Arizona opened up its final week of spring ball Tuesday night with what could be its final padded practice until Saturday's spring game. Head coach Jedd Fisch alluded to that possibility after Tuesday's practice as he says he's still deciding whether or not that will be the case. What started off as a bit of a quiet practice ended with some strong play across the board as the Wildcats work to get in their final bits of progress in before the team moves back into conditioning mode over the rest of the spring and into the summer. Here are my top takeaways and some more notes as we hit the midway point of the week.
Top takeaways
• Cruz puts together strong performance
• Bam Smith looks rejuvenated
• Cunningham looks ready to make some more noise
• Arizona's defense being held to a high standard
• DBs continue to make big plays
Other notes
🎥 Video interviews
Head coach Jedd Fisch
QBs coach/passing game coordinator Jimmie Dougherty
Quarterback Will Plummer
Quarterback Gunner Cruz
Top takeaways
• Cruz puts together strong performance
I've been a bit critical of quarterback Gunner Cruz when it comes to his ability to make the "wow" types of plays this spring. Tuesday was his best practice in that regard in my opinion. The Washington State transfer would likely get the start if the team had a game tomorrow because of how consistent he has been throughout the first 13 practices. He simply hasn't had any bad days. Still, he hasn't been able to put together a ton of explosive/exciting plays when throwing the ball. That changed a bit Tuesday night as he hit on some very impressive throws throughout the live portions of practice. He hit Tayvian Cunningham early in the practice on a corner route that also featured a great catch by the UA receiver. However, the best play came on a pass to Thomas Reid III as Cruz hit the UA receiver on a great pass that really drew a big reaction from the team and crowd at practice. If he can continue to put together those types of plays moving forward it could end up as his job to lose when all is said and done. For the most part he has been good about avoiding trouble and making the right decisions to keep him away from mistakes, and that is something the coaching staff is going to be looking for when making its decision.
• Bam Smith looks rejuvenated
Running back Bam Smith decided to opt out of the 2020 season and he didn't begin fully participating in spring practice until recently. He sat out for most of the early practices, so he is just now starting to get his feet back underneath him. However, Tuesday he flashed some of the talent that he showed early in his career for the Wildcats and honestly looked better than I remember. He had a couple big plays during the live portion of practice with one big run that featured the redshirt sophomore cutting through the defense with some real downhill speed. UA should be mostly healthy (outside of possibly Jalen John who was injured in the first scrimmage) at the running back position heading into Saturday's spring game. Michael Wiley was back and fully working with the team this week while walk-on Nazar Bombata was also back on the field Tuesday.
• Cunningham looks ready to make some more noise
Stanley Berryhill III has been the clear top receiver over the course of spring ball, but one player not far behind him is senior speedster Tayvian Cunningham. He has done a good job of making the big plays when called upon this spring and his speed has truly shined more than ever in the new system. He's someone who feels like he has a great connection with the quarterbacks plus his speed allows him to make up for most mistakes. He can really be used in a lot of different ways and the Wildcats seem to be gearing him up for a big role in the offense this season.
• Arizona's defense being held to a high standard
I'm not sure if it's part of the plan or it's just that Arizona's head coach is an offensive coach, but the UA defense has been "punished" quite a bit this spring. It happened again Tuesday night as that group had to run sprints after practice despite having what seemed to be a strong day. Defensive coordinator Don Brown has not been shy about letting it be known that Arizona is going to have to play the catchup game in a hurry this offseason. The defense is starting to gain some confidence that is coming out on the field, and with that there is definitely a sense that the expectations are rising as well when it comes to the coaching staff. The defense, to me, has been the story of the spring and the bar is consistently being raised by the coaches.
• DBs continue to make big plays
It could just be that the expectation level is higher for the cornerback group, but the secondary has a whole seemed to hit a bit of a quiet period for a while this spring. That entire unit was on a different level during Tuesday's practice with disruptive plays all across the board. The starting unit, in particular, have a strong practice with some big plays in the red zone to halt potential scoring drives. Christian Roland-Wallace continues to be a star on the back end and he had another interception during Tuesday's practice. Safety Jaxen Turner has made some impressive strides with his development this spring as well and he put together a strong showing Tuesday. If the safety group can continue to raise its level of play as well as find some depth then the secondary could become a big strength of the team.
Other notes
- Jedd Fisch said that the program is expecting over 200 alumni in town this weekend for its alumni event that is coinciding with the spring game. Fisch said to his knowledge that is the biggest group the program has had in one weekend for the event. Nick Folk and Lance Briggs were two of the names Fisch dropped as being part of the group expected to make an appearance in Tucson this weekend.
- It was previously unclear, but the spring game is going to feature two teams as opposed to an offense vs defense matchup as I had previously said would be the case in a different thread. That has not yet been officially confirmed by Fisch, but according to Cruz that is the plan for the weekend but he is not sure which team he will be part of just yet or how the process of dividing the team will work.
- Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd stopped by the Dick Tomey Practice Fields unannounced Tuesday to watch some of the football team's work. It was the second practice Lloyd has attended since becoming UA's new coach. He tried to be a bit more discreet, but a few fans picked him out of the crowd and asked to take some pictures. Lloyd stayed and watched for about 20 minutes or so. Most of Arizona's top athletics administrators showed up at practice later in the evening in addition to president Robert C. Robbins who has been a regular observer of practice this spring.
🎥 Video interviews
Head coach Jedd Fisch
QBs coach/passing game coordinator Jimmie Dougherty
Quarterback Will Plummer
Quarterback Gunner Cruz
