Arizona is fully into the swing of things for fall sports and that means plenty to talk about this week once again. Since Sean Miller will be having a press conference on Tuesday to preview his team’s trip to Spain we will again break up the War Room into two parts this week. Today’s portion will focus on football and football recruiting coming off Arizona’s first week of camp including its latest open practice.
Lets jump right into it ... this could be a long one.
Football
Arizona is now officially through one week of camp with two more to go. Things will wrap up on Aug. 19 with a morning practice followed by local media day. After that school will begin and the team will go back to a more normal practice schedule in preparation for the season. This week the team will continue with night practices beginning Monday evening and there will are not any scheduled open practice sessions so it will be a little bit before we can see glimpses of the team again.
* Saturday was the first time we were able to see the team in full pads in camp and it presented a better look at the players than the first open practice did. Here is a rundown of each position group after watching an entire practice on Saturday and taking down some notes about each group. If you want to read the preliminary takeaways from Saturday’s practice you can read them here.
- Quarterbacks: As you already likely know by now the Wildcats decided to pull the red jersey off of every signal caller except Brandon Dawkins this week. There have only been two practices in pads but the redshirt junior is the only one not being allowed to take part in full contact from his group. Dawkins remains the top candidate to start the season opener and the others are battling it out for the rest of the spots. Dawkins has been taking the first team reps throughout camp and when we watched him Saturday one thing that jumped out was how well the ball is coming out of his hand now. His passing is just a bit more crisp. That was all in individual work, however, and he still showed signs of needing more development during the team periods. He made some nice plays and had some strong throws but there still isn’t exactly that big jump you would hope to see with him coming off last season. He has certainly improved, but if you were expecting a revamped and vastly improved quarterback he’s just not there right now. He does look better than the spring and definitely better than last season heading into the second week of camp.
Khalil Tate continues to do what he does well making throws down the field and making the plays he needs to make to hold onto that No. 2-spot behind Dawkins. Like Dawkins there hasn’t been that “a-ha” moment for Tate just yet and while there has been progress from the end of last season and he certainly looks improved he is still primarily doing much of the same things he did a season ago. He does look more confident in the position and that is something that can’t be overlooked.
The battle for the third spot with Arizona is going to be an interesting one between the freshmen. K’Hari Lane had a particularly good day with his turn running the third offense making some good throws and having enough mobility to keep plays alive. He looks the part the least of the quarterbacks on the roster but his ability to make throws that some of the others can’t is going to have him in the conversation for that third spot. Donovan Tate looks like the type of quarterback the team has been searching for during its entire time in Tucson. He is tall and has plenty of athleticism, but his football skills certainly need some fine-tuning. There is nothing that necessarily blows you away with what he does and there is still some rust there. He is someone who will be interesting to see at the end of the month when he gets back into the football groove. He is not a bad option for Arizona with the third spot, but for now there is not one thing you can point to that he does well just yet.
We didn’t see much of Andrew Tovar on Saturday during the team portion of practice, but Rhett Rodriguez had some opportunities to get in there and he showed some decent flashes. The ball doesn’t come out of his hand as quickly as the others and he didn’t get much help from the offensive line Saturday, but he knows the offense and that will give him a shot. He’s probably running fifth right now in the race, but there looks like a bit of a gap between him and Lane and Donovan Tate.
- Running backs: It is no secret that Arizona is loaded at the running back spot and the only issue the team will have this season will be figuring out a way to use them all. As of now Nick Wilson and JJ Taylor will be the starters. Wilson ran with the first unit on Saturday and looked solid showing no signs of injury heading into Week No. 2. Taylor has mostly been used with the third unit in camp but he has occasionally been working with the first group at times. Rodriguez said last week that the team will limit him just a bit to keep him fully healthy for the year as he is coming off that broken ankle from last season. Zach Green has been used as the second-unit running back and right now he is someone we would expect to be the third option behind the two starters. He is in good shape and he has shown the coaches what they need to see to get him on the field more this year.
It will be interesting what UA does with Nathan Tilford. From an outright talent perspective he might be the best on the roster at his position, but he also shows flashes of not being quite ready. In a perfect world you would redshirt him until Wilson and Green leave next season allowing him to have his maximum impact and more touches. Arizona is not necessarily in a position where it can keep its most talented players off the field so it will have a decision to make about him. There will be some growing pains with Tilford as he still needs to figure out how to be less upright and learn the ins and outs of the position, but he has value right now and could help in the red zone with his size. He even showed some burst against the third-unit defense Saturday outrunning the entire group for a long touchdown.
Another freshman, Gary Brightwell, has been used mostly in the slot during camp as the Wildcat again try and find ways to get their most talented players on the field. Dakota Poe and Branden Leon were being used where you would normally see someone like Brightwell so the Wildcats are really exploring using him as more of a receiver right now.
- Tight ends: Arizona has its most talented tight end group under Rodriguez and it might just very well be the time the coaching staff decides to break out the passes to those tight ends even more this year. Projected starer and veteran of the group, Trevor Wood, caught a touchdown pass during one of the team periods that looked like the type of play that could really help out the quarterbacks and thus the rest of the offense. The team used a lot of “11” personnel meaning the tight end was being used instead of four receivers and it’s something Rodriguez said the team has done a lot of in camp already. Wood is the clear front runner to be used most out of the group but Jamie Nunley will likely see the field as well as the second option at tight end. He has gained some good weight and looks the part more than ever.
In addition to that the two freshmen showed some nice things during the first week although Bryce Gilbert was out Saturday with an injury. Bryce Wolma looked much better in pads than he did in shorts and has the type of size that he could split out wide if the Wildcats ever needed it.
- Receivers: As we mentioned above the Wildcats have been using a tight end in place of one of the receivers most of the time on the field and Saturday showed that again. That means less of that depth needing to show up but the Wildcats still want to have more options emerge at the positions. Shun Brown is someone Rodriguez told the media he doesn’t want people to forget about and while he didn’t make the big plays down the field like we saw last season and in spring he is still the best option the team has at receiver and he will be a key to the offense this year.
Shawn Poindexter has all but cemented his spot at one outside receiver position as he has continued to make the plays necessary at the position in addition to being the tallest receiver who has been the most consistent. Size is not something Arizona has a ton of at the receiver spots and right now he is the best option there although Zach Benjamin will see time as part of the second unit.
Moving on with the last receiver position for now it has belonged to Cedric Peterson who had a good first week of camp. He took a big hit during the team portion of Saturday’s practice and was able to come away without any damage so as long as he stays healthy he should be good to go as the other starter. Should Arizona go with four receivers right now Tony Ellison has the inside track on being that other guy with the first unit as he has continued to have plenty of buzz through the first week of camp – something we have heard before. Tyrell Johnson was limited on Saturday with an injury but he will be penciled in at the slot with the second unit while Cam Denson and the aforementioned Benjamin holding down duties with the second group at receiver.
Lets jump right into it ... this could be a long one.
Football
Arizona is now officially through one week of camp with two more to go. Things will wrap up on Aug. 19 with a morning practice followed by local media day. After that school will begin and the team will go back to a more normal practice schedule in preparation for the season. This week the team will continue with night practices beginning Monday evening and there will are not any scheduled open practice sessions so it will be a little bit before we can see glimpses of the team again.
* Saturday was the first time we were able to see the team in full pads in camp and it presented a better look at the players than the first open practice did. Here is a rundown of each position group after watching an entire practice on Saturday and taking down some notes about each group. If you want to read the preliminary takeaways from Saturday’s practice you can read them here.
- Quarterbacks: As you already likely know by now the Wildcats decided to pull the red jersey off of every signal caller except Brandon Dawkins this week. There have only been two practices in pads but the redshirt junior is the only one not being allowed to take part in full contact from his group. Dawkins remains the top candidate to start the season opener and the others are battling it out for the rest of the spots. Dawkins has been taking the first team reps throughout camp and when we watched him Saturday one thing that jumped out was how well the ball is coming out of his hand now. His passing is just a bit more crisp. That was all in individual work, however, and he still showed signs of needing more development during the team periods. He made some nice plays and had some strong throws but there still isn’t exactly that big jump you would hope to see with him coming off last season. He has certainly improved, but if you were expecting a revamped and vastly improved quarterback he’s just not there right now. He does look better than the spring and definitely better than last season heading into the second week of camp.
Khalil Tate continues to do what he does well making throws down the field and making the plays he needs to make to hold onto that No. 2-spot behind Dawkins. Like Dawkins there hasn’t been that “a-ha” moment for Tate just yet and while there has been progress from the end of last season and he certainly looks improved he is still primarily doing much of the same things he did a season ago. He does look more confident in the position and that is something that can’t be overlooked.
The battle for the third spot with Arizona is going to be an interesting one between the freshmen. K’Hari Lane had a particularly good day with his turn running the third offense making some good throws and having enough mobility to keep plays alive. He looks the part the least of the quarterbacks on the roster but his ability to make throws that some of the others can’t is going to have him in the conversation for that third spot. Donovan Tate looks like the type of quarterback the team has been searching for during its entire time in Tucson. He is tall and has plenty of athleticism, but his football skills certainly need some fine-tuning. There is nothing that necessarily blows you away with what he does and there is still some rust there. He is someone who will be interesting to see at the end of the month when he gets back into the football groove. He is not a bad option for Arizona with the third spot, but for now there is not one thing you can point to that he does well just yet.
We didn’t see much of Andrew Tovar on Saturday during the team portion of practice, but Rhett Rodriguez had some opportunities to get in there and he showed some decent flashes. The ball doesn’t come out of his hand as quickly as the others and he didn’t get much help from the offensive line Saturday, but he knows the offense and that will give him a shot. He’s probably running fifth right now in the race, but there looks like a bit of a gap between him and Lane and Donovan Tate.
- Running backs: It is no secret that Arizona is loaded at the running back spot and the only issue the team will have this season will be figuring out a way to use them all. As of now Nick Wilson and JJ Taylor will be the starters. Wilson ran with the first unit on Saturday and looked solid showing no signs of injury heading into Week No. 2. Taylor has mostly been used with the third unit in camp but he has occasionally been working with the first group at times. Rodriguez said last week that the team will limit him just a bit to keep him fully healthy for the year as he is coming off that broken ankle from last season. Zach Green has been used as the second-unit running back and right now he is someone we would expect to be the third option behind the two starters. He is in good shape and he has shown the coaches what they need to see to get him on the field more this year.
It will be interesting what UA does with Nathan Tilford. From an outright talent perspective he might be the best on the roster at his position, but he also shows flashes of not being quite ready. In a perfect world you would redshirt him until Wilson and Green leave next season allowing him to have his maximum impact and more touches. Arizona is not necessarily in a position where it can keep its most talented players off the field so it will have a decision to make about him. There will be some growing pains with Tilford as he still needs to figure out how to be less upright and learn the ins and outs of the position, but he has value right now and could help in the red zone with his size. He even showed some burst against the third-unit defense Saturday outrunning the entire group for a long touchdown.
Another freshman, Gary Brightwell, has been used mostly in the slot during camp as the Wildcat again try and find ways to get their most talented players on the field. Dakota Poe and Branden Leon were being used where you would normally see someone like Brightwell so the Wildcats are really exploring using him as more of a receiver right now.
- Tight ends: Arizona has its most talented tight end group under Rodriguez and it might just very well be the time the coaching staff decides to break out the passes to those tight ends even more this year. Projected starer and veteran of the group, Trevor Wood, caught a touchdown pass during one of the team periods that looked like the type of play that could really help out the quarterbacks and thus the rest of the offense. The team used a lot of “11” personnel meaning the tight end was being used instead of four receivers and it’s something Rodriguez said the team has done a lot of in camp already. Wood is the clear front runner to be used most out of the group but Jamie Nunley will likely see the field as well as the second option at tight end. He has gained some good weight and looks the part more than ever.
In addition to that the two freshmen showed some nice things during the first week although Bryce Gilbert was out Saturday with an injury. Bryce Wolma looked much better in pads than he did in shorts and has the type of size that he could split out wide if the Wildcats ever needed it.
- Receivers: As we mentioned above the Wildcats have been using a tight end in place of one of the receivers most of the time on the field and Saturday showed that again. That means less of that depth needing to show up but the Wildcats still want to have more options emerge at the positions. Shun Brown is someone Rodriguez told the media he doesn’t want people to forget about and while he didn’t make the big plays down the field like we saw last season and in spring he is still the best option the team has at receiver and he will be a key to the offense this year.
Shawn Poindexter has all but cemented his spot at one outside receiver position as he has continued to make the plays necessary at the position in addition to being the tallest receiver who has been the most consistent. Size is not something Arizona has a ton of at the receiver spots and right now he is the best option there although Zach Benjamin will see time as part of the second unit.
Moving on with the last receiver position for now it has belonged to Cedric Peterson who had a good first week of camp. He took a big hit during the team portion of Saturday’s practice and was able to come away without any damage so as long as he stays healthy he should be good to go as the other starter. Should Arizona go with four receivers right now Tony Ellison has the inside track on being that other guy with the first unit as he has continued to have plenty of buzz through the first week of camp – something we have heard before. Tyrell Johnson was limited on Saturday with an injury but he will be penciled in at the slot with the second unit while Cam Denson and the aforementioned Benjamin holding down duties with the second group at receiver.
