Well it was certainly an interesting day for Arizona. It was another good practice and the defense was really into it at the end of things. At this stage the offense is still a little behind the defense, but as things get more settled with the center position and offensive line that should start to fall into place. It was a shorter practice after Rich Rodriguez decided he liked the work the Wildcats have put in this week. He was a little more vocal Saturday night, but still he was pleased with the progress UA made this week.
He said it was the best fourth practice of fall camp he has had and things continue to look positive for UA going into the new week. Monday will be the first day in full pads and that is when the next opportunity for progress and separation will be.
* The big news of the day was of course Carter Wood likely being ruled out for the season and his career with what Rodriguez called a "chronic" foot ailment. At this stage UA is not confident Wood will be back at any point this year and his career is now likely over. Obviously, Wood was the leader for the center position and that has changed some things with the offensive line that I will discuss later.
* Arizona has some guys limited right now including Jarvis McCall, Matt Morin and Trevor Wood. In addition to that Tyrell Johnson has a foot injury and was a participant in practice Saturday after working off to the side with his boot on Friday night. That is not usually a good sign considering it was the fourth day of camp and Johnson was not even suited up. It will be interesting to see if the day completely off gives him a chance to come back next week.
On the good side of injury news Trey Griffey was back and a full go Saturday night as was expected. I mentioned he looked good when he was working off to the side early in camp and he was back with the first unit on Saturday.
Position breakdowns
Quarterbacks: Arizona's quarterbacks continue to make progress this fall and now that the center position battle at least has some more direction things should settle in a little more now. There is not going to be any change heading into the season with the starter situation, but the group as a whole has improved incrementally in the early going.
Running backs: The top two spots are cemented at this point with Nick Wilson and Jared Baker leading the way and Zach Green is closing in on being that third guy in the group right now. The redshirt sophomore has been getting plenty of touches in the early going with Arizona's second unit and he has been productive so far. Jonathan Haden remains his biggest competition but others will have their fair shot too.
Receivers/tight ends: Arizona's first unit got another piece back Saturday as Griffey made his return to the unit now that he is a full go. The redshirt junior worked himself in at David Richards' spot as the duo rotated in and out within that first unit. Now that he is healthy Griffey can get some more work in and he is expected to be a big contributor for UA this season. Darrell Cloy was able to get some more work in with others ahead of him limited and he still has a ways to go but he has made progress since the spring.
He definitely looks a lot more in shape than he did in the spring, and he is a pass-catching threat out of his tight end spot. Shun Brown finished up his first week as one of the most talked about newcomers on offense and at this point he is likely playing himself into a contributor for the 'Cats this year. He has had a strong start to camp.
Offensive line: Arizona has had to do some shifting now that Carter Wood is likely done and that has meant Cayman Bundage at center and Zach Hemmila at Bundage's old guard spot. The big knock on Bundage playing center throughout his career is that he has had trouble snapping the ball. Things went well the last two days and he has looked much improved in that area and that is a very good thing for Arizona. If he can continue his progress there it will give UA some good size along the offensive line and a real nasty center in a position where you have to be that way.
Hemmila is a little more natural at guard, so that would work too. It will be interesting to see who else emerges in that second group but Layth Friekh, TD Gross and David Catalano look to be the early leaders to join the starting unit as Arizona's group of eight offensive linemen it likes to have going into the season.
Defensive line: As we have been mentioning throughout the start of fall camp Arizona has solidified its first and second units up to this point with the usual faces getting the most run. Luca Bruno continues to be the big piece that could have a real impact this year. He has his weight up and Rodriguez told me Saturday night he expects Bruno to be a pretty big contributor this year. By now you know the names of the guys expected to contribute the most this year, but one guy I would continue to keep an eye on is Marcus Griffin.
He has some versatility to his game and he has slowly improved himself. He still has some technique things to clean up, but you can see the progress.
Linebackers: Overall Arizona's linebacker group has looked stronger than originally thought coming into fall camp. Jake Matthews has really improved his knowledge of the system and looks a lot more comfortable and physically he has taken steps forward as well. DeAndre' Miller being healthy has made a difference as well. He brings a little something different to Arizona's linebacker group and he should find himself in some games as well. This fall for the linebackers continues to be about being ready to move Scooby Wright around so the team can get the most out of him this year and so far so good with that progress.
Safeties: No real changes with Arizona's safety group, but overall the group is a promising one. There is a lot of confidence and swagger in that unit and those safeties will have to be good for Arizona to have success this year. Tellas Jones looks a lot more comfortable with that first unit a week through fall camp and you know what you're going to get from Will Parks. Jamar Allah is another one who knows what his job is and he has been performing well in practice too.
One of the newcomers who has set himself up well after one week is Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles who looks to be headed for some playing time this year at the back-up free safety spot. He had a productive first week and his length and ability to cover ground is helping him quite a bit right now. It's pretty remarkable when you consider he did not play in his senior high school season last year.
Cornerbacks: Arizona continues to have to deal with injuries to McCall and that meant DaVonte' Neal got the nod with the first unit Saturday night. He was of course opposite Cam Denson, and both have had strong starts to fall camp. One interesting move was seeing Sammy Morrison get some run with the second unit Saturday as all the corners moved up a spot with McCall out. Morrison has had a nice start to camp and after the first day he has settled in. He looked a little unsure of himself the first day of camp, but by Saturday he had acclimated himself about as well as a freshman could.
It will be interesting to see how much he can get in the mix moving forward, but he is attentive and a worker - two things Arizona's staff likes.
Depth chart
Offense
QB: Anu Solomon; Jerrard Randall
RB: Nick Wilson or Jared Baker; Zach Green
WR: Cayleb Jones; Abraham Mendivil
WR: David Richards or Trey Griffey; Tony Ellison
Slot: Nate Phillips; Shun Brown
Slot: Samajie Grant; Tyrell Johnson
TE: Josh Kern, Trevor Wood
OT: Freddie Tagaloa, Layth Friekh
OG: Zach Hemmila; Levi Walton or David Catalano
C: Cayman Bundage; Zach Hemmila or David Catalano
OG: Jacob Alsadek; Kaige Lawrence
OT: Lene Maiava; TD Gross
Defense
DT: Luca Bruno; Jeff Worthy
NT: Parker Zellers; Sani Fuimaono
DE: Reggie Gilbert; Anthony Fotu
LB: Derrick Turituri; Cody Ippolito
LB: Scooby Wright; Haden Gregory
LB: Jake Matthews; DeAndre' Miller
Spur: Will Parks; Anthony Lopez
Bandit: Tellas Jones; Paul Magloire
FS: Jamar Allah; Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
CB: Cam Denson; Devin Holiday or Sammy Morrison
CB: Jarvis McCall; DaVonte' Neal
He said it was the best fourth practice of fall camp he has had and things continue to look positive for UA going into the new week. Monday will be the first day in full pads and that is when the next opportunity for progress and separation will be.
* The big news of the day was of course Carter Wood likely being ruled out for the season and his career with what Rodriguez called a "chronic" foot ailment. At this stage UA is not confident Wood will be back at any point this year and his career is now likely over. Obviously, Wood was the leader for the center position and that has changed some things with the offensive line that I will discuss later.
* Arizona has some guys limited right now including Jarvis McCall, Matt Morin and Trevor Wood. In addition to that Tyrell Johnson has a foot injury and was a participant in practice Saturday after working off to the side with his boot on Friday night. That is not usually a good sign considering it was the fourth day of camp and Johnson was not even suited up. It will be interesting to see if the day completely off gives him a chance to come back next week.
On the good side of injury news Trey Griffey was back and a full go Saturday night as was expected. I mentioned he looked good when he was working off to the side early in camp and he was back with the first unit on Saturday.
Position breakdowns
Quarterbacks: Arizona's quarterbacks continue to make progress this fall and now that the center position battle at least has some more direction things should settle in a little more now. There is not going to be any change heading into the season with the starter situation, but the group as a whole has improved incrementally in the early going.
Running backs: The top two spots are cemented at this point with Nick Wilson and Jared Baker leading the way and Zach Green is closing in on being that third guy in the group right now. The redshirt sophomore has been getting plenty of touches in the early going with Arizona's second unit and he has been productive so far. Jonathan Haden remains his biggest competition but others will have their fair shot too.
Receivers/tight ends: Arizona's first unit got another piece back Saturday as Griffey made his return to the unit now that he is a full go. The redshirt junior worked himself in at David Richards' spot as the duo rotated in and out within that first unit. Now that he is healthy Griffey can get some more work in and he is expected to be a big contributor for UA this season. Darrell Cloy was able to get some more work in with others ahead of him limited and he still has a ways to go but he has made progress since the spring.
He definitely looks a lot more in shape than he did in the spring, and he is a pass-catching threat out of his tight end spot. Shun Brown finished up his first week as one of the most talked about newcomers on offense and at this point he is likely playing himself into a contributor for the 'Cats this year. He has had a strong start to camp.
Offensive line: Arizona has had to do some shifting now that Carter Wood is likely done and that has meant Cayman Bundage at center and Zach Hemmila at Bundage's old guard spot. The big knock on Bundage playing center throughout his career is that he has had trouble snapping the ball. Things went well the last two days and he has looked much improved in that area and that is a very good thing for Arizona. If he can continue his progress there it will give UA some good size along the offensive line and a real nasty center in a position where you have to be that way.
Hemmila is a little more natural at guard, so that would work too. It will be interesting to see who else emerges in that second group but Layth Friekh, TD Gross and David Catalano look to be the early leaders to join the starting unit as Arizona's group of eight offensive linemen it likes to have going into the season.
Defensive line: As we have been mentioning throughout the start of fall camp Arizona has solidified its first and second units up to this point with the usual faces getting the most run. Luca Bruno continues to be the big piece that could have a real impact this year. He has his weight up and Rodriguez told me Saturday night he expects Bruno to be a pretty big contributor this year. By now you know the names of the guys expected to contribute the most this year, but one guy I would continue to keep an eye on is Marcus Griffin.
He has some versatility to his game and he has slowly improved himself. He still has some technique things to clean up, but you can see the progress.
Linebackers: Overall Arizona's linebacker group has looked stronger than originally thought coming into fall camp. Jake Matthews has really improved his knowledge of the system and looks a lot more comfortable and physically he has taken steps forward as well. DeAndre' Miller being healthy has made a difference as well. He brings a little something different to Arizona's linebacker group and he should find himself in some games as well. This fall for the linebackers continues to be about being ready to move Scooby Wright around so the team can get the most out of him this year and so far so good with that progress.
Safeties: No real changes with Arizona's safety group, but overall the group is a promising one. There is a lot of confidence and swagger in that unit and those safeties will have to be good for Arizona to have success this year. Tellas Jones looks a lot more comfortable with that first unit a week through fall camp and you know what you're going to get from Will Parks. Jamar Allah is another one who knows what his job is and he has been performing well in practice too.
One of the newcomers who has set himself up well after one week is Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles who looks to be headed for some playing time this year at the back-up free safety spot. He had a productive first week and his length and ability to cover ground is helping him quite a bit right now. It's pretty remarkable when you consider he did not play in his senior high school season last year.
Cornerbacks: Arizona continues to have to deal with injuries to McCall and that meant DaVonte' Neal got the nod with the first unit Saturday night. He was of course opposite Cam Denson, and both have had strong starts to fall camp. One interesting move was seeing Sammy Morrison get some run with the second unit Saturday as all the corners moved up a spot with McCall out. Morrison has had a nice start to camp and after the first day he has settled in. He looked a little unsure of himself the first day of camp, but by Saturday he had acclimated himself about as well as a freshman could.
It will be interesting to see how much he can get in the mix moving forward, but he is attentive and a worker - two things Arizona's staff likes.
Depth chart
Offense
QB: Anu Solomon; Jerrard Randall
RB: Nick Wilson or Jared Baker; Zach Green
WR: Cayleb Jones; Abraham Mendivil
WR: David Richards or Trey Griffey; Tony Ellison
Slot: Nate Phillips; Shun Brown
Slot: Samajie Grant; Tyrell Johnson
TE: Josh Kern, Trevor Wood
OT: Freddie Tagaloa, Layth Friekh
OG: Zach Hemmila; Levi Walton or David Catalano
C: Cayman Bundage; Zach Hemmila or David Catalano
OG: Jacob Alsadek; Kaige Lawrence
OT: Lene Maiava; TD Gross
Defense
DT: Luca Bruno; Jeff Worthy
NT: Parker Zellers; Sani Fuimaono
DE: Reggie Gilbert; Anthony Fotu
LB: Derrick Turituri; Cody Ippolito
LB: Scooby Wright; Haden Gregory
LB: Jake Matthews; DeAndre' Miller
Spur: Will Parks; Anthony Lopez
Bandit: Tellas Jones; Paul Magloire
FS: Jamar Allah; Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
CB: Cam Denson; Devin Holiday or Sammy Morrison
CB: Jarvis McCall; DaVonte' Neal
