It was a busy week once again and we are now a week closer to the start of the season with some sports already getting into action. School started Monday and soon enough things will get rolling even more. On a personal note, thank you to everyone here for sticking with me throughout the last week. It was a rough one and will continue to be something I adjust to as my life moves forward.
I appreciate all the messages and support, it all means a great deal to me. Now without further ado lets get back into the War Room.
Football
Camp is now officially over and this week the Wildcats will begin their normal practice schedule and things will start to look a little more familiar with now less than two weeks until the season kicks off. It was a productive camp and more than anything else the attitude has been where it has needed to be. That is the biggest change that has come from chatting with coaches and players over the last few weeks. The mentality is in the right place and that is different from how things were a year ago at this time.
Now will that translate into wins? We’ll see what happens here in the coming months, but for now things are at least positive on that side and that is a good start.
* Saturday was the Wildcats’ final practice of camp and it was a busy day overall for the team. In addition to having the final practice, which was mostly a live scrimmage, the team also had its local media day and a stop at Fort Huachuca before all was said and done. The scrimmage was the most important aspect of the day for the media to get a better gauge of the team heading into the season and while it mostly featured younger players it was still a good glimpse into the Wildcats two weeks out from the season opener.
To give you a better idea of what we saw here is a rundown of each position group after watching the team Saturday.
- Quarterbacks: Khalil Tate didn’t participate because of a minor finger injury, but he will be just fine and he did do some things at the beginning of practice throwing the ball and working with the team before the scrimmage. The story at the position was Brandon Dawkins. At this point the redshirt junior has solidified his position as the team’s starter barring a big drop off the next couple weeks. Dawkins has been sharper at other times but he was clearly the best signal caller on the field during Saturday’s scrimmage. We have mentioned this before but the ball is coming out of his hand much better this year and he made some strong throws Saturday. He did have two interceptions, but neither could be directly blamed on him. Consistency will be key and making the right reads will be the most important to his success as a passer this year, but he is on the right track and at least now looks like a better quarterback overall than he was a year ago.
Behind him, Rhett Rodriguez looked the most consistent of the group with Donovan Tate having some strong moments but also having some head scratchers with his decisions and some of his throws. He has the arm and physical makeup to get the job done, but it is clear he is going to need some time to get back in the football mindset. K’Hari Lane didn’t do as much work but he made a couple strong throws as well. It will be interesting to see what the Wildcats do with that third spot behind Dawkins and Tate. Right now Donovan Tate is the likely leader, but Rodriguez has made a nice push here toward the end of camp.
- Running backs: Saturday’s scrimmage was built more for the reserves and younger players than anyone else so players like Nick Wilson and JJ Taylor played sparingly or not at all in some cases. Both starters are ready to go for the year and both had strong showings in camp. It will be interesting to see how the carries are distributed but Wilson and Taylor will have a bulk of the workload with Taylor being used some in the slot as well. The third back right now is going to be Zach Green and he has put together a good few weeks heading into his final season. He provides the stability at the position behind the two starters and his skill set is a nice compliment to the other pieces UA has on the roster. Branden Leon had a very strong showing Saturday with a couple really nice plays including a long touchdown score. He is going to factor into this thing in some capacity over the course of the season.
The X-factor for the whole thing will be Nathan Tilford. The freshman is someone who has such good size that it will be hard to keep him off the field. He needs some more development as a running back because his style is so upright, but he is going to be a load to stop around the goal line. He is someone who feels like he could get double digit touchdowns but only rack up a small amount of yards. When he has been at his best it has been in the red zone where he is just too big and too strong to be brought down with a single defender. Right now that is where he looks like he will be the biggest help to the Wildcats and considering red zone scoring has been an issue it might be exactly what the team needs to get some more points on the board.
It is more clear than it has ever been that the running back group is Arizona’s strongest.
- Tight ends: Trevor Wood is still the leader of the group and the tight ends overall did some nice things Saturday in what turned out to be pretty limited action. Rich Rodriguez said earlier in camp he could see most if not all of the group getting time this year and there is certainly some talent there. Someone who impressed us Saturday was Bryce Wolma. The freshman from Michigan didn’t look the part when we saw him in shorts earlier in camp but once the pads went on he looked much more like a college tight end and he is someone the Wildcats could use in a couple different ways.
- Receivers: It was only a scrimmage and many of the starters were not used as much as they will be during the season, but we are not feeling as confident about the group as we were earlier in camp. There is just a lot still to be desired from the unit and some of that has to do with how much they get the ball. It will be about finding a balance for the quarterbacks, but Arizona does need to pass it more this season to keep defenses from stacking up the box and forcing the team the throw it. Shun Brown is still far and away the most talented receiver on the team and UA continues to roll with Cedric Peterson and Shawn Poindexter as the other two receivers. Donovan Walker and Donovan Moore both had strong showings Saturday while Tyrell Johnson looked better than we have seen him in a while.
He had a couple really strong plays that led to scores and his hands didn’t seem as much of an issue as they have been in the past. DeVaughn Cooper should be back in the rotation at some point this season, but he didn’t look amazing and looked like he’ll need some more time when we watched him Saturday.
- Offensive line: Arizona’s starters are going to battle it up to the end for a couple of the spots. Michael Eletise has made up ground on Christian Boettcher at the left guard spot while Gerhard de Beer is right there and in the mix again at right tackle competing with Cody Creason. Outside of that there are still some shaky spots when it comes to the rest of the rotation. Arizona’s staff is not completely satisfied with what it has right now, but there is not a lot it will be able to do about that with less than two weeks to go until the season starts. Right now the strength is in being able to clear running lanes for the backs.
The pass protection still needs work and could be a bit of an adventure as things get going this season. It is improved, but it is still not as rock solid as it could be and that will be something to work on as the next couple weeks play out.
- Defensive line: There is finally a reason to be a bit optimistic about the defensive line. Talent wise and size wise it is in a better spot than it has been in a while and there will be a steady rotation there. Parker Zellers, Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap didn’t do a whole lot in Saturday’s scrimmage since the staff decided to get some others a chance. The same went for guys like Dereck Boles and Larry Tharpe, Jr. We did get to see some others get to work though and someone who was a bit of a surprise but had a strong day was senior defensive tackle Marcus Griffin. He came up with a sack and was at least given a shot to show what he can do. Defensive line coach Vince Amey plans on using a five or six-man rotation on the inside and Griffin is continuing to compete for one of those spots.
Moving the line into two groups seems to have been for the better and while there likely won’t be a dramatic turnaround right now there is at least some reason to feel confident that the team will be able get some more pressure up front which is much needed to the group on the back end.
- Linebackers: The linebacker spots are going to be interesting. It could very well end up as one of those groups that plays a number of players over the course of the game. There isn’t a ton of separation between the players there. Right now Brandon Rutt has his spot in the rotation solidified as does Jacob Colacion. Tony Fields II remains the favorite to win the starting WILL job while Colin Schooler has made a surge late and will be in the mix at the MIKE heading into the final two weeks. Carrington Vaughn also factors into the picture as well. Lee Anderson III has continued his progress while Jose Ramirez is someone the staff will try to get on the field right away this season at the STUD position.
There is more fluidity there than originally anticipated but it is a good thing as the Wildcats actually have some depth there now and the talent level on the surface is just a bit better than we have seen in recent years overall.
I appreciate all the messages and support, it all means a great deal to me. Now without further ado lets get back into the War Room.
Football
Camp is now officially over and this week the Wildcats will begin their normal practice schedule and things will start to look a little more familiar with now less than two weeks until the season kicks off. It was a productive camp and more than anything else the attitude has been where it has needed to be. That is the biggest change that has come from chatting with coaches and players over the last few weeks. The mentality is in the right place and that is different from how things were a year ago at this time.
Now will that translate into wins? We’ll see what happens here in the coming months, but for now things are at least positive on that side and that is a good start.
* Saturday was the Wildcats’ final practice of camp and it was a busy day overall for the team. In addition to having the final practice, which was mostly a live scrimmage, the team also had its local media day and a stop at Fort Huachuca before all was said and done. The scrimmage was the most important aspect of the day for the media to get a better gauge of the team heading into the season and while it mostly featured younger players it was still a good glimpse into the Wildcats two weeks out from the season opener.
To give you a better idea of what we saw here is a rundown of each position group after watching the team Saturday.
- Quarterbacks: Khalil Tate didn’t participate because of a minor finger injury, but he will be just fine and he did do some things at the beginning of practice throwing the ball and working with the team before the scrimmage. The story at the position was Brandon Dawkins. At this point the redshirt junior has solidified his position as the team’s starter barring a big drop off the next couple weeks. Dawkins has been sharper at other times but he was clearly the best signal caller on the field during Saturday’s scrimmage. We have mentioned this before but the ball is coming out of his hand much better this year and he made some strong throws Saturday. He did have two interceptions, but neither could be directly blamed on him. Consistency will be key and making the right reads will be the most important to his success as a passer this year, but he is on the right track and at least now looks like a better quarterback overall than he was a year ago.
Behind him, Rhett Rodriguez looked the most consistent of the group with Donovan Tate having some strong moments but also having some head scratchers with his decisions and some of his throws. He has the arm and physical makeup to get the job done, but it is clear he is going to need some time to get back in the football mindset. K’Hari Lane didn’t do as much work but he made a couple strong throws as well. It will be interesting to see what the Wildcats do with that third spot behind Dawkins and Tate. Right now Donovan Tate is the likely leader, but Rodriguez has made a nice push here toward the end of camp.
- Running backs: Saturday’s scrimmage was built more for the reserves and younger players than anyone else so players like Nick Wilson and JJ Taylor played sparingly or not at all in some cases. Both starters are ready to go for the year and both had strong showings in camp. It will be interesting to see how the carries are distributed but Wilson and Taylor will have a bulk of the workload with Taylor being used some in the slot as well. The third back right now is going to be Zach Green and he has put together a good few weeks heading into his final season. He provides the stability at the position behind the two starters and his skill set is a nice compliment to the other pieces UA has on the roster. Branden Leon had a very strong showing Saturday with a couple really nice plays including a long touchdown score. He is going to factor into this thing in some capacity over the course of the season.
The X-factor for the whole thing will be Nathan Tilford. The freshman is someone who has such good size that it will be hard to keep him off the field. He needs some more development as a running back because his style is so upright, but he is going to be a load to stop around the goal line. He is someone who feels like he could get double digit touchdowns but only rack up a small amount of yards. When he has been at his best it has been in the red zone where he is just too big and too strong to be brought down with a single defender. Right now that is where he looks like he will be the biggest help to the Wildcats and considering red zone scoring has been an issue it might be exactly what the team needs to get some more points on the board.
It is more clear than it has ever been that the running back group is Arizona’s strongest.
- Tight ends: Trevor Wood is still the leader of the group and the tight ends overall did some nice things Saturday in what turned out to be pretty limited action. Rich Rodriguez said earlier in camp he could see most if not all of the group getting time this year and there is certainly some talent there. Someone who impressed us Saturday was Bryce Wolma. The freshman from Michigan didn’t look the part when we saw him in shorts earlier in camp but once the pads went on he looked much more like a college tight end and he is someone the Wildcats could use in a couple different ways.
- Receivers: It was only a scrimmage and many of the starters were not used as much as they will be during the season, but we are not feeling as confident about the group as we were earlier in camp. There is just a lot still to be desired from the unit and some of that has to do with how much they get the ball. It will be about finding a balance for the quarterbacks, but Arizona does need to pass it more this season to keep defenses from stacking up the box and forcing the team the throw it. Shun Brown is still far and away the most talented receiver on the team and UA continues to roll with Cedric Peterson and Shawn Poindexter as the other two receivers. Donovan Walker and Donovan Moore both had strong showings Saturday while Tyrell Johnson looked better than we have seen him in a while.
He had a couple really strong plays that led to scores and his hands didn’t seem as much of an issue as they have been in the past. DeVaughn Cooper should be back in the rotation at some point this season, but he didn’t look amazing and looked like he’ll need some more time when we watched him Saturday.
- Offensive line: Arizona’s starters are going to battle it up to the end for a couple of the spots. Michael Eletise has made up ground on Christian Boettcher at the left guard spot while Gerhard de Beer is right there and in the mix again at right tackle competing with Cody Creason. Outside of that there are still some shaky spots when it comes to the rest of the rotation. Arizona’s staff is not completely satisfied with what it has right now, but there is not a lot it will be able to do about that with less than two weeks to go until the season starts. Right now the strength is in being able to clear running lanes for the backs.
The pass protection still needs work and could be a bit of an adventure as things get going this season. It is improved, but it is still not as rock solid as it could be and that will be something to work on as the next couple weeks play out.
- Defensive line: There is finally a reason to be a bit optimistic about the defensive line. Talent wise and size wise it is in a better spot than it has been in a while and there will be a steady rotation there. Parker Zellers, Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap didn’t do a whole lot in Saturday’s scrimmage since the staff decided to get some others a chance. The same went for guys like Dereck Boles and Larry Tharpe, Jr. We did get to see some others get to work though and someone who was a bit of a surprise but had a strong day was senior defensive tackle Marcus Griffin. He came up with a sack and was at least given a shot to show what he can do. Defensive line coach Vince Amey plans on using a five or six-man rotation on the inside and Griffin is continuing to compete for one of those spots.
Moving the line into two groups seems to have been for the better and while there likely won’t be a dramatic turnaround right now there is at least some reason to feel confident that the team will be able get some more pressure up front which is much needed to the group on the back end.
- Linebackers: The linebacker spots are going to be interesting. It could very well end up as one of those groups that plays a number of players over the course of the game. There isn’t a ton of separation between the players there. Right now Brandon Rutt has his spot in the rotation solidified as does Jacob Colacion. Tony Fields II remains the favorite to win the starting WILL job while Colin Schooler has made a surge late and will be in the mix at the MIKE heading into the final two weeks. Carrington Vaughn also factors into the picture as well. Lee Anderson III has continued his progress while Jose Ramirez is someone the staff will try to get on the field right away this season at the STUD position.
There is more fluidity there than originally anticipated but it is a good thing as the Wildcats actually have some depth there now and the talent level on the surface is just a bit better than we have seen in recent years overall.
