Arizona wrapped up its first scrimmage of fall practices Saturday night. The group went late with the team not finishing up until close to 9 p.m. Head coach Kevin Sumlin was up again to speak with the media (video above) after practice and he shed some light on what Saturday's scrimmage looked like plus where things stand with the team after the first full week of fall practices.
▶ Sumlin pleased overall with Saturday's scrimmage
The Wildcats' first scrimmage lasted 90 plays (without special teams plays) and overall it sounds like things went well. Sumlin noted that the team had just two penalties throughout the 90 plays, one on offense and one on defense, giving him some confidence about the discipline of the team. He made sure to mention that kicker Lucas Havrisik hit field goals from 57 and 53 yards out plus he noted that punter Kyle Ostendorp performed well, too. He added that he believes nearly everybody had a chance to get on the field in some capacity to show what they can do.
"I think we've got some depth," he said. "I've gotta wait and watch the tape, but I thought our guys competed. ... We worked headsets today with our coaching staff. We've got new coaches. So, it was really a complete operational scrimmage, so from my standpoint operationally things went well. I gotta watch the tape and look at some of the other things from a fine-tuning standpoint."
Sumlin said the team will next focus on red zone work with another scrimmage set for next Saturday, and it is at that point he believes he will have a true understanding of what the Wildcats can be this season and who needs to be on the field most.
▶ Running back group again among early camp standouts
Arizona is down one of its running backs this season with redshirt sophomore Bam Smith deciding to opt out of the season because of coronavirus concerns. Still, the Wildcats have an impressive and deep group at the position. So, it is not a shock that once again the running back unit has caught Sumlin's attention. Freshmen Frank Brown and Jalen John were two of the more highly recruited prospects in the 2020 class, so it is not a huge surprise to see them have success at the college level, but they have already started to make their mark one week into their first camp. In particular, John is someone who has left Sumlin impressed with his ability to run the ball.
"Jalen is making yards," Sumlin said Saturday night. "He's really heavy handed. He just makes yards and is explosive at the point of contact. So, the two young running backs have really in the first week shown why we recruited them and why they're here. They wanna play and that gives us a pretty good situation."
Sumlin also pointed out the performances of sophomore running back Michael Wiley and veteran back Nathan Tilford as other early standouts in camp. Tight end Stacey Marshall and freshman receiver Dyelan Miller were two other players Sumlin singled out as having been impressive so far through the first week. He said Marshall being a standout already gives the Wildcats some flexibility in the running game to use more two tight end sets.
▶ Backup quarterback battle remains ongoing
One of the more intriguing battles to track this fall is what the Wildcats will ultimately do at the backup quarterback position. Rhett Rodriguez has the most experience by far, but the other two players fighting for the job have more pure talent. Rodriguez looked great during the team's open portion of practice this week when I was able to watch him, but as of now the staff is in no rush to make any type of decision. Last weekend offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said he would give it about a week to come to a conclusion about where to go with the backup spot, but Sumlin said Saturday night that it will probably continue for another week since there is currently a "healthy competition" going on with that group behind starter Grant Gunnell. All three of the reserve options, including Rodriguez, Kevin Doyle and freshman Will Plummer, had some opportunities to work with the first unit Sumlin said and the staff still wants to see who separates himself from the others.
"They all got a shot tonight," he said Saturday. "They've all been getting shots all week, but like I said we got a whole other week to shake that whole thing out. They're all getting reps, Rhett, KD, Will, they're all getting in there. We're rotating guys in there, some with the ones too. So, I've been pleased with their progress so far ... we'll let that play out for at least another week."
▶ Offensive line depth already paying dividends
Offensive line coach Kyle DeVan talked about the team's depth this week and he mentioned that Arizona is finally at a point where it can simply move a player up the line when someone ahead of him on the depth chart gets injured. That has already been put into action in camp as starting center Josh McCauley has been dealing with a knee injury that has forced him to miss some practice. Steven Bailey is second on the depth chart and has been getting the opportunity to move into some action with the first unit while the staff is also preparing freshman Josh Baker for the opportunity to play if needed. Baker has been one of the players who has impressed the staff already in camp. Right now Sumlin is happy to have some actual depth up front so the team doesn't lose too much when a player like McCauley goes down.
"We know Josh can play," Sumlin said inferring that him missing practice time to get healthy is not a big deal. "So, it's given us an opportunity to really leave everybody as is and move one guy in there that can play and a freshman. We're gonna leave the line the way it is, not moving guys around all over the place."
Sumlin confirmed what I have been projecting up front that Jordan Morgan is the team's starting left tackle, Donovan Laie is the team's starting left guard, Robert Congel is the starting right guard and Paiton Fears is the starting right tackle as things stand right now.
▶ Arizona's young linebackers adjusting to new roles
There has been so much talk about freshman linebacker DJ Mourning that some of the other players can get lost in the shuffle, but be sure that each scholarship linebacker will have to play some kind of role this year for the Wildcats' defense. Two of the players that are going to be stepping into bigger roles this season because of the depth issues at the position are sophomore inside linebacker Derrion Clark and redshirt freshman outside linebacker Kwabena Watson. Clark played in every game last season for the Wildcats, but most of his work came on special teams where he became one of the team's best players in that area. He did not have much of an opportunity to get on the field as a linebacker, however. Watson played sparingly as a freshman and ended up taking a redshirt year.
Both have a shot at starting this season because of the depth problems, but both linebackers are still in the process of fine tuning their games still. Clark is more comfortable of the two second-year players and Sumlin has been impressed by him so far during camp but wants to see more consistency right now.
"He's a good football player," the UA head coach said. "We've seen that when he was a freshman on special teams. He made a bunch of plays on kickoff cover. Obviously we trust him when you put a guy on a punt team for punt protection, so he's been in big games and he's made decisions on the run and it shows right now.
"He's a guy that's got to be more consistent and that is what has kept him off the field completely all the time, but with age and experience you see that coming. He's seeing things a lot better. He's gonna be right in the mix, he's gonna play a lot."
Watson is being required to do some different things than he did last season and the year before that when he was a high school standout edge rusher. His strength is getting to the quarterback and making plays behind the line of scrimmage coming off the edge. However, as an outside linebacker in Paul Rhoads' system there is less of that required, especially with Jalen Harris getting those responsibilities on the other side, so there has been an adjustment for Watson that is still ongoing a week into camp.
"He's more of a natural pass rusher," Sumlin said. "He was undersized when he got here, in the 190s and whatnot, but the guy only lost two wrestling matches in his history in high school. So, you know what kind of hands he's got and what kind of flexibility and you know what kind of bend he has. He shows that. He's bigger now.
"He's just gotta understand what he's doing in space. If we just tell him, 'go sic 'em' he's good. Somebody moves around and we spread out the sets he gets out there in space he's a little lost because that's not what he did in high school. But, there is definitely room for him as a pass rusher because he's got tools and he's getting better."
🎥 VIDEOCornerback Christian Roland-Wallace
