As Arizona goes through camp some changes came to the schedule with this weekend's practices moving to the morning and a welcome change to the media interview policy allowing newcomers who were here at the midyear point to speak. Since it was a day for offensive players Wednesday night it was the first time the media was able to hear from freshman running back Nathan Tilford since he arrived back in January and the conversation about him dominated Rich Rodriguez's time with the media as well.
In addition to hearing from those two co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith spoke for the first time in camp as well Wednesday. Here is a rundown of the important notes to come out of another late practice for the Wildcats.
* It was the first chance Tilford had to talk with the media in Tucson on Wednesday night and since he wasn't a big fan of interviews during the recruiting process he is someone who has seldom been heard from in general. The big freshman back has been putting together a strong camp and he certainly has been able to put himself in contention to contribute right away.
"Being here in the spring was a huge advantage I think for Nathan," Rodriguez said. "It gave him a couple months head start on it and he loves football. He's a guy who's ate up with it and he's a big, physical guy. I think coach (Calvin) Magee is the best running backs coach in the country so it's been a good fit and Nate's gonna be able to help us a little bit."
Rodriguez said Tilford's running style is most similar to Nick Wilson's but because of his height there are some differences there. For the freshman he likes how there are subtle things that make each of the running backs a bit different.
"We all have different styles," he said. "JJ (Taylor), he's way more of a quicker guy than I am. I'm more of a downhill guy and I like to run people over if I get that opportunity. Nick, he can do both. He's quick and fast and he's powerful and can run people over. Same with Zach (Green)."
* It is not just those running backs mentioned above that Arizona envisions using this season. Freshman Gary Brightwell has made an impression in his first nine practices and while he could see some time in the backfield he has spent most of his time in the slot where Arizona needs some more help and for now that is where he will be able to contribute the most.
"Gary Brightwell is a true freshman who is gonna play a little running back but he's probably gonna play even more slot," Rodriguez said. "We got him at slot receiver and he's looking good."
Brightwell was someone the Wildcats had in mind to make a move to the slot and help out in both areas when it recruited him and so far that plan has come to fruition in camp.
"We recruited him with that in mind and we thought he could play both, but he's been playing more slot than running back because we're shorter on bodies there," Rodriguez said. "One thing is he's a very, very competitive guy and he takes every rep full speed and it's very important to him. We thought he had a chance to play as a freshman and in nine practices he's shown us that we think we can have him ready."
Because you can never have too many running backs someone else who sounds like he will get some time on the field this year in a more expanded role is redshirt sophomore Branden Leon. The in-state running back has had an "outstanding camp" according to Rodriguez and he should see his time on the field increase this season.
"Branden Leon is gonna play too," Rodriguez said. "He's had an outstanding camp and I like the group of running backs we have."
* Donovan Tate has been continuing to progress as he gets back into the swing of playing football again. The staff has sounded pleased with his development so far and of course taking hits again is a new thing he has had to deal with. Out of all the quarterbacks it sounds as though he has been beat up the most and Tuesday's practice was another one of those for him as he took a beating according to the coaches.
"Well he got hit quite a bit yesterday he had a bunch of ice bags on him," Rodriguez said. "He really trained hard and you can tell he did a lot of work the last several months to get his body in shape. He's getting better everyday. Today (Wednesday) he threw the ball really well and you know he's a grown man. He's taking a mature approach to it and he's learning everything.
"It's just been nine days for him ... nine days and nine years or whatever it's been since he's played. I'm tickled to death to have him. He's been a great addition."
* Smith has been pleased overall with his unit as things continue to develop with the quarterbacks. He thinks both Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate are throwing the ball better than they have in the past and he wants to see their instincts get better, however. Where he wants to see Tate get better is on the mental side of things and he said he's hopeful "the lights will kick on here real soon" when it comes to his sophomore signal caller.
Smith said he still believes it's "an open competition" and that there is still time left before the staff has to decide on a permanent starter at the quarterback position.
Something Rodriguez mentioned Tuesday that the quarterbacks did well was connect on some deep passes and Smith said it wasn't just one quarterback who made that throw as each of the guys UA has been repping most were able to hit on a deep ball during that practice earlier in the week.
"We've been a lot better at it," Smith said of the deep routes. "We hit five in a row [Tuesday] ... Brandon, Khalil, Rhett had one, Donovan Tate had one and K'Hari (Lane) had one. All five it was straight takeoffs down the field and they threw the ball on time and dropped it in the bucket against press man exactly how you want it. That was exciting because that's the next phase not missing deep balls when you get big-time scoring opportunities like that – one-on-one scoring opportunities."
* Arizona will move into double digit practices Thursday night with its 10th overall and so far Rodriguez has been pleased with the overall progress of the team at this point in camp. We mentioned it earlier but the staff has deliberately tried to make the players think more and has thrown more at them in camp to see who truly can learn the system and understand the game the best with the hopes of determining who is ready to play and who is not. Rodriguez has been more upbeat in camp and right now he is happy with the progress.
"Yeah, it's been good," he said. "I wanna say we're on schedule there hasn't been anything as far as slowing us down. Usually I can tell by installation like pull them way back on offense and defense, and we've thrown a whole bunch at them scheme-wise. More than I thought we could and more than we probably need to, but we're gonna continue to press it especially with those young guys and see if they can keep learning."
In addition to hearing from those two co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith spoke for the first time in camp as well Wednesday. Here is a rundown of the important notes to come out of another late practice for the Wildcats.
* It was the first chance Tilford had to talk with the media in Tucson on Wednesday night and since he wasn't a big fan of interviews during the recruiting process he is someone who has seldom been heard from in general. The big freshman back has been putting together a strong camp and he certainly has been able to put himself in contention to contribute right away.
"Being here in the spring was a huge advantage I think for Nathan," Rodriguez said. "It gave him a couple months head start on it and he loves football. He's a guy who's ate up with it and he's a big, physical guy. I think coach (Calvin) Magee is the best running backs coach in the country so it's been a good fit and Nate's gonna be able to help us a little bit."
Rodriguez said Tilford's running style is most similar to Nick Wilson's but because of his height there are some differences there. For the freshman he likes how there are subtle things that make each of the running backs a bit different.
"We all have different styles," he said. "JJ (Taylor), he's way more of a quicker guy than I am. I'm more of a downhill guy and I like to run people over if I get that opportunity. Nick, he can do both. He's quick and fast and he's powerful and can run people over. Same with Zach (Green)."
* It is not just those running backs mentioned above that Arizona envisions using this season. Freshman Gary Brightwell has made an impression in his first nine practices and while he could see some time in the backfield he has spent most of his time in the slot where Arizona needs some more help and for now that is where he will be able to contribute the most.
"Gary Brightwell is a true freshman who is gonna play a little running back but he's probably gonna play even more slot," Rodriguez said. "We got him at slot receiver and he's looking good."
Brightwell was someone the Wildcats had in mind to make a move to the slot and help out in both areas when it recruited him and so far that plan has come to fruition in camp.
"We recruited him with that in mind and we thought he could play both, but he's been playing more slot than running back because we're shorter on bodies there," Rodriguez said. "One thing is he's a very, very competitive guy and he takes every rep full speed and it's very important to him. We thought he had a chance to play as a freshman and in nine practices he's shown us that we think we can have him ready."
Because you can never have too many running backs someone else who sounds like he will get some time on the field this year in a more expanded role is redshirt sophomore Branden Leon. The in-state running back has had an "outstanding camp" according to Rodriguez and he should see his time on the field increase this season.
"Branden Leon is gonna play too," Rodriguez said. "He's had an outstanding camp and I like the group of running backs we have."
* Donovan Tate has been continuing to progress as he gets back into the swing of playing football again. The staff has sounded pleased with his development so far and of course taking hits again is a new thing he has had to deal with. Out of all the quarterbacks it sounds as though he has been beat up the most and Tuesday's practice was another one of those for him as he took a beating according to the coaches.
"Well he got hit quite a bit yesterday he had a bunch of ice bags on him," Rodriguez said. "He really trained hard and you can tell he did a lot of work the last several months to get his body in shape. He's getting better everyday. Today (Wednesday) he threw the ball really well and you know he's a grown man. He's taking a mature approach to it and he's learning everything.
"It's just been nine days for him ... nine days and nine years or whatever it's been since he's played. I'm tickled to death to have him. He's been a great addition."
* Smith has been pleased overall with his unit as things continue to develop with the quarterbacks. He thinks both Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate are throwing the ball better than they have in the past and he wants to see their instincts get better, however. Where he wants to see Tate get better is on the mental side of things and he said he's hopeful "the lights will kick on here real soon" when it comes to his sophomore signal caller.
Smith said he still believes it's "an open competition" and that there is still time left before the staff has to decide on a permanent starter at the quarterback position.
Something Rodriguez mentioned Tuesday that the quarterbacks did well was connect on some deep passes and Smith said it wasn't just one quarterback who made that throw as each of the guys UA has been repping most were able to hit on a deep ball during that practice earlier in the week.
"We've been a lot better at it," Smith said of the deep routes. "We hit five in a row [Tuesday] ... Brandon, Khalil, Rhett had one, Donovan Tate had one and K'Hari (Lane) had one. All five it was straight takeoffs down the field and they threw the ball on time and dropped it in the bucket against press man exactly how you want it. That was exciting because that's the next phase not missing deep balls when you get big-time scoring opportunities like that – one-on-one scoring opportunities."
* Arizona will move into double digit practices Thursday night with its 10th overall and so far Rodriguez has been pleased with the overall progress of the team at this point in camp. We mentioned it earlier but the staff has deliberately tried to make the players think more and has thrown more at them in camp to see who truly can learn the system and understand the game the best with the hopes of determining who is ready to play and who is not. Rodriguez has been more upbeat in camp and right now he is happy with the progress.
"Yeah, it's been good," he said. "I wanna say we're on schedule there hasn't been anything as far as slowing us down. Usually I can tell by installation like pull them way back on offense and defense, and we've thrown a whole bunch at them scheme-wise. More than I thought we could and more than we probably need to, but we're gonna continue to press it especially with those young guys and see if they can keep learning."
