Arizona is fully revved up and rolling now as spring sports are underway. All the major sports in college are going in way or another and that means busy times around Tucson. The basketball team has moved up to No. 4 and will host No. 5 UCLA this weekend. The baseball team is looking for a four-game sweep to open its 2017 season. Softball is rolling and women’s basketball just beat Arizona State.
Football
Football is where this week’s War Room will focus, however, as Rich Rodriguez and his team opened up spring practice over the weekend and it was open to the media. That meant a good chance to take a look at the newcomers and the returning group to see how the team looked on its first day. Rodriguez said there will be about 80 new players on the roster combining last year and this year which is quite a bit of turnover.
* To give you an idea of what we saw Saturday as the Wildcats practiced in the rain for about two hours here is a breakdown of each position group and what we felt stood out watching things play out. Keep in mind there were not too many team periods and that meant a lot of teaching in many instances.
- Quarterbacks: The quarterback unit performed fairly well especially for being shorthanded. There were different stretches where different players shined, but without pads it is truly hard to gauge just how much each player has improved outside of passing. As of now there is a gap between Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate who ran with the first and second units, respectively. There were times when Dawkins made some strong throws, but there were others when he overthrew receivers and the ball was a bit high. He did look a bit more dialed in as a passer overall though. Tate had some struggles with his passes having a few errant throws, but he also had some nice touch on a couple deep balls as well. Where he looked most in rhythm was working with receiver DeVaughn Cooper. That duo worked together very well and it was during those times that Tate looked his best. Obviously for both players their true talent comes with the pads on and when they are running the ball, but I think there was slight progress since the end of the season with their passing. The dramatic progress that fans hope to see will have to come the rest of this spring and summer.
Even though the two mentioned above get lots of attention Zach Werlinger and Gunther Johnson also performed well and had some strong throws throughout the day.
- Running backs: As strong as the running back group looked on paper it might be even stronger when you see it in person and it isn’t even complete yet. There was no hitting, but it was clear that group will be a strong point of the team. There are different styles among the group from the quick and shifty JJ Taylor to the big and tough to defend Nathan Tilford. The big thing to watch Saturday, however, was health and both Taylor and Nick Wilson looked to be moving well. It is clear the workload for Wilson won’t be as much as it was before but that will be a good thing. The senior worked mostly with groups further back while he gets back to full health, but he was moving well and still had some nice explosion. Taylor had a little bit of limp to him it seemed at times, but he was still just as explosive Saturday as before his broken ankle during the season. His cuts were still sharp and his ability to make defenders miss is still plenty intact.
Tilford still very much looks the part of a high-level running back and he too looked crisper than we remember him ever looking. He has already dialed in his running style a bit more so it is less violent and he showed Saturday how dangerous he can be out of the backfield.
- Receivers: Arizona fans might end up being pleasantly surprised with how the receiver unit looks once the season starts. It doesn’t feel as small as it felt like it could have and even with some big departures it is clear some players have made strides this offseason. At the top of the list is Shawn Poindexter who emerged as one of the top players on the first day of practice. At 6-foot-5 his size is needed on the outside and he looked like a much more polished player in the first spring practice. Arizona paired him up quite a bit with Shun Brown who also looks more polished and even quicker now. That duo could really make for some mismatches and tough assignments for defenses this season. On the other side UA went with Cam Denson and Tony Ellison for its first unit and both players look as comfortable as ever with their positions.
For Ellison it has been about health and he looked solid Saturday for the Wildcats in that regard. Denson has had to adjust to being back on offense and that took time last season. Now he looks much more like the player he was back in high school as a receiver and even though he doesn’t have the height he has the length to make plays either in the slot or on the outside.
Cooper was a standout with the group as well and Zach Benjamin will be one to watch as well. He had some struggles on the first day, but he was running with the second unit and has the size that will bring a different look to the team. And as always Tyrell Johnson’s speed will be important and he made some nice catches as well.
- Tight ends: There is some real length to the group this season and the most notable thing about the tight ends was how they were being used. Now that has been said before and it could always revert to being more about the running game, but the tight ends were out wide some times and at others in closer in a more traditional approach. This will be Arizona’s strongest group of pass catchers under Rodriguez. Trevor Wood looks the part in every way and he made some nice plays and Jamie Nunley as the second unit tight end also did some nice things. Bryce Gilbert provided a few nice plays and he looks to be another all-around tight end who could see some time with his size. Brion Anduze was a non-participant again and it will be interesting to see if he will ever get his chance to make a mark at UA. His knee injury from spring ball a year ago was a severe one and he is still working to come back from that.
- Offensive line: Not signing any offensive linemen in the 2017 class seemed to more impactful when watching the group Saturday. It was a thin unit and couldn’t even go three full groups in during some of the drills where the team used just three offensive linemen instead. There were not many surprises with the first unit as Cody Creason filled in for the injured Gerhard de Beer at right tackle and Christian Boettcher has the early track on the left guard spot. The other three were familiar faces with Jacob Alsadek at right guard, Nate Eldridge at center and Layth Friekh at left tackle. Friekh in particular looks to be headed in a good direction, but there is still a lot left to determine about the group as players get healthy.
Because de Beer and Michael Eletise were injured that meant a chance for others to step in.
Levi Walton was the center with the second unit while Alex Kosinski was at right tackle, walk on Jon Jacobs was at right guard, Harper Sherman was at left guard and Bryson Cain was at left tackle with that group. Cain was certainly impressive in what we were able to see and it will be interesting to see if he finishes ahead of Keenan Walker who was with that third group. Arizona is strictly playing Walker at left tackle and as of the first day he is behind both Friekh and Cain at the position.
- Defensive line: Again the story is injuries as Parker Zellers or Jalen Cochran didn’t practice and Justin Holt is now retired because of concussions. That means others will have to step up an the group will look different by the end of the spring and in the fall. The first unit actually played fairly well Saturday with Finton Connolly in the middle and Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap on either side of him. There are certainly some intriguing pieces and one of the new ones is Sione Taufahema. He’s big and much quicker than we anticipated and those things add up to being a strong defensive lineman. Time will tell how effective he can be but he showed some good things on his first day.
Once the pads go on is when the real progress will be able to be evaluated with that group.
- Linebackers: The linebacker group certainly has some intriguing pieces and the first day went about how you would expect. There was a lot of teaching with a new coach there and a lot of new faces to get acclimated. Jacob Colacion is injured so he didn’t participate, but that meant more time for safety-turned-linebacker Gavin Robertson to get more work in. UA is catching him up to speed at his new position and is hopeful his hard-hitting ability helps him make that transition easier. Robertson worked with the first unit Saturday alongside Brandon Rutt at middle linebacker and DeAndre’ Miller at stud. After that is when things get interesting. There aren’t a lot of options at middle linebacker and there was a steady rotation of players there. Tony Fields looks even more the part now of an outside linebacker and while there was a lot of teaching he has a physical quality about his game that could get him on the field early. Kahi Neves was back with the second unit at stud linebacker and he looks quicker than last season and more aggressive.
Newcomer Jose Ramirez also worked with that stud group and put in plenty of time with the defensive line as well working on that element of his game. He looks a bit undersized compared to some of the others, but he is quick and has some good skills that the staff can take advantage of.
Football
Football is where this week’s War Room will focus, however, as Rich Rodriguez and his team opened up spring practice over the weekend and it was open to the media. That meant a good chance to take a look at the newcomers and the returning group to see how the team looked on its first day. Rodriguez said there will be about 80 new players on the roster combining last year and this year which is quite a bit of turnover.
* To give you an idea of what we saw Saturday as the Wildcats practiced in the rain for about two hours here is a breakdown of each position group and what we felt stood out watching things play out. Keep in mind there were not too many team periods and that meant a lot of teaching in many instances.
- Quarterbacks: The quarterback unit performed fairly well especially for being shorthanded. There were different stretches where different players shined, but without pads it is truly hard to gauge just how much each player has improved outside of passing. As of now there is a gap between Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate who ran with the first and second units, respectively. There were times when Dawkins made some strong throws, but there were others when he overthrew receivers and the ball was a bit high. He did look a bit more dialed in as a passer overall though. Tate had some struggles with his passes having a few errant throws, but he also had some nice touch on a couple deep balls as well. Where he looked most in rhythm was working with receiver DeVaughn Cooper. That duo worked together very well and it was during those times that Tate looked his best. Obviously for both players their true talent comes with the pads on and when they are running the ball, but I think there was slight progress since the end of the season with their passing. The dramatic progress that fans hope to see will have to come the rest of this spring and summer.
Even though the two mentioned above get lots of attention Zach Werlinger and Gunther Johnson also performed well and had some strong throws throughout the day.
- Running backs: As strong as the running back group looked on paper it might be even stronger when you see it in person and it isn’t even complete yet. There was no hitting, but it was clear that group will be a strong point of the team. There are different styles among the group from the quick and shifty JJ Taylor to the big and tough to defend Nathan Tilford. The big thing to watch Saturday, however, was health and both Taylor and Nick Wilson looked to be moving well. It is clear the workload for Wilson won’t be as much as it was before but that will be a good thing. The senior worked mostly with groups further back while he gets back to full health, but he was moving well and still had some nice explosion. Taylor had a little bit of limp to him it seemed at times, but he was still just as explosive Saturday as before his broken ankle during the season. His cuts were still sharp and his ability to make defenders miss is still plenty intact.
Tilford still very much looks the part of a high-level running back and he too looked crisper than we remember him ever looking. He has already dialed in his running style a bit more so it is less violent and he showed Saturday how dangerous he can be out of the backfield.
- Receivers: Arizona fans might end up being pleasantly surprised with how the receiver unit looks once the season starts. It doesn’t feel as small as it felt like it could have and even with some big departures it is clear some players have made strides this offseason. At the top of the list is Shawn Poindexter who emerged as one of the top players on the first day of practice. At 6-foot-5 his size is needed on the outside and he looked like a much more polished player in the first spring practice. Arizona paired him up quite a bit with Shun Brown who also looks more polished and even quicker now. That duo could really make for some mismatches and tough assignments for defenses this season. On the other side UA went with Cam Denson and Tony Ellison for its first unit and both players look as comfortable as ever with their positions.
For Ellison it has been about health and he looked solid Saturday for the Wildcats in that regard. Denson has had to adjust to being back on offense and that took time last season. Now he looks much more like the player he was back in high school as a receiver and even though he doesn’t have the height he has the length to make plays either in the slot or on the outside.
Cooper was a standout with the group as well and Zach Benjamin will be one to watch as well. He had some struggles on the first day, but he was running with the second unit and has the size that will bring a different look to the team. And as always Tyrell Johnson’s speed will be important and he made some nice catches as well.
- Tight ends: There is some real length to the group this season and the most notable thing about the tight ends was how they were being used. Now that has been said before and it could always revert to being more about the running game, but the tight ends were out wide some times and at others in closer in a more traditional approach. This will be Arizona’s strongest group of pass catchers under Rodriguez. Trevor Wood looks the part in every way and he made some nice plays and Jamie Nunley as the second unit tight end also did some nice things. Bryce Gilbert provided a few nice plays and he looks to be another all-around tight end who could see some time with his size. Brion Anduze was a non-participant again and it will be interesting to see if he will ever get his chance to make a mark at UA. His knee injury from spring ball a year ago was a severe one and he is still working to come back from that.
- Offensive line: Not signing any offensive linemen in the 2017 class seemed to more impactful when watching the group Saturday. It was a thin unit and couldn’t even go three full groups in during some of the drills where the team used just three offensive linemen instead. There were not many surprises with the first unit as Cody Creason filled in for the injured Gerhard de Beer at right tackle and Christian Boettcher has the early track on the left guard spot. The other three were familiar faces with Jacob Alsadek at right guard, Nate Eldridge at center and Layth Friekh at left tackle. Friekh in particular looks to be headed in a good direction, but there is still a lot left to determine about the group as players get healthy.
Because de Beer and Michael Eletise were injured that meant a chance for others to step in.
Levi Walton was the center with the second unit while Alex Kosinski was at right tackle, walk on Jon Jacobs was at right guard, Harper Sherman was at left guard and Bryson Cain was at left tackle with that group. Cain was certainly impressive in what we were able to see and it will be interesting to see if he finishes ahead of Keenan Walker who was with that third group. Arizona is strictly playing Walker at left tackle and as of the first day he is behind both Friekh and Cain at the position.
- Defensive line: Again the story is injuries as Parker Zellers or Jalen Cochran didn’t practice and Justin Holt is now retired because of concussions. That means others will have to step up an the group will look different by the end of the spring and in the fall. The first unit actually played fairly well Saturday with Finton Connolly in the middle and Luca Bruno and Justin Belknap on either side of him. There are certainly some intriguing pieces and one of the new ones is Sione Taufahema. He’s big and much quicker than we anticipated and those things add up to being a strong defensive lineman. Time will tell how effective he can be but he showed some good things on his first day.
Once the pads go on is when the real progress will be able to be evaluated with that group.
- Linebackers: The linebacker group certainly has some intriguing pieces and the first day went about how you would expect. There was a lot of teaching with a new coach there and a lot of new faces to get acclimated. Jacob Colacion is injured so he didn’t participate, but that meant more time for safety-turned-linebacker Gavin Robertson to get more work in. UA is catching him up to speed at his new position and is hopeful his hard-hitting ability helps him make that transition easier. Robertson worked with the first unit Saturday alongside Brandon Rutt at middle linebacker and DeAndre’ Miller at stud. After that is when things get interesting. There aren’t a lot of options at middle linebacker and there was a steady rotation of players there. Tony Fields looks even more the part now of an outside linebacker and while there was a lot of teaching he has a physical quality about his game that could get him on the field early. Kahi Neves was back with the second unit at stud linebacker and he looks quicker than last season and more aggressive.
Newcomer Jose Ramirez also worked with that stud group and put in plenty of time with the defensive line as well working on that element of his game. He looks a bit undersized compared to some of the others, but he is quick and has some good skills that the staff can take advantage of.
