As one season starts on its downward slope another is set to begin. Arizona football is looking to get back on the winning track after a fifth straight loss over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ basketball team will tip off its season this week with a pair of exhibition games that will serve as a tune up to the big season opener against Michigan State.
We have lots to discuss this week including recruiting, so lets get right into this week’s War Room.
Football
It was another tough game for the Wildcats and the injuries continue to pile up as do the losses. Rich Rodriguez hinted after the game for the first time that there might be an attitude problem with some of the players and he’s hoping it doesn’t stay for long. Still, the reality is the reality for the ‘Cats and right now UA isn’t a good football team.
* As we do after every game we reviewed it and bring some thoughts on each position group and how they performed in the 34-10 loss to Stanford. So we’ll jump right into it this week.
- Quarterbacks: Arizona ended up playing its three main quarterbacks against the Cardinal but none of them ended up being truly effective enough to help kickstart the offense. Brandon Dawkins had a sub-par game and while Rodriguez said it was the plan to put Anu Solomon in for a time it sure did seem to come at a time when Dawkins was struggling a bit. Ineffective is the best way to describe the quarterback play Saturday as the offense was mostly flat and the passing game was just not up to snuff. If Arizona wants to earn another win this season the passing element of the offense just has to be better.
Completing only five passes just isn’t going to get it done no matter how much the quarterback is picking yards on the ground.
- Running backs: Samajie Grant did his best and there were times when he could have been more patient and picked up more yards. For a receiver playing his first game at a different position the senior did a commendable job. Given an entire season to work on it he certainly has the skill set to be good at the position, but he’ll have to make the progress quickly now. He at the very least showed some glimpses of being capable of getting the job done with some more experience. It is not going to be perfect and reaching the 100-yard mark could be a tough task the rest of the way but there is at least some more promise there now where there wasn’t for a few weeks.
- Receivers: Arizona’s passing offense continues to be a struggle and that is one area where Solomon could have helped with his ability to throw it around. He wasn’t completely dialed in and many of his passes went out of bounds and Dawkins was able to complete just five passes. That meant another week of limited opportunities for the ‘Cats at the receiver position. It is becoming clear things are a bit frustrating for that group and Grant said it after the game that sometimes players are just being missed despite being wide open.
That routes have been improving and players are managing to get the separation they need but if the ball isn’t being passed — there were just over a dozen in Saturday’s game — then there is not much the group can do. Arizona has to remedy the problem to win games, though.
- Offensive line: It was maybe the worst effort for the unit all season Saturday against Stanford. Things have been trending in the wrong direction this season up front and it came to a head Saturday with five sacks allowed, some penalties and just poor play. It wasn’t some of the usual suspects either as even a stable force like Jacob Alsadek had his own miscues. There are some younger players on the line this season, but even then it just wasn’t a good performance Saturday and the unit is regressing right now which is not what a coaching staff wants to see.
The issues are not going to go away this season, but it will have to work to get back to a point where there aren’t so many free runs at the quarterback and the holes are being opened up consistently for the backs.
- Defensive line: On the other side it almost felt like one of the better games for Arizona’s defensive line. Yes, Stanford does have issues of its own along its offensive line, but the Wildcats were active and finally able to get some consistent pressure on the quarterback. Marcel Yates mixed up some of the looks and even went to five down linemen at one point. It helped UA play the run some more and that led to some better situations for the ‘Cats.
The group remains shorthanded a bit but it is starting to see that progress albeit slowly, but it is starting to be visible.
- Linebackers: The loss of Michael Barton to injury was a blow, but the Wildcats found ways to make some plays. There is not much more you can ask of the group right now with a couple of its key rotation players now missing. The unit was not deep to begin with and there is only so much a coach can put on the rest of the group. Paul Magloire was again the standout, but Jake Matthews did some nice things with his chance to play more after the Barton injury.
- Safeties: There were some issues on the back end but having Isaiah Hayes back at starting free safety was a clear plus. The freshman makes his presence felt and there is a confidence the defense has with him on the back end. His abilities will only improve as he gains more experience and his feel for the game is certainly a big benefit.
As a whole the group was active and finished with 18 of the teams 64 tackles. He doesn’t get to see much of the credit because the team is losing games, but Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has been a consistent piece to the defense this year.
- Cornerbacks: Stanford wasn’t ever going to pass it much so it was going to be a different kind of challenge for the Wildcats. There were the usual brain cramps at times, but overall it wasn’t a poor effort from the group. Dane Cruikshank was again the standout helping out in trying to slow down the Stanford running game. He ended the night as UA’s leading tackler plus he had a short-lived interception as well.
The good outweighed the bad for the most part Saturday night at the cornerback spot and that in itself is a good sign of some progress.
Football recruiting
Arizona had a number of visitors on campus for visits and to watch the game Saturday night. There were some definite headliners and others who will be more prominent as things move forward.
* Here is a rundown of the notable visitors and where things stand with the group.
- Four-star running back O’Maury Samuels was the big 2017 visitor making his way in from New Mexico for an official visit. The sturdy back is committed to Michigan, but with the Wolverines looking at Eno Benjamin and making a push for Alabama commit Najee Harris it could leave Samuels with some more competition than he originally planned. Thus, he visited the ‘Cats and has genuine interest in the program. Should he de-commit from Michigan, which is almost more expected than it is not at this stage, Arizona would quickly become one of the key players for him.
- Braxton Burmeister was another four-star prospect on campus and things continue to go well with him. As long as Rod Smith sticks around you shouldn’t expect anything to happen to the quarterback commit. Because he is graduating early the Wildcats had him out for his official visit over the weekend since most of the other commits will take theirs after the year is over.
Based on what things looked like Saturday he will have a legitimate shot at earning early playing time next season when that looked like more of a long shot earlier in the process.
- Drew Dixon and Cody Shear were two prospects on unofficial visits for the game. Both are committed to Arizona and that doesn’t have much of a chance of changing. The duo stuck close by Burmeister for the game as the bond with the 2017 group continues to grow as the class comes to a close.
- The big 2018 visitor was four-star top-40 safety Jaiden Woodbey who continues to have Arizona high up in his recruitment. Donté Williams has been a big part of the progress there and the two spent plenty of time together pregame before the Stanford loss. That recruitment is all relationship based right now and Williams has done a good job of making some big progress there to put UA right in the mix. Woodbey visited in the summer and getting him out as much as possible is important.
- Woodbey’s teammate, Re-Al Mitchell, was also out for a visit and he left Tucson with a new offer as the Wildcats extended one to the 2018 quarterback. Now, UA does already have Jamarye Joiner on board for the 2018 class at quarterback but he is also going to take more visits. To be safe the ‘Cats are going to continue to look at options and Mitchell is one they like, and recruiting St. John Bosco prospects is hardly ever a bad thing.
- Three-star 2018 offensive lineman Jacob Isaia was also out for a visit over the weekend making his way down from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. Isaia doesn’t have an offer from the Wildcats yet but there is plenty of interest there and he likes the ‘Cats. He is a Michigan State legacy and if that offer eventually comes it could be hard to beat, but Arizona will be up there as things play out.
- Kenny Churchwell recently picked up an offer from the Wildcats and he was on campus checking things out. The big safety from Phoenix-Mountain Pointe fits what UA is looking for on the back end of the defense and it was good to get in early with the 2018 recruit.
- Josh Daniels is an in-state 2017 receiver the staff really likes. The Mesa-Red Mountain standout visited as well over the weekend and he is someone the staff is making sure to stay in contact with. There is not necessarily any room for him right now, but the staff liked what he showed during the summer at one of its camps and it would like to have him in the fold in some way moving forward.
We have lots to discuss this week including recruiting, so lets get right into this week’s War Room.
Football
It was another tough game for the Wildcats and the injuries continue to pile up as do the losses. Rich Rodriguez hinted after the game for the first time that there might be an attitude problem with some of the players and he’s hoping it doesn’t stay for long. Still, the reality is the reality for the ‘Cats and right now UA isn’t a good football team.
* As we do after every game we reviewed it and bring some thoughts on each position group and how they performed in the 34-10 loss to Stanford. So we’ll jump right into it this week.
- Quarterbacks: Arizona ended up playing its three main quarterbacks against the Cardinal but none of them ended up being truly effective enough to help kickstart the offense. Brandon Dawkins had a sub-par game and while Rodriguez said it was the plan to put Anu Solomon in for a time it sure did seem to come at a time when Dawkins was struggling a bit. Ineffective is the best way to describe the quarterback play Saturday as the offense was mostly flat and the passing game was just not up to snuff. If Arizona wants to earn another win this season the passing element of the offense just has to be better.
Completing only five passes just isn’t going to get it done no matter how much the quarterback is picking yards on the ground.
- Running backs: Samajie Grant did his best and there were times when he could have been more patient and picked up more yards. For a receiver playing his first game at a different position the senior did a commendable job. Given an entire season to work on it he certainly has the skill set to be good at the position, but he’ll have to make the progress quickly now. He at the very least showed some glimpses of being capable of getting the job done with some more experience. It is not going to be perfect and reaching the 100-yard mark could be a tough task the rest of the way but there is at least some more promise there now where there wasn’t for a few weeks.
- Receivers: Arizona’s passing offense continues to be a struggle and that is one area where Solomon could have helped with his ability to throw it around. He wasn’t completely dialed in and many of his passes went out of bounds and Dawkins was able to complete just five passes. That meant another week of limited opportunities for the ‘Cats at the receiver position. It is becoming clear things are a bit frustrating for that group and Grant said it after the game that sometimes players are just being missed despite being wide open.
That routes have been improving and players are managing to get the separation they need but if the ball isn’t being passed — there were just over a dozen in Saturday’s game — then there is not much the group can do. Arizona has to remedy the problem to win games, though.
- Offensive line: It was maybe the worst effort for the unit all season Saturday against Stanford. Things have been trending in the wrong direction this season up front and it came to a head Saturday with five sacks allowed, some penalties and just poor play. It wasn’t some of the usual suspects either as even a stable force like Jacob Alsadek had his own miscues. There are some younger players on the line this season, but even then it just wasn’t a good performance Saturday and the unit is regressing right now which is not what a coaching staff wants to see.
The issues are not going to go away this season, but it will have to work to get back to a point where there aren’t so many free runs at the quarterback and the holes are being opened up consistently for the backs.
- Defensive line: On the other side it almost felt like one of the better games for Arizona’s defensive line. Yes, Stanford does have issues of its own along its offensive line, but the Wildcats were active and finally able to get some consistent pressure on the quarterback. Marcel Yates mixed up some of the looks and even went to five down linemen at one point. It helped UA play the run some more and that led to some better situations for the ‘Cats.
The group remains shorthanded a bit but it is starting to see that progress albeit slowly, but it is starting to be visible.
- Linebackers: The loss of Michael Barton to injury was a blow, but the Wildcats found ways to make some plays. There is not much more you can ask of the group right now with a couple of its key rotation players now missing. The unit was not deep to begin with and there is only so much a coach can put on the rest of the group. Paul Magloire was again the standout, but Jake Matthews did some nice things with his chance to play more after the Barton injury.
- Safeties: There were some issues on the back end but having Isaiah Hayes back at starting free safety was a clear plus. The freshman makes his presence felt and there is a confidence the defense has with him on the back end. His abilities will only improve as he gains more experience and his feel for the game is certainly a big benefit.
As a whole the group was active and finished with 18 of the teams 64 tackles. He doesn’t get to see much of the credit because the team is losing games, but Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has been a consistent piece to the defense this year.
- Cornerbacks: Stanford wasn’t ever going to pass it much so it was going to be a different kind of challenge for the Wildcats. There were the usual brain cramps at times, but overall it wasn’t a poor effort from the group. Dane Cruikshank was again the standout helping out in trying to slow down the Stanford running game. He ended the night as UA’s leading tackler plus he had a short-lived interception as well.
The good outweighed the bad for the most part Saturday night at the cornerback spot and that in itself is a good sign of some progress.
Football recruiting
Arizona had a number of visitors on campus for visits and to watch the game Saturday night. There were some definite headliners and others who will be more prominent as things move forward.
* Here is a rundown of the notable visitors and where things stand with the group.
- Four-star running back O’Maury Samuels was the big 2017 visitor making his way in from New Mexico for an official visit. The sturdy back is committed to Michigan, but with the Wolverines looking at Eno Benjamin and making a push for Alabama commit Najee Harris it could leave Samuels with some more competition than he originally planned. Thus, he visited the ‘Cats and has genuine interest in the program. Should he de-commit from Michigan, which is almost more expected than it is not at this stage, Arizona would quickly become one of the key players for him.
- Braxton Burmeister was another four-star prospect on campus and things continue to go well with him. As long as Rod Smith sticks around you shouldn’t expect anything to happen to the quarterback commit. Because he is graduating early the Wildcats had him out for his official visit over the weekend since most of the other commits will take theirs after the year is over.
Based on what things looked like Saturday he will have a legitimate shot at earning early playing time next season when that looked like more of a long shot earlier in the process.
- Drew Dixon and Cody Shear were two prospects on unofficial visits for the game. Both are committed to Arizona and that doesn’t have much of a chance of changing. The duo stuck close by Burmeister for the game as the bond with the 2017 group continues to grow as the class comes to a close.
- The big 2018 visitor was four-star top-40 safety Jaiden Woodbey who continues to have Arizona high up in his recruitment. Donté Williams has been a big part of the progress there and the two spent plenty of time together pregame before the Stanford loss. That recruitment is all relationship based right now and Williams has done a good job of making some big progress there to put UA right in the mix. Woodbey visited in the summer and getting him out as much as possible is important.
- Woodbey’s teammate, Re-Al Mitchell, was also out for a visit and he left Tucson with a new offer as the Wildcats extended one to the 2018 quarterback. Now, UA does already have Jamarye Joiner on board for the 2018 class at quarterback but he is also going to take more visits. To be safe the ‘Cats are going to continue to look at options and Mitchell is one they like, and recruiting St. John Bosco prospects is hardly ever a bad thing.
- Three-star 2018 offensive lineman Jacob Isaia was also out for a visit over the weekend making his way down from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. Isaia doesn’t have an offer from the Wildcats yet but there is plenty of interest there and he likes the ‘Cats. He is a Michigan State legacy and if that offer eventually comes it could be hard to beat, but Arizona will be up there as things play out.
- Kenny Churchwell recently picked up an offer from the Wildcats and he was on campus checking things out. The big safety from Phoenix-Mountain Pointe fits what UA is looking for on the back end of the defense and it was good to get in early with the 2018 recruit.
- Josh Daniels is an in-state 2017 receiver the staff really likes. The Mesa-Red Mountain standout visited as well over the weekend and he is someone the staff is making sure to stay in contact with. There is not necessarily any room for him right now, but the staff liked what he showed during the summer at one of its camps and it would like to have him in the fold in some way moving forward.
