Hey guys, I had a lot of fun writing this article about Johnny Nansen and the defensive turnaround at Arizona.

I'll tweet this out tomorrow but wanted to share it here first.

It's time that Arizona fans give Nansen his flowers:

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San Francisco-Archbishop Riordan offensive tackle prospect Kalolo Ta'aga has set an official visit with Arizona for this weekend. The 6-foot-7 prospect is in his first season playing football after previously focusing on basketball earlier in his high school career. He was once committed to San Jose State but when Power 5 schools began to enter the mix he decided to back off that pledge. Arizona has been one of the most persistent schools in his recruitment with Utah, Florida, ASU, BYU, Cal and Fresno State being some of the other programs that have offered him over the course of the process.

He is still raw with it being just his first season playing the game, but the size and ability is certainly there for him to become a talent at the position. UA has been good about building connections to the Bay Area and sits in a good spot right now.

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Kevin Sumlin, former Arizona head coach and current Maryland co-OC and TEs coach, was arrested over the weekend for DUI in Florida while the Terrapins were on a bye.

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A really nice under-the-radar pickup for Arizona in the 2024 class today. The Wildcats have been building a strong pipeline into Long Beach in recent years under Jedd Fisch, and the latest member of the group is Long Beach Poly cornerback Quimari Shemwell. He moved schools for his senior year and changed positions to focus more on being a cornerback, and that has allowed him to take off and get in position to be recruited.

Arizona was on him early, as has been the case with several Long Beach-area recruits, and that has paid off with his commitment today.

The 6-foot prospect visited UA earlier in the season unofficially and has continued to pick up offers with Utah, Washington State, San Diego State and San Jose State among the offers he has added up to this point. Washington had him on campus over the weekend, and he is certainly getting looks from other Power Five schools as well.

Still, the relationship he built with John Richardson and Armond Hawkins Jr. has put the Wildcats in position to land his pledge today. He is an impressive prospect who could end up seeing more schools get involved before all is said and done.

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Hi everyone, I will be at Arizona basketball Local Media Day later today.

Let me know if you have any questions you would like me to ask head coach Tommy Lloyd and/or the players!

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona at Washington State

When: 4 p.m. (MST)

Where: Martin Stadium

TV: Pac-12 Networks

All-time series: Washington State leads 27-19

Odds: Washington State (-7.5), O/U 59


Hey everyone, I am getting the game thread up with less than three hours until the 4 p.m. (MST) kickoff between Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) and Washington State (4-1, 1-1) in Pullman.

WSU downed the Wildcats last season 31-20 at Arizona. The last time the UA defeated the Cougars 58-37 was Oct. 28, 2017, the last year Arizona made a bowl appearance.

The Associated Press has released its preseason top 25 poll this morning, and Arizona checks in at No. 12. The Wildcats will face four teams within the preseason top 10 including No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Michigan State and No. 10 Florida Atlantic. USC checks in at No. 21 as the other Pac-12 team ranked preseason while nonconference opponent Alabama was slotted at No. 24.

Hey guys, today's press conference was filled with good stuff. However, I asked Jedd Fisch about decommitments and how the program goes about that recruiting process.

Here's what Fisch said:

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Big blow for the Wildcats. Been whispers of this for the last few days and now it is in the open. Oregon is the school to watch here.

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Here is this week's extended podcast with Troy and I discussing last week's triple overtime loss to USC and this week's matchup against No. 19 Washington State. There is plenty to discuss, including what the heck Arizona ends up doing at quarterback tomorrow, so make sure to check it out.

GAME INFO​

Who: Arizona at USC
When: 7:30 p.m. (MST)
Where: LA Memorial Coliseum
TV: ESPN
All-time series: USC leads 37-8
Favorite: USC (-20.5), O/U 69.5

Hey everyone, I am getting the game thread up with about three and a half hours until the 7:30 p.m. (MST) kickoff at LA Memorial Coliseum between Arizona and No. 9 USC. The Wildcats will look to get back on track following a 7 point loss last week to Washington and will need to pull off the improbable on the road against Caleb Williams and the Trojans in order to do so. The Wildcats are aiming to pick up their first win in L.A. for the first time since Nov. 2009.

Pregame notes:

• Quarterback Noah Fifita will most likely get the start again for the Wildcats due to Jayden de Laura still recovering from his ankle injury.
• UA running back Jonah Coleman in line to get his second start of the season with Michael Wiley most likely out again

I'm out at Pac-12 Media Day, and Arizona was up first this morning. Here's video from today's sessions with Tommy Lloyd, Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo. (I'll add more as they finish uploading)

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Keona Wilhite has backed off his commitment to Arizona tonight. There had been word of a quiet visit back out to Washington recently, and then obviously the Huskies won in Tucson over the weekend. Right now, the Huskies are the team I would keep an eye on. I don't think it spells doom for the status of Elijah Rushing but it also isn't great either.

This is a definite blow for UA. If he holds off on a quick flip then it will work in favor of UA but it could move quickly now that he's backed off this pledge.

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Videos from last night

Here is my recap from Saturday night’s triple overtime thriller where Arizona fell short 43-41 in Los Angeles.

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Arizona typically avoids having in-season official visitors, but with it being such a big game and a large crowd expected the staff has made some exceptions. There will be four official visitors including quarterback commit Demond Williams. ASU commit Dylan Tapley is making the trip down as well. It makes it easy for the Wildcats to host both in-state guys throughout the entire weekend since they don't have to get on a flight.

The two Rancho Cucamonga teammates and San Diego State commits have a bye this week, so they are able to spend the full weekend with the Wildcats.

Here's a look at the group.

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Troy and I spent some time chatting about Arizona's game against No. 9 USC this week as the Wildcats look to earn a victory over the Trojans after last year's close loss to then-No. 10 USC. We both think the Wildcats keep it close once again, but can they pull off the upset in LA?

Check out the latest podcast episode for our thoughts on the matchup plus a look back at what we learned in last week's game against Washington.

So because of my schedule today, I couldn't wait until you guys posted a thread on Jedd's Presser to make my comments. But here goes. I really, really liked what Jedd said and more importantly I loved his response to the question about what he has told his players about playing USC and former teammates. To me, not only was Jedd's response about focusing on what we do and our team and not the other team being great advice, but he has tremendous credibility (as do his Assistant Coaches for the most part) in saying that if they plan on playing in the NFL, they will be facing former teammates every Sunday. And, if they can't get past that they won't be playing in the league very long. Great advice and great observation. I believe that is something every young man on that team can understand and appreciate. I am really looking forward to this weekend's game against USC and feel like we will be ready regardless of who is starting at QB.

Just saw on Acme Packaging Company a Packers Blog, that Christian Young got a tryout this week and was signed today as a "hybrid" linebacker. He now weighs 221 lbs and due to injuries they are looking for linebacker depth. Pretty cool.

A look at the top guys:

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Top-100 center Emmanuel Stephen has committed to the Wildcats over Kansas, USC, Miami and Michigan this afternoon. It's a big win for Tommy Lloyd and Arizona, who really were the first school to begin recruiting the 7-footer from up at Dream City Christian in Glendale. UA eventually offered him in August and had him on campus for an official visit last weekend sealing his commitment. He had been in line to take an official visit to Kansas this weekend, but the Wildcats lock him up before that can take place.

He is travel ball teammates with both Carter Bryant and Jamari Phillips, so there is plenty of familiarity there for the trio.

He's going to need a lot of work offensively, think Christian Koloko, when he arrives on campus but there is a lot of upside there. He was the leading blocks man in the EYBL this travel season. So, there is a lot to work with, especially defensively, and he will be a nice developmental piece for the Wildcats while also providing some immediate help on the glass and around the rim on defense.

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Arizona adds its first commitment of the day as Tucson-Salpointe's Keona Wilhite picks the Wildcats over UCLA, Oregon State, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado and BYU. This is a significant pickup for UA on its own and won't hurt the team's chances with Elijah Rushing either.

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GAME INFO​

Who: Arizona vs Washington
When: 7 p.m. (MST)
Where: Arizona Stadium
TV: Pac-12 Networks
All-time series: Washington leads 25-11-1
Favorite: Washington (-19.5), O/U 65.5

Hey everyone. I'm getting the game thread up with about a little less than five hours until the 7 p.m. kickoff at Arizona Stadium. Arizona will look to upset No. 7 Washington and get its first win against the Huskies since Nov. 15 2014 in Tucson. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita will be expected to make his first career start against UW, with Jayden de Laura dealing with an ankle injury.

Arizona Injury updates:
- Quarterback Jayden de Laura and running back Michael Wiley are DOUBTFUL
-Raymond Pulido is OUT
- Nickel back Martell Irby and defensive tackle Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei are QUESTIONABLE

Here is my recap from Arizona's 31-24 loss to Washington on Saturday night: