Alright ... got the videos all uploaded and posted. Arizona was supposed to chat about the Foster Farms Bowl in the mid-afternoon but it practiced today and that pushed everything back some. However, here are some quick notes from the media session earlier this evening.
* First, Arizona had a full practice earlier today with full pads and essentially the type of practice it has midweek during the season. The reason for it was Arizona wasn't sure where it was going and with the Las Vegas Bowl being a possibility it wanted to get a head start on preparations. Had Arizona known it would not be playing until Dec. 27 it would not have had a practice or have gone with a light practice instead. It will practice again on Wednesday.
* Rodriguez didn't comment on how much Khalil Tate practiced, but he did say the Arizona quarterback is "fine" and called the shoulder injury he suffered in the Arizona State game a "sprain" ... the UA head coach said he expects Tate to be ready to go for the bowl game against Purdue.
* Rodriguez said the bowl game isn't going to impact the recruiting schedule much with the early signing period and he is envisioning the program adding more commitments in the next couple weeks before the early signing period. He is sticking to 70 percent as his expectation for the early signing period and he said the Wildcats had nine official visitors over the weekend which means there were some not previously known that the program snuck in for trips.
* Dave Heeke said he was pleased with how things went overall this season for Arizona getting seven wins and getting to a high-level bowl game. Where things hit a sore spot with the Arizona AD was with the Territorial Cup. Maybe more than any player or Rodriguez he displayed the most displeasure with the result. He obviously matters most and it's clear he is still angry about that loss. He said it's something he doesn't want to get used to as you can hear below.
Heeke was flat out asked about Rodriguez's future at Arizona and Heeke pointed back to the things he opened with referencing the seven wins, the bowl game and leadership that emerged without ever actually answering the question.
"I'm focused on trying to find all those different ways that our program can be successful," Heeke said. "That's facilities, that's resources and we want to keep moving in a positive direction and I think we're launching that with our new indoor and remodeling Arizona Stadium - those are positive things."
* Arizona's players were pushing for the Las Vegas Bowl so that they could spend the holidays with family. The team didn't get its wish, but there were still some positives to take away from the selection of the Foster Farms Bowl. It seemed in talking with the players that the bowl itself is something the team is excited about with it being in the Bay and against a Big Ten team but they still would rather have played before Christmas this year.
"Some guys are really excited and some guys are not as excited just because of the date of the bowl," Ellison said. "Like I said, Christmas and everyone wants to go home for Christmas, but we're excited we get to play those guys so that's the big deal."
* First, Arizona had a full practice earlier today with full pads and essentially the type of practice it has midweek during the season. The reason for it was Arizona wasn't sure where it was going and with the Las Vegas Bowl being a possibility it wanted to get a head start on preparations. Had Arizona known it would not be playing until Dec. 27 it would not have had a practice or have gone with a light practice instead. It will practice again on Wednesday.
* Rodriguez didn't comment on how much Khalil Tate practiced, but he did say the Arizona quarterback is "fine" and called the shoulder injury he suffered in the Arizona State game a "sprain" ... the UA head coach said he expects Tate to be ready to go for the bowl game against Purdue.
* Rodriguez said the bowl game isn't going to impact the recruiting schedule much with the early signing period and he is envisioning the program adding more commitments in the next couple weeks before the early signing period. He is sticking to 70 percent as his expectation for the early signing period and he said the Wildcats had nine official visitors over the weekend which means there were some not previously known that the program snuck in for trips.
* Dave Heeke said he was pleased with how things went overall this season for Arizona getting seven wins and getting to a high-level bowl game. Where things hit a sore spot with the Arizona AD was with the Territorial Cup. Maybe more than any player or Rodriguez he displayed the most displeasure with the result. He obviously matters most and it's clear he is still angry about that loss. He said it's something he doesn't want to get used to as you can hear below.
Heeke was flat out asked about Rodriguez's future at Arizona and Heeke pointed back to the things he opened with referencing the seven wins, the bowl game and leadership that emerged without ever actually answering the question.
"I'm focused on trying to find all those different ways that our program can be successful," Heeke said. "That's facilities, that's resources and we want to keep moving in a positive direction and I think we're launching that with our new indoor and remodeling Arizona Stadium - those are positive things."
* Arizona's players were pushing for the Las Vegas Bowl so that they could spend the holidays with family. The team didn't get its wish, but there were still some positives to take away from the selection of the Foster Farms Bowl. It seemed in talking with the players that the bowl itself is something the team is excited about with it being in the Bay and against a Big Ten team but they still would rather have played before Christmas this year.
"Some guys are really excited and some guys are not as excited just because of the date of the bowl," Ellison said. "Like I said, Christmas and everyone wants to go home for Christmas, but we're excited we get to play those guys so that's the big deal."
