and Jarvis McCall Jr. Each of those players had some kind of role last season and each was able to continue to put in work over the spring. The positive the group made as a whole is that it was the second year in the system for all those players and that means less thinking and more reacting which is what the staff is after.
Because it is the second year for that group within Yates’ defense the hope is that more opportunities will be created on the back end. The group had to help a lot in run support a season ago and there were plenty of times when they ended up in some one-on-one situations in coverage. The hope is that the defensive front will start to take more of the load up front leaving the safeties to do more roaming and having more chances to create turnovers and make game-changing plays.
So the progress for Arizona over the course of the spring was certainly more on the mental side and becoming more comfortable within the scheme.
- What needs work: Where the Wildcats need to get better fits right into what this time of the year brings and that is hitting the weight room. There has been some good progress with the group coming out of the spring in that regard, but now that there is some direction with the unit in terms of who is going to be playing where and how they all fit together getting bigger and being able to handle the rigors of a season while staying healthy will be important. The safety group has some good size with players like Flannigan-Fowles and Cooper, but having some bulk to go with that will be important. In addition to that someone such as Hayes makes his mark by making tackles and delivering hits and he has put on some good weight but can still reach another level by August camp.
- More competition?: It will be interesting to see if any of the newcomers can make any noise at the safety positions considering the Wildcats have worked hard to upgrade the position in the last couple classes. UA had several freshmen and redshirt freshmen contribute last season meaning there might not be as much room to do so this year. However, the Wildcats do have some talent and size coming in at the safety spots. Xavier Bell is a big hitter who has college-ready size now and could factor in while Troy Young is a bit underrated but he is someone the staff is excited about as well.
Throw in others like Rhedi Short and Scottie Young who had some recruiting options and it is a strong group of incoming freshmen. UA is in a spot where it can afford to redshirt all of them, but there is enough talent in that incoming group that it wouldn’t be shocking to see a couple of them play themselves out of it in camp.
- Final word: The safety group always seems to not get the type of credit it deserves. Yes, there have been growing pains for sure, but without much help from the group in front of it at times that has meant taking on more challenges and not being able to fully grow into the group the staff hopes it can become. There is talent at the safety positions and sometimes health has made things difficult. Now that things are settled and most of the players know what their roles are things should start going in a more positive direction as a whole. The season will tell the true story, but the safety group has a chance to be a real strength of the team if some other things fall into place.
* Arizona has had to sort out its roster this spring and unfortunately that meant losing a couple players in recent weeks. Two of the more prominent players to leave the program after spring ball were at spots where the Wildcats hoped to have some more depth. Keenan Walker had off-the-field issues that made it a slow process to get on the field and make his impact. He was never truly able to find his footing at Arizona and as we mentioned early on the junior college route made a lot of sense for him.
Last week he decided to call Independence Community College in Kansas his new home as he will look to get on track there and eventually get back to the Division I level after a year.
The other player who was looking for a new home was Jalen Cochran, who was preparing to enter his redshirt freshman season. A concussion issue derailed things on the field, but off the field he was a bit homesick and had been mulling the decision to head back to the Midwest and play closer to home in Michigan. Last week he finally found a spot as he will make Miami of Ohio his next school. Cochran has the size of a big-time college level defensive end so he should fit in well in the MAC. Cochran will team up with one-time Arizona defensive tackle Elijah Watson at the school.
* Some good news with a former Wildcat on Monday as the Minnesota Vikings signed Freddie Tagaloa to a three-year deal after a rookie camp tryout that took place earlier in the month.
Football recruiting
As Arizona continues to make the rounds checking out different schools and prospects last week was a big one for new offers going out. In just a pair of days last week the Wildcats had double-digit offers go out as the recruiting cycle has kicked into high gear for the staff. The commitment process has been a bit slower, but the summer tends to bring some more decisions. For now though there is still plenty of evaluating being done.
* Last week we took a glimpse at the state of Texas and recruits to watch in that region as potential commitments down the line. This week we thought it would be a good time to take a look closer to home right in Arizona with some of the top in-state targets who have a chance to eventually become Wildcats. One of the biggest issues with in-state recruits especially at the top end of the spectrum is that so many of those recruits decide to leave home. With UA and ASU expected to be near the bottom of the preseason rankings in the conference this might be one of the toughest challenges yet for both coaching staffs to keep homegrown talent inside the state lines. Nevertheless, building from within will always be important to Rich Rodriguez and the ‘Cats and UA will end up with a good amount of recruits from right here in Arizona. What is changing right now is how the Wildcats approach recruiting within the state after the departure of Charlie Ragle. Vince Amey is now in charge of Phoenix and it has also become more of a group effort there and throughout the state with more hands being involved.
- Kenny Churchwell: Arizona has not had a ton of success at Mountain Pointe in Phoenix under Rodriguez, but the Wildcats made a move early with the versatile athlete recruit. Churchwell was being recruiting by Ragle, but there is still a connection with the rest of the staff because UA was able to get involved early. He has been out to campus before for various events and at 6-foot-3 he has the size Arizona likes on defense in its secondary. We watched him at the Rivals Camp in California last month where he worked out at receiver, but whatever position he ends up at he brings some good size and athleticism. Cal offered recently so UA will be going up against Ragle for Churchwell, but don’t underestimate staying closer to home.
Football
Arizona is currently in a bit of a break with the current team getting some time off now that school is over for the semester. That means a chance to go home for the players while the staff continues its work around the country recruiting. So, for the team it is a bit of a down time until things get back in action later this summer.
* For us we will continue our look at each position group heading into the summer and coming out of the spring where the 15 spring ball practices at least gave a glimpse into what the team is looking like at this point in the year. Last week was our second week looking at a position group that is going through some change and this week we look at one that will have all of its important pieces back and then some.
Still, Arizona’s safety group is going through a bit of change itself after some shuffling with the coaching staff in the offseason. Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates moved back to the secondary where he is taking on the cornerbacks and the “spur” safety group Jahmile Addae has remained with his “bandit” unit and added the free safeties. Previously the “spur” and “bandit” groups were together and the free safeties worked with the cornerbacks.
It was a move that seemed to be positive all around and didn’t mean a big change for Addae as he continues to work with strictly safeties. By the end of the season Addae found some combinations that he really liked with his unit and that carried over into the spring.
Arizona returned all its starters and even all of its second unit players from last season as the spring played out bringing some continuity to the defense. There could still be some shuffling as the summer plays out but it is one group that has some direction and depth.
- What went well: Arizona’s safety group was a bit quiet, but that’s not a bad thing. There was not a ton of drama with the unit since things are all but settled there with a rotation that features Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tristan Cooper, Isaiah Hayes, Chacho Ulloa, Anthony Mariscal and Jarvis McCall Jr. Each of those players had some kind of role last season and each was able to continue to put in work over the spring. The positive the group made as a whole is that it was the second year in the system for all those players and that means less thinking and more reacting which is what the staff is after.
Because it is the second year for that group within Yates’ defense the hope is that more opportunities will be created on the back end. The group had to help a lot in run support a season ago and there were plenty of times when they ended up in some one-on-one situations in coverage. The hope is that the defensive front will start to take more of the load up front leaving the safeties to do more roaming and having more chances to create turnovers and make game-changing plays.
So the progress for Arizona over the course of the spring was certainly more on the mental side and becoming more comfortable within the scheme.
- What needs work: Where the Wildcats need to get better fits right into what this time of the year brings and that is hitting the weight room. There has been some good progress with the group coming out of the spring in that regard, but now that there is some direction with the unit in terms of who is going to be playing where and how they all fit together getting bigger and being able to handle the rigors of a season while staying healthy will be important. The safety group has some good size with players like Flannigan-Fowles and Cooper, but having some bulk to go with that will be important. In addition to that someone such as Hayes makes his mark by making tackles and delivering hits and he has put on some good weight but can still reach another level by August camp.
- More competition?: It will be interesting to see if any of the newcomers can make any noise at the safety positions considering the Wildcats have worked hard to upgrade the position in the last couple classes. UA had several freshmen and redshirt freshmen contribute last season meaning there might not be as much room to do so this year. However, the Wildcats do have some talent and size coming in at the safety spots. Xavier Bell is a big hitter who has college-ready size now and could factor in while Troy Young is a bit underrated but he is someone the staff is excited about as well.
Throw in others like Rhedi Short and Scottie Young who had some recruiting options and it is a strong group of incoming freshmen. UA is in a spot where it can afford to redshirt all of them, but there is enough talent in that incoming group that it wouldn’t be shocking to see a couple of them play themselves out of it in camp.
- Final word: The safety group always seems to not get the type of credit it deserves. Yes, there have been growing pains for sure, but without much help from the group in front of it at times that has meant taking on more challenges and not being able to fully grow into the group the staff hopes it can become. There is talent at the safety positions and sometimes health has made things difficult. Now that things are settled and most of the players know what their roles are things should start going in a more positive direction as a whole. The season will tell the true story, but the safety group has a chance to be a real strength of the team if some other things fall into place.
* Arizona has had to sort out its roster this spring and unfortunately that meant losing a couple players in recent weeks. Two of the more prominent players to leave the program after spring ball were at spots where the Wildcats hoped to have some more depth. Keenan Walker had off-the-field issues that made it a slow process to get on the field and make his impact. He was never truly able to find his footing at Arizona and as we mentioned early on the junior college route made a lot of sense for him.
Last week he decided to call Independence Community College in Kansas his new home as he will look to get on track there and eventually get back to the Division I level after a year.
The other player who was looking for a new home was Jalen Cochran, who was preparing to enter his redshirt freshman season. A concussion issue derailed things on the field, but off the field he was a bit homesick and had been mulling the decision to head back to the Midwest and play closer to home in Michigan. Last week he finally found a spot as he will make Miami of Ohio his next school. Cochran has the size of a big-time college level defensive end so he should fit in well in the MAC. Cochran will team up with one-time Arizona defensive tackle Elijah Watson at the school.
* Some good news with a former Wildcat on Monday as the Minnesota Vikings signed Freddie Tagaloa to a three-year deal after a rookie camp tryout that took place earlier in the month.
Football recruiting
As Arizona continues to make the rounds checking out different schools and prospects last week was a big one for new offers going out. In just a pair of days last week the Wildcats had double-digit offers go out as the recruiting cycle has kicked into high gear for the staff. The commitment process has been a bit slower, but the summer tends to bring some more decisions. For now though there is still plenty of evaluating being done.
* Last week we took a glimpse at the state of Texas and recruits to watch in that region as potential commitments down the line. This week we thought it would be a good time to take a look closer to home right in Arizona with some of the top in-state targets who have a chance to eventually become Wildcats. One of the biggest issues with in-state recruits especially at the top end of the spectrum is that so many of those recruits decide to leave home. With UA and ASU expected to be near the bottom of the preseason rankings in the conference this might be one of the toughest challenges yet for both coaching staffs to keep homegrown talent inside the state lines. Nevertheless, building from within will always be important to Rich Rodriguez and the ‘Cats and UA will end up with a good amount of recruits from right here in Arizona. What is changing right now is how the Wildcats approach recruiting within the state after the departure of Charlie Ragle. Vince Amey is now in charge of Phoenix and it has also become more of a group effort there and throughout the state with more hands being involved.
- Kenny Churchwell: Arizona has not had a ton of success at Mountain Pointe in Phoenix under Rodriguez, but the Wildcats made a move early with the versatile athlete recruit. Churchwell was being recruiting by Ragle, but there is still a connection with the rest of the staff because UA was able to get involved early. He has been out to campus before for various events and at 6-foot-3 he has the size Arizona likes on defense in its secondary. We watched him at the Rivals Camp in California last month where he worked out at receiver, but whatever position he ends up at he brings some good size and athleticism. Cal offered recently so UA will be going up against Ragle for Churchwell, but don’t underestimate staying closer to home.
