* Videos
* Photo gallery
* News, notes and observations
Arizona went back to work Friday evening and there was of course plenty to see with it being the first day of training camp. Most things went as expected during the open media portion of practice which went a little bit longer than other years as about half the practice was individual work. Here are some of the news and notes to come out of the first day.
- As far as roster situation and players there and not there. Scottie Young Jr. was a continued absence from practice and Kevin Sumlin said there was no update on his status afterward in his chat with the media. Dylan Klumph and Tim Hough were not present as they get everything in order with their transfers as graduate students. Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was not at practice, which was really not unexpected, and right now he is likely going to be a post-camp addition if he makes it in.
Freshman receiver Jailen Bailey, who has yet to be added to the official roster, was out at practice for those concerned about him making it in.
- As far as practice itself, things were a bit more quiet than usual when it comes to the noise level. It certainly has a different vibe than the last several years. Maybe the yelling started after the media left, but during our time there it was fairly quiet from the head coach without much raising of voices from the coaching staff either. A few expletives here and there but otherwise just a completely different feel.
- I think the biggest noticeable change was the size of a lot of the players. It seems whatever changes Brian Johnson has made to the S&C workouts is working. The defensive line looks a lot bigger than I can remember and across the board there are a lot of guys who look like they're in better shape. For Sumlin the size difference doesn't matter if they can't play, however, so he's not throwing any parades just yet.
- It was Sumlin's birthday Friday but he said he didn't tell anyone because sometimes he's been on the bad end of some birthday pranks and he didn't want to start his career at UA like that.
- The offense didn't show off its entire first unit during the media portion, but the defense did and there were no real surprises with that group. Justin Belknap (DE), PJ Johnson (NT), Dereck Boles (DT), Kylan Wilborn (Stud), Tony Fields II (Will), Colin Schooler (Mike), Tristan Cooper (Spur), DFF (Bandit) Jarrius Wallace (FS), Jace Whittaker (CB), Lorenzo Burns (CB)
- My three freshmen standouts from the first day were Kevin Doyle, Thomas Marcus and Christian Young. Doyle throws a very nice ball and had some good throws Friday. Marcus made some very athletic catches in the drills we watched and just looked sure of himself plus he has good size. Young has good size and just had the look of someone who could be an earlier contributor based on his size.
* Observations
So to give you an idea of what we were able to see here's a quick rundown of each position group on the first day of practice.
QBs: Khalil Tate looked like Khalil Tate. He made some nice throws and just looks better and more compact with everything when it comes to his delivery. The two freshmen were both impressive. Kevin Doyle throws a very nice ball and had no issue completing throws down the field. Jamarye Joiner didn't look out of place and had some nice passes of his own. UA now has seven quarterbacks on its roster after adding an in-state player Luke Ashworth from Arcadia High.
RBs: It's Arizona's best group on offense and might be its best group overall. It is certainly the deepest position and that showed Friday. Gary Brightwell has a chance to be a real difference maker in the passing game with that burst he shows. Everyone in the group looked good and made some nice plays. Nathan Tilford again looked great.
WRs: It's hard to get a gauge on the group since there are so many new faces, but as I mentioned above Marcus looked the part and made some athletic catches. DeVaughn Cooper made some nice catches as well. Everyone else made their usual plays, but nobody else truly did anything that was miraculous or out of the ordinary. Josh Szott had a couple drops during the open portion, but he has good size and speed.
TEs: The tight end group looked pretty good overall during the media portion of practice. Both returners look good with Jamie Nunley looking like he has added some good weight over the summer. Zach Williams looks a little small to me for the tight end position and could be mistaken for a receiver at times, but he has some nice hands and a good base to build off of. Jake Peters looks the part of a college tight end already and he had some nice catches in the drills we watched.
OL: Robert Congel was working at center some and he has some good size. The offensive line as a whole looks to be in pretty good shape. Joe Gilbert kept his group on a part of the field that was hard for the media to get to, but from what I could see there is some things the group will have to work through. I'll be able to get a better feel once the pads come on.
DL: As I mentioned above the size of the defensive line was striking to see it all together again. There were some serious gains over the summer and like Sumlin said after the practice for some guys that will mean losing some weight. Boles and Johnson were a couple standouts, but someone who looked the part more than ever was JB Brown who looks ready to do some damage. He was bigger but was probably the quickest defensive linemen throughout the drills. If he can stay healthy he has a chance to have a productive season. He was working at defensive end in the second group with Mykee Irving and Finton Connolly.
LBs: The group looked good as expected. The usuals all looked the part during their drills and it was the same units as the spring with Schooler, Wilborn and Fields starting and Pandy, Colacion and Lee Anderson as the second unit. Jalen Harris worked with the third group and while he has added some weight he still could use some more bulk, but he is moving well and should have a shot to move up the depth chart.
Safeties: The safety group certainly has a lot of options especially now that Isaiah Hayes is back. He worked with the second unit on the first day of practice. Wallace, Flannigan-Fowles and Cooper were the first group with Chacho Ulloa and Xavier Bell getting some work in with that second unit as well. Both of the freshmen were impressive in what I was able to watch from them going through drills. Obviously you aren't seeing a whole lot but Christian Young and Day Day Coleman both look the part.
CBs: It was the usual group at the top with Lorenzo Burns and Jace Whittaker getting the two starting nods. Malcom Holland and Azizi Hearn worked with that second group and looked pretty good in the drills. Again, it's difficult to see how much progress they have made since they didn't get a chance to go up against the offense in the portion we watched.
Any questions you have about guys not mentioned above or things I may have missed drop them below and I'll let you know what I know or saw Friday night.
* Photo gallery
* News, notes and observations
Arizona went back to work Friday evening and there was of course plenty to see with it being the first day of training camp. Most things went as expected during the open media portion of practice which went a little bit longer than other years as about half the practice was individual work. Here are some of the news and notes to come out of the first day.
- As far as roster situation and players there and not there. Scottie Young Jr. was a continued absence from practice and Kevin Sumlin said there was no update on his status afterward in his chat with the media. Dylan Klumph and Tim Hough were not present as they get everything in order with their transfers as graduate students. Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was not at practice, which was really not unexpected, and right now he is likely going to be a post-camp addition if he makes it in.
Freshman receiver Jailen Bailey, who has yet to be added to the official roster, was out at practice for those concerned about him making it in.
- As far as practice itself, things were a bit more quiet than usual when it comes to the noise level. It certainly has a different vibe than the last several years. Maybe the yelling started after the media left, but during our time there it was fairly quiet from the head coach without much raising of voices from the coaching staff either. A few expletives here and there but otherwise just a completely different feel.
- I think the biggest noticeable change was the size of a lot of the players. It seems whatever changes Brian Johnson has made to the S&C workouts is working. The defensive line looks a lot bigger than I can remember and across the board there are a lot of guys who look like they're in better shape. For Sumlin the size difference doesn't matter if they can't play, however, so he's not throwing any parades just yet.
- It was Sumlin's birthday Friday but he said he didn't tell anyone because sometimes he's been on the bad end of some birthday pranks and he didn't want to start his career at UA like that.
- The offense didn't show off its entire first unit during the media portion, but the defense did and there were no real surprises with that group. Justin Belknap (DE), PJ Johnson (NT), Dereck Boles (DT), Kylan Wilborn (Stud), Tony Fields II (Will), Colin Schooler (Mike), Tristan Cooper (Spur), DFF (Bandit) Jarrius Wallace (FS), Jace Whittaker (CB), Lorenzo Burns (CB)
- My three freshmen standouts from the first day were Kevin Doyle, Thomas Marcus and Christian Young. Doyle throws a very nice ball and had some good throws Friday. Marcus made some very athletic catches in the drills we watched and just looked sure of himself plus he has good size. Young has good size and just had the look of someone who could be an earlier contributor based on his size.
* Observations
So to give you an idea of what we were able to see here's a quick rundown of each position group on the first day of practice.
QBs: Khalil Tate looked like Khalil Tate. He made some nice throws and just looks better and more compact with everything when it comes to his delivery. The two freshmen were both impressive. Kevin Doyle throws a very nice ball and had no issue completing throws down the field. Jamarye Joiner didn't look out of place and had some nice passes of his own. UA now has seven quarterbacks on its roster after adding an in-state player Luke Ashworth from Arcadia High.
RBs: It's Arizona's best group on offense and might be its best group overall. It is certainly the deepest position and that showed Friday. Gary Brightwell has a chance to be a real difference maker in the passing game with that burst he shows. Everyone in the group looked good and made some nice plays. Nathan Tilford again looked great.
WRs: It's hard to get a gauge on the group since there are so many new faces, but as I mentioned above Marcus looked the part and made some athletic catches. DeVaughn Cooper made some nice catches as well. Everyone else made their usual plays, but nobody else truly did anything that was miraculous or out of the ordinary. Josh Szott had a couple drops during the open portion, but he has good size and speed.
TEs: The tight end group looked pretty good overall during the media portion of practice. Both returners look good with Jamie Nunley looking like he has added some good weight over the summer. Zach Williams looks a little small to me for the tight end position and could be mistaken for a receiver at times, but he has some nice hands and a good base to build off of. Jake Peters looks the part of a college tight end already and he had some nice catches in the drills we watched.
OL: Robert Congel was working at center some and he has some good size. The offensive line as a whole looks to be in pretty good shape. Joe Gilbert kept his group on a part of the field that was hard for the media to get to, but from what I could see there is some things the group will have to work through. I'll be able to get a better feel once the pads come on.
DL: As I mentioned above the size of the defensive line was striking to see it all together again. There were some serious gains over the summer and like Sumlin said after the practice for some guys that will mean losing some weight. Boles and Johnson were a couple standouts, but someone who looked the part more than ever was JB Brown who looks ready to do some damage. He was bigger but was probably the quickest defensive linemen throughout the drills. If he can stay healthy he has a chance to have a productive season. He was working at defensive end in the second group with Mykee Irving and Finton Connolly.
LBs: The group looked good as expected. The usuals all looked the part during their drills and it was the same units as the spring with Schooler, Wilborn and Fields starting and Pandy, Colacion and Lee Anderson as the second unit. Jalen Harris worked with the third group and while he has added some weight he still could use some more bulk, but he is moving well and should have a shot to move up the depth chart.
Safeties: The safety group certainly has a lot of options especially now that Isaiah Hayes is back. He worked with the second unit on the first day of practice. Wallace, Flannigan-Fowles and Cooper were the first group with Chacho Ulloa and Xavier Bell getting some work in with that second unit as well. Both of the freshmen were impressive in what I was able to watch from them going through drills. Obviously you aren't seeing a whole lot but Christian Young and Day Day Coleman both look the part.
CBs: It was the usual group at the top with Lorenzo Burns and Jace Whittaker getting the two starting nods. Malcom Holland and Azizi Hearn worked with that second group and looked pretty good in the drills. Again, it's difficult to see how much progress they have made since they didn't get a chance to go up against the offense in the portion we watched.
Any questions you have about guys not mentioned above or things I may have missed drop them below and I'll let you know what I know or saw Friday night.
