It is an interesting time for Arizona. It is a time for sources and predictions in both basketball and football. There is plenty to get into so here is this week’s, potentially fluid, War Room.
Football
This is a time for recruiting but students will be getting back on campus for the new sememster this week and with classes picking up the offseason program will continue as well. The Wildcats will have some new faces with midyear enrollees making their way to Tucson for the start of the semester and soon spring ball.
* We will begin the War Room picking back up with our weekly series giving a more thorough look at each position group coming out of 2016 and looking ahead to the offseason and 2017. Today we make our move to the defensive side of the ball and one of the more important groups to UA’s potential success - the defensive line. Vince Amey’s group is going to go through some changes in 2017 with some proven players moving on and some new pieces needing to step up.
- 2016 overview: Arizona of course went through change last season with Amey taking over the lead role coaching the team’s defensive line and while things looked different at times there is still more of Amey’s stamp to put on the group. That will continue this season, but in his first year there were injuries to once again deal with that forced some changes on the fly. UA went into the year with Luca Bruno not at 100 percent and that proved to be somewhat of an issue all year long. Bruno was able to be a contributor but he was not the starter he was previously and he didn’t quite have the impact he could have at full strength.
Still, UA made do with what it had using Sani Fuimaono, Parker Zellers as longtime staples to go with the emergence of walk-on Justin Belknap. The unit was solid and provided some decent progress overall but again it was not exactly what fans were expecting. There was plenty of pre-snap movement and it led to the ‘Cats having some success with that different element thrown into the mix this season. As UA builds on what it started in 2016 being able to shift and move and throw off offenses will be important.
Where the promise came in 2016 is with the second unit and the other players getting time. Bruno was part of the group along with Aiulua Fanene and a number of other pieces. Until the staff can really get the players it wants the system is always going to be set up to be about filling gaps and letting others make plays, but the group overall did a solid job of doing what it was asked by the staff in 2016.
- 2017 outlook: As much as fans like to lament the defensive line at times there are actually some pieces to be excited about moving into 2017. As things progress it has a chance to be a real strength of the team moving forward but there does need to be some progress this offseason from members of the group.
UA will return two starters with Belknap - who likely will be on scholarship some point soon - and Zellers who has become a favorite of Amey’s. Plus there were several players who contributed who are back as well. One of the intriguing players toward the end of the season who came on late was Larry Tharpe Jr. He was a late add by the Wildcats after camp ended and he played himself off the scout team and into action. At 6-foot-5 he has the size Arizona wants along the defensive line and he showed promise against Arizona State that can carry over into the new year.
Jack Banda and Finton Connolly are two other pieces that contributed last season who will only continue to get more action moving forward. Banda in particular is a player the Wildcats have shown trust in over the years.
Where the real intrigue is for the 2017 season is with what UA has coming off redshirt seasons. UA ended up holding out a few players in the 2016 season with the hopes that they learned during the year off and can be fully utilized in the upcoming year. At the forefront of that will be Jalen Cochran and Frankie Nelson who have the size to make an impact for the ‘Cats in their second year. In addition to that Justin Holt and Darrell Cloy have had a season to get used to playing under Amey and that should help as well.
Throw in some of the incoming players and things are looking more positive than they have been for the ‘Cats. There are still plenty of unknowns with the group but it is progress and something to at least be intrigued about with the group.
Football recruiting
And now onto the fun stuff, which is turning into the stressful stuff for the Wildcats here late in the process. As there is every year there are positives and negatives going on for Arizona and other college programs as well. There is plenty of indecision to go around as late offers make their way to recruits. UA was able to get several players to commit to getting to campus early eliminating some late headaches but that hasn’t taken too much away from the stresses of the weeks leading up to National Signing Day.
* First we’ll start with the topic that has everyone enthralled right now and that is one Braxton Burmeister. The four-star Rivals250 quarterback commit was supposed to be arriving to Arizona’s campus this week to start classes but a late offer from Oregon has changed all that ... maybe. There has been plenty of misdirection and misinformation out there and no sources are truly reliable at this stage. A decision, according to some, was supposed to come out Sunday night and that never took place. As of Monday afternoon Arizona has not been told he isn’t coming and it has continued to move forward as it has all along with him in the plans. The big key to the whole decision in Rod Smith.
The relationship between Smith and the quarterback recruit from San Diego is as strong as we have ever seen between a recruit and a coach. It is a substantial part of why he is even committed to UA and why he did so two separate times. Going back on that and saying no to Smith twice during his recruitment would be difficult to carry out.
Because of that Arizona has never moved on or looked elsewhere and it continues to move forward until it is told not to any longer. Burmeister does already have an Arizona email address and he is already set up to be a student at the school but in the grand scheme of things until he begins classes and is on campus and moved in none of that matters.
On Oregon’s side there is more in play than just his trainer Akili Smith pulling for him. There are some other factors there, but the feeling is that the Oregon buzz is being played up a bit more than might really be there.
It will be a wait and see for the ‘Cats, but right now it is still difficult to dig through what is fact and what is not.
* On to some clear positive news for Arizona is that it will be a big weekend in Tucson. The way things work UA tries to get as many of its official visits done sooner rather than later heading into the signing period and this weekend will be the “big” visit weekend in Tucson. Among the names on the early visitor list for the weekend are Jaylon Redd, Anthony Pandy, Colin Schooler and then most every other commit who didn’t visit in December. Recruits who have been locked in were pushed to the January date so that UA could make the others more of a priority and get a leg up on any other potential visits.
There are not any imminent commitments this weekend, but it will be a good chance for UA to put a stamp on the recruitments it wants to and make some big progress with some top targets. We will have a better idea of the full and more thorough list later in the week.
* One recruit who UA will have to wait out a final decision from is defensive end commit Jalen Harris. He now has his final three visits set up and while it is going to take a lot to pull him away from the Wildcats there are schools still putting in work to do so. Harris took his visit early in January to Arizona and that is after being at almost every if not every home game during the season. He knows plenty about the ‘Cats and where they stand with him. Now it will be about making that final run through some programs and seeing how they stack up.
Illinois is up this weekend followed by Washington the next weekend and Notre Dame just before Signing Day. We have long maintained that Harris has been more open to other programs more than other legacy recruits and he continues to stay true to that from even before he was committed to the ‘Cats.
We still believe that no matter what gets reported on that it will ultimately take a lot to get him away from the Wildcats considering how strong his ties are to the program through his parents. Still, it will make for a tense few weeks for UA’s staff if he gets blown away on a trip.
Football
This is a time for recruiting but students will be getting back on campus for the new sememster this week and with classes picking up the offseason program will continue as well. The Wildcats will have some new faces with midyear enrollees making their way to Tucson for the start of the semester and soon spring ball.
* We will begin the War Room picking back up with our weekly series giving a more thorough look at each position group coming out of 2016 and looking ahead to the offseason and 2017. Today we make our move to the defensive side of the ball and one of the more important groups to UA’s potential success - the defensive line. Vince Amey’s group is going to go through some changes in 2017 with some proven players moving on and some new pieces needing to step up.
- 2016 overview: Arizona of course went through change last season with Amey taking over the lead role coaching the team’s defensive line and while things looked different at times there is still more of Amey’s stamp to put on the group. That will continue this season, but in his first year there were injuries to once again deal with that forced some changes on the fly. UA went into the year with Luca Bruno not at 100 percent and that proved to be somewhat of an issue all year long. Bruno was able to be a contributor but he was not the starter he was previously and he didn’t quite have the impact he could have at full strength.
Still, UA made do with what it had using Sani Fuimaono, Parker Zellers as longtime staples to go with the emergence of walk-on Justin Belknap. The unit was solid and provided some decent progress overall but again it was not exactly what fans were expecting. There was plenty of pre-snap movement and it led to the ‘Cats having some success with that different element thrown into the mix this season. As UA builds on what it started in 2016 being able to shift and move and throw off offenses will be important.
Where the promise came in 2016 is with the second unit and the other players getting time. Bruno was part of the group along with Aiulua Fanene and a number of other pieces. Until the staff can really get the players it wants the system is always going to be set up to be about filling gaps and letting others make plays, but the group overall did a solid job of doing what it was asked by the staff in 2016.
- 2017 outlook: As much as fans like to lament the defensive line at times there are actually some pieces to be excited about moving into 2017. As things progress it has a chance to be a real strength of the team moving forward but there does need to be some progress this offseason from members of the group.
UA will return two starters with Belknap - who likely will be on scholarship some point soon - and Zellers who has become a favorite of Amey’s. Plus there were several players who contributed who are back as well. One of the intriguing players toward the end of the season who came on late was Larry Tharpe Jr. He was a late add by the Wildcats after camp ended and he played himself off the scout team and into action. At 6-foot-5 he has the size Arizona wants along the defensive line and he showed promise against Arizona State that can carry over into the new year.
Jack Banda and Finton Connolly are two other pieces that contributed last season who will only continue to get more action moving forward. Banda in particular is a player the Wildcats have shown trust in over the years.
Where the real intrigue is for the 2017 season is with what UA has coming off redshirt seasons. UA ended up holding out a few players in the 2016 season with the hopes that they learned during the year off and can be fully utilized in the upcoming year. At the forefront of that will be Jalen Cochran and Frankie Nelson who have the size to make an impact for the ‘Cats in their second year. In addition to that Justin Holt and Darrell Cloy have had a season to get used to playing under Amey and that should help as well.
Throw in some of the incoming players and things are looking more positive than they have been for the ‘Cats. There are still plenty of unknowns with the group but it is progress and something to at least be intrigued about with the group.
Football recruiting
And now onto the fun stuff, which is turning into the stressful stuff for the Wildcats here late in the process. As there is every year there are positives and negatives going on for Arizona and other college programs as well. There is plenty of indecision to go around as late offers make their way to recruits. UA was able to get several players to commit to getting to campus early eliminating some late headaches but that hasn’t taken too much away from the stresses of the weeks leading up to National Signing Day.
* First we’ll start with the topic that has everyone enthralled right now and that is one Braxton Burmeister. The four-star Rivals250 quarterback commit was supposed to be arriving to Arizona’s campus this week to start classes but a late offer from Oregon has changed all that ... maybe. There has been plenty of misdirection and misinformation out there and no sources are truly reliable at this stage. A decision, according to some, was supposed to come out Sunday night and that never took place. As of Monday afternoon Arizona has not been told he isn’t coming and it has continued to move forward as it has all along with him in the plans. The big key to the whole decision in Rod Smith.
The relationship between Smith and the quarterback recruit from San Diego is as strong as we have ever seen between a recruit and a coach. It is a substantial part of why he is even committed to UA and why he did so two separate times. Going back on that and saying no to Smith twice during his recruitment would be difficult to carry out.
Because of that Arizona has never moved on or looked elsewhere and it continues to move forward until it is told not to any longer. Burmeister does already have an Arizona email address and he is already set up to be a student at the school but in the grand scheme of things until he begins classes and is on campus and moved in none of that matters.
On Oregon’s side there is more in play than just his trainer Akili Smith pulling for him. There are some other factors there, but the feeling is that the Oregon buzz is being played up a bit more than might really be there.
It will be a wait and see for the ‘Cats, but right now it is still difficult to dig through what is fact and what is not.
* On to some clear positive news for Arizona is that it will be a big weekend in Tucson. The way things work UA tries to get as many of its official visits done sooner rather than later heading into the signing period and this weekend will be the “big” visit weekend in Tucson. Among the names on the early visitor list for the weekend are Jaylon Redd, Anthony Pandy, Colin Schooler and then most every other commit who didn’t visit in December. Recruits who have been locked in were pushed to the January date so that UA could make the others more of a priority and get a leg up on any other potential visits.
There are not any imminent commitments this weekend, but it will be a good chance for UA to put a stamp on the recruitments it wants to and make some big progress with some top targets. We will have a better idea of the full and more thorough list later in the week.
* One recruit who UA will have to wait out a final decision from is defensive end commit Jalen Harris. He now has his final three visits set up and while it is going to take a lot to pull him away from the Wildcats there are schools still putting in work to do so. Harris took his visit early in January to Arizona and that is after being at almost every if not every home game during the season. He knows plenty about the ‘Cats and where they stand with him. Now it will be about making that final run through some programs and seeing how they stack up.
Illinois is up this weekend followed by Washington the next weekend and Notre Dame just before Signing Day. We have long maintained that Harris has been more open to other programs more than other legacy recruits and he continues to stay true to that from even before he was committed to the ‘Cats.
We still believe that no matter what gets reported on that it will ultimately take a lot to get him away from the Wildcats considering how strong his ties are to the program through his parents. Still, it will make for a tense few weeks for UA’s staff if he gets blown away on a trip.
