Finally we get to see something. Arizona opened up Saturday night's practice to the media and let us watch the entire thing giving more insight than we were able to get in the first 30 minutes of the first practice on Monday. It was a beneficial time since UA is now into full pads and you can certainly see the team and rotation starting to take shape. I'll try my best to keep it short but here is a rundown of what stood out in Saturday's practice with some quick notes.
* It was an interesting practice and one that was won by the offense with a 75-63 victory in the team's modified scoring system for Rich Rodriguez's group. The UA head coach wasn't exactly happy with everything and one incident in particular led him on a bit of a tirade during the middle of practice. It was a big hit from redshirt senior Jarvis McCall on starting outside receiver Shawn Poindexter on a play over the middle. There was no flag thrown on the play and it looked clean from my own eyes but in a game it likely would have meant at the very least a review for targeting. Rodriguez felt Poindexter was a defenseless receiver and didn't like the play. He said the team had a meeting about such things and he expects more from upperclassmen and it bothered him quite a bit for the rest of the practice.
* In addition to that it was our first extended look at the freshmen class who were not on campus back in the spring as well as newcomers who are getting their chance to get some work in. UA used up a bit more of the newcomers for the scrimmage portion looking to get them up to speed and it was certainly an interesting time. The group is definitely talented and made some strong plays throughout the day and there is plenty of promise there. The group is definitely stronger on the defensive side of the ball right now and those guys have a chance to contribute earlier in my opinion but there were a few freshmen offensive players who performed well.
* I know you all are interested in what's going on up front and the two newcomers who stood out to me most Saturday night were Dereck Boles and Kurtis Brown. It was my first chance to see both in full pads and they look the part in every way. Arizona mixed up the groups a bit so it wasn't truly a first team or a second team, etc. However, Boles played with what was essentially the first-unit defense for most of the night and he looks like he could very well be that missing piece that fans will get excited about up front. I don't know that he earns the starting job at nose by the season but he looks like someone who will play a ton this year and Rodriguez said the former Boise State standout has had a good start to camp. He's big, he's agile and he was creating some push and getting into the backfield Saturday night. Just from the eye test he is someone I think fans will be impressed with. Brown is another who looks the part and was getting a good amount of field time tonight. He either has grown or is just bigger than I remember when he's in pads, because he also looked the part of a legitimate college football defensive lineman. He didn't have a ton of game-changing plays like Boles but he was getting good push and again he just looks like what you think of when you think of a college defensive linemen. For fans calling for bigger defensive linemen they will be happy when they see both Brown and Boles.
* Arizona was doing some mixing and matching at linebacker tonight getting a ton of guys some work, and at one point ran quite a bit with Colin Schooler at the Mike and Tony Fields II at the Will spot. It will be interesting how much that comes up during the season but it is an interesting combination for the Wildcats to use. Anthony Pandy made some strong plays at the Will position including a couple sacks and a tackle for loss. The stud really has turned into another defensive end for the time being. If you asked an average fan who had never seen Arizona play before what it's defense was they probably wouldn't be able to tell you. There's some different things going on with it right now including having more corners on the field at times – there were times when Lorenzo Burns, Jace Whittaker and Dan Cruikshank were all on the field – plus essentially a four-man front for a lot of the practice. There wasn't a whole lot of the stud dropping into coverage and that is consistent with what we've been hearing about practice. Lee Anderson II will be one to watch at the stud position as things continue and if DeAndre' Miller can't go. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Anderson is competing currently for the starting job sans Miller and he was in the rotation a ton tonight. The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder is a sophomore walk-on from Moreno Valley, California.
* Moving on to the quarterbacks it was an interesting night for that group as well. Arizona played some of the reserves more as the night went on, but over the course of the day it was a good chance to see where things are with the players there. I'll start at the top with Brandon Dawkins and while I watched him on the first day I paid a little closer attention to him tonight. I'll say this, the ball is coming out of his hand much better than I remember back in the spring and definitely last season. The spiral is tighter and the touch is much improved. Now, keep in mind this was during a lot of the individual portion with no pass rush or decisions to make - simply just sitting back and throwing the ball. But from a mechanics standpoint there is certainly noticeable improvement there and he was again the only signal caller in a red jersey. Khalil Tate did a lot of the things you would expect Khalil Tate to do. He didn't have a red jersey but he was still being protected a bit. It almost feels like he's plateaued just a little bit with his development but he didn't make many (or any, really) mistakes and he had some nice throws to go along with his strong runs as usual.
Behind the two usual faces we were able to get a better look at the rest of the group. As of now Tate and Dawkins don't have to look over their shoulders, but if he can continue to show what he did Saturday night K'Hari Lane has a chance to be the third guy. He's big and doesn't look the part very much at all but he does have a very strong arm and it allows him to keep plays alive and make throws that not many other guys are making on the team. Arizona didn't run a lot of the zone read stuff with him but he does have just a bit of elusiveness to him and again it is more about keeping plays alive to make throws than anything else. He made some tough throws that take a strong arm and he showed me some things tonight.
I didn't see anything Saturday night that tells me Donovan Tate has a shot to be anything more than the third guy this season. He does have a strong arm and doesn't look like a guy who has been away from the game for as long as he has, but there is nothing that truly jumps out from his game as being better than what Dawkins or Khalil Tate can do. Lane at least has his impressive arm strength on his side. Donovan Tate does certainly look the part, but his game is still going to take some developing.
Rhett Rodriguez struggled a bit tonight I thought. He had some overthrows and just wasn't executing a great level. He's going to know the system better than any of the other signal callers, but it just wasn't a great night for him during his time on the field. Andrew Tovar really didn't get very many looks during the team portion.
* It was an interesting practice and one that was won by the offense with a 75-63 victory in the team's modified scoring system for Rich Rodriguez's group. The UA head coach wasn't exactly happy with everything and one incident in particular led him on a bit of a tirade during the middle of practice. It was a big hit from redshirt senior Jarvis McCall on starting outside receiver Shawn Poindexter on a play over the middle. There was no flag thrown on the play and it looked clean from my own eyes but in a game it likely would have meant at the very least a review for targeting. Rodriguez felt Poindexter was a defenseless receiver and didn't like the play. He said the team had a meeting about such things and he expects more from upperclassmen and it bothered him quite a bit for the rest of the practice.
* In addition to that it was our first extended look at the freshmen class who were not on campus back in the spring as well as newcomers who are getting their chance to get some work in. UA used up a bit more of the newcomers for the scrimmage portion looking to get them up to speed and it was certainly an interesting time. The group is definitely talented and made some strong plays throughout the day and there is plenty of promise there. The group is definitely stronger on the defensive side of the ball right now and those guys have a chance to contribute earlier in my opinion but there were a few freshmen offensive players who performed well.
* I know you all are interested in what's going on up front and the two newcomers who stood out to me most Saturday night were Dereck Boles and Kurtis Brown. It was my first chance to see both in full pads and they look the part in every way. Arizona mixed up the groups a bit so it wasn't truly a first team or a second team, etc. However, Boles played with what was essentially the first-unit defense for most of the night and he looks like he could very well be that missing piece that fans will get excited about up front. I don't know that he earns the starting job at nose by the season but he looks like someone who will play a ton this year and Rodriguez said the former Boise State standout has had a good start to camp. He's big, he's agile and he was creating some push and getting into the backfield Saturday night. Just from the eye test he is someone I think fans will be impressed with. Brown is another who looks the part and was getting a good amount of field time tonight. He either has grown or is just bigger than I remember when he's in pads, because he also looked the part of a legitimate college football defensive lineman. He didn't have a ton of game-changing plays like Boles but he was getting good push and again he just looks like what you think of when you think of a college defensive linemen. For fans calling for bigger defensive linemen they will be happy when they see both Brown and Boles.
* Arizona was doing some mixing and matching at linebacker tonight getting a ton of guys some work, and at one point ran quite a bit with Colin Schooler at the Mike and Tony Fields II at the Will spot. It will be interesting how much that comes up during the season but it is an interesting combination for the Wildcats to use. Anthony Pandy made some strong plays at the Will position including a couple sacks and a tackle for loss. The stud really has turned into another defensive end for the time being. If you asked an average fan who had never seen Arizona play before what it's defense was they probably wouldn't be able to tell you. There's some different things going on with it right now including having more corners on the field at times – there were times when Lorenzo Burns, Jace Whittaker and Dan Cruikshank were all on the field – plus essentially a four-man front for a lot of the practice. There wasn't a whole lot of the stud dropping into coverage and that is consistent with what we've been hearing about practice. Lee Anderson II will be one to watch at the stud position as things continue and if DeAndre' Miller can't go. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Anderson is competing currently for the starting job sans Miller and he was in the rotation a ton tonight. The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder is a sophomore walk-on from Moreno Valley, California.
* Moving on to the quarterbacks it was an interesting night for that group as well. Arizona played some of the reserves more as the night went on, but over the course of the day it was a good chance to see where things are with the players there. I'll start at the top with Brandon Dawkins and while I watched him on the first day I paid a little closer attention to him tonight. I'll say this, the ball is coming out of his hand much better than I remember back in the spring and definitely last season. The spiral is tighter and the touch is much improved. Now, keep in mind this was during a lot of the individual portion with no pass rush or decisions to make - simply just sitting back and throwing the ball. But from a mechanics standpoint there is certainly noticeable improvement there and he was again the only signal caller in a red jersey. Khalil Tate did a lot of the things you would expect Khalil Tate to do. He didn't have a red jersey but he was still being protected a bit. It almost feels like he's plateaued just a little bit with his development but he didn't make many (or any, really) mistakes and he had some nice throws to go along with his strong runs as usual.
Behind the two usual faces we were able to get a better look at the rest of the group. As of now Tate and Dawkins don't have to look over their shoulders, but if he can continue to show what he did Saturday night K'Hari Lane has a chance to be the third guy. He's big and doesn't look the part very much at all but he does have a very strong arm and it allows him to keep plays alive and make throws that not many other guys are making on the team. Arizona didn't run a lot of the zone read stuff with him but he does have just a bit of elusiveness to him and again it is more about keeping plays alive to make throws than anything else. He made some tough throws that take a strong arm and he showed me some things tonight.
I didn't see anything Saturday night that tells me Donovan Tate has a shot to be anything more than the third guy this season. He does have a strong arm and doesn't look like a guy who has been away from the game for as long as he has, but there is nothing that truly jumps out from his game as being better than what Dawkins or Khalil Tate can do. Lane at least has his impressive arm strength on his side. Donovan Tate does certainly look the part, but his game is still going to take some developing.
Rhett Rodriguez struggled a bit tonight I thought. He had some overthrows and just wasn't executing a great level. He's going to know the system better than any of the other signal callers, but it just wasn't a great night for him during his time on the field. Andrew Tovar really didn't get very many looks during the team portion.
