The coaching search is starting to significantly heat up and as candidates get eliminated, the rumor mill ramps up. It’s no surprise this will be the longest War Room yet.
Basketball:
There are several developments going on right now across college basketball, many of which could impact Arizona.
To start, I asked Jason Scheer to put together a summary of what’s going on at Kentucky and why UA fans should care. Here’s his analysis:
* There are a lot of questions about how the Kentucky opening is going to affect Arizona’s search for a head coach, especially with the rumor that John Calipari will be a major candidate.
From what we have heard, that is not necessarily true. Numerous sources say that Kentucky president Lee Todd has no interest in signing Calipari for many reasons. It also does not help that the current compliance director at Kentucky was one of the main people involved in getting Calipari into some hot water at UMass.
From what we understand, Florida coach Billy Donovan and Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford are the main two guys. In fact, we had a source tell us that Donovan is already in Kentucky, but that could also be in the same range of validity as Rick Pitino owning a house in Tucson already.
There may be something brewing because there is obviously a reason VCU coach Anthony Grant has not accepted the Alabama job yet. If Donovan takes the Kentucky job, Grant would slide in at Florida. If he does not, you’d think Grant would accept Alabama.
With that said, the longer that he remains unsigned, the more of a chance there is for Grant becoming a candidate at Arizona if the Pitino’s and Calipari’s of the coaching world turn down the UA.
Obviously there are no guarantees, but we have heard numerous people tell us that as of today, Calipari is not a candidate at Kentucky and he has a long way to go to become one. (JS)
* All of that could change in a heartbeat, but that’s where Scheer feels Kentucky is at as of today. So where’s Arizona at?
The biggest news of Thursday was Calipari’s Memphis squad losing to Missouri in the Sweet 16. The loss was good news for Arizona in that the further Memphis went in the tournament, the less time Jim Livengood would have to officially make his pitch to Calipari, as well as the fact that coaches just rarely leave their schools have advancing deep into the tournament.
So what happens between Arizona and Calipari now? Through intermediaries, throughout this process, Cal has shown interest in the UA job. He’s never promised anyone he was going to take it, but he has made it clear that he’s very intrigued by the position.
I would imagine that some time very soon, Livengood will ask permission from Memphis’ athletic director to talk to Cal, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.
Cal and Memphis stayed in Glendale on Thursday night and will fly back to Memphis Friday morning.
I don’t know how public any contact between Livengood and Cal will become, but it would be a complete shock if they aren’t talking very soon.
And if they aren’t talking ASAP, it’s become Livengood feels very confident in someone else. So who could that be?
* The rumor mill is see-sawed between Cal and Pitino all week, and Pitino blew everything up nationally when he refused to deny interest in the UA job at his press conference in Indianapolis on Thursday.
Pitino not flat out saying he wasn’t interested in the Arizona job was significant. By him not flat out denying it, it means one of two things: He wants a raise or he’s interested in the job.
If he wants more money at Louisville, he can get it whenever he wants. Every year a school offers him more money than he’s currently making and he always has the option of leveraging that for a raise. He doesn’t do it.
Combine that with the fact that we already know he’s interested in the job and you have your reason why he didn’t deny anything in his press conference.
My biggest concern hasn’t been Arizona not being able to pay the money, as this isn’t a guy completely driven by money, like some coaches. Despite how many things I’ve heard about Pitino and Arizona, I’ve always been worried about him wanting, at 56, to rebuild another program.
That was until I heard Pitino on Colin Cowherd a couple days ago, going on about how much he loves rebuilding programs. So maybe he has one more rebuilding project to go before he throws in the towel.
* Back to Grant. There had been some talk that UA could get involved with Grant, but the fact that it never happened (to our knowledge anyway) is significant, and shows that Livengood is fairly comfortable with this ability to land a candidate whose team was still playing as of Thursday morning.
If Louisville keeps marching on and nothing materializes between Livengood and Calipari, or anyone else whose team was eliminated before the Final Four, you should have another hint on who Livengood is concentrated on.
* To sum up everything above, I think Calipari and Pitino are at the forefront of this search and Livengood will do his best to land one of the two. If he doesn’t push for Calipari in the near future, something is up with someone else, and chances are that someone else is Pitino. But there’s every reason to believe he will be talking to Calipari (officially) shortly.
* I spent Thursday afternoon/evening at University of Phoenix Stadium watching Memphis/Missouri and Purdue/UConn. Jim Rosborough drove up to Glendale to show Josh Pastner support, and also in attendance were Steve Kerr and World Wide Wes.
* Livengood was in Tucson on Monday and Tuesday, and he boarded the team plane to Indianapolis on Wednesday, which is where I assume he was on Thursday but I don’t know for sure. (JG)
* In other news, apparently Arizona has a basketball game today, and Scott Karpen put together some notes about the matchup:
The Wildcats will take on Louisville Friday night and in this week’s War Room we look at what Arizona may need to do to come out on top.
* One of the biggest concerns for the ‘Cats may be the depth of Louisville. The Cardinals are expected to push the tempo and attempt to wear down UA as the game continues. Louisville has eight players who average double-digit minutes per game and only two players average over 30 minutes per contest. On the other hand, UA rarely goes more than six deep and the Big Three all average at least 35 minutes a game.
* Louisville not only enters the Sweet 16 as the top seed in the Midwest regional, but it is the number one overall seed in the tournament, which puts coach Rick Pitino in a comfortable position. Pitino is enjoying his fifth tournament as a number one seed (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009) and he has an 18-3 overall record as a top seed. Also, Pitino is 29-4 when playing as the higher seed.
* Arizona will need to outshoot Louisville to win just as UA did in the first weekend of the tournament. The Wildcats are 12-2 on the season when shooting better than 50 percent and 18-5 when out-shooting their opponent. On the year UL is 28-0 when it shoots better from the field than the opposition and 29-4 when its opponent shoots below 50 percent.
* The contest may also come down to which team can jump out to an early lead. Arizona is 13-7 when leading at the break and only 7-6 when trailing. But when Louisville gets a first half lead, it doesn’t lose. UL is 25-0 when leading at halftime and the record jumps to 27-0 when leading with five minutes to play.
* In the end Arizona is going to have to earn this victory. This will not be a contest where UA can afford to lose the box score battle but grind out a victory. Louisville rarely loses when it wins box score categories of turnovers, rebounding, three-point makes and field goal makes, free throw shooting, and bench scoring. Arizona will have to control the contest to get the victory as Louisville is too talented to win the box score but not the game. (SK)
Football:
With spring football only having a week to go, I thought I’d go position by position, sharing what I’ve learned so far by watching all the practices, which have been open to the media (practices are closed to media in the season).
Offense:
Quarterback:
Nothing against Nick Foles, who is a good kid and a hard worker, but it is obvious that Matt Scott has a firm grip on the #1 spot. I don’t expect any of the coaches to come out and say that, but as of today, that’s definitely the case, in my opinion.
Scott seems much more confident with the offense than he was in the fall, is doing a good job making reads and is using his legs as a backup plan, not his primarily means of attack, which you often worry about with young running QB’s.
Foles still has plenty of time to overtake Scott, but in my opinion Scott will head into the summer being on top of the depth chart.
Running Back:
Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin have been impressive, as expected. The only news here is that Greg Nwoko has really stepped up and impressed everyone. He gives UA something it doesn’t have in a big, physical back, but also has shown impressive speed as well. It looks like he’ll head into the fall as 3rd on the depth chart.
Tight End/H-Back:
Rob Gronkowski is ridiculous, as usual. He caught two one-handed passes in 11-on-11 scrimmage on Wednesday, and it’s not even a surprise when he does stuff like that anymore. Chris Gronkowski is getting pretty much all reps at H-Back, and has continued to build off his successful 2008 season. There’s nothing to report on outside of those two.
Wide Receiver:
Delashaun Dean and Terrell Turner have been as good as expected and are definitely well ahead of the others at the position. The two who have stepped up the most as potential contributors are Bug Wright and David Douglas, both of which could really work themselves into the offense.
Juron Criner is getting better and has the upside, but Wright and Douglas probably have looked a little better in the spring. Devin Veal has improved and is seeing more reps, but still probably isn’t someone UA will count on.
Joe Reese and David Roberts are still trying to work their way in the mix.
Offensive Line:
Left Tackle: Trace Biskin has the advantage over Jack Julsing right now. Phillip Garcia, who is out for the spring, will battle Biskin for the starting spot in the fall, unless Julsing shows enough improvement between now and then to be considered in the mix.
Left Guard: Mike Diaz has a command of the starting spot, but he’s been hurt with a sprained ankle. Conan Amituanai is second string and has done fine replacing Diaz. Solomon Koehler is 3rd string and has improved since the season.
Center: Colin Baxter has control of the starting spot. Many of Herman Hall’s backup reps have been going to Kyle Quinn recently.
Right Guard: Vaughn Dotsy has the starting spot locked up. He looks very, very good. Jovon Hayes backs him up.
Right Tackle: Adam Grant has been very good. Shane Zink is backing him up.
Defense:
Defensive Tackle:
Several players are getting reps, but from what I’ve heard the UA will see if it can redshirt Dominique Austin and Jowyn Ward, going with a top five of Earl Mitchell, Lolomana Mikaele, Jonathan Hollins, Kaniela Tuipulotu and Donald Horton. Chris Merrill would also get reps as the 6th guy.
Defensive End:
It’s still a battle between D’Aundre Reed and Ricky Elmore to be a consistent pass rusher opposite Brooks Reed. Scott Smith has been out. Kenny Barnes shows a lot of promise but needs to put on weight. I haven’t seen a ton of Apaiata Tuihalamaka one way or the other.
Linebacker:
Arizona loves its front three of Sterling Lewis, Xavier Kelley and Vuna Tuihalamaka. It’s as fast of a linebacker trio as UA has had in the Mike Stoops era. There isn’t much behind them, however, so UA really needs to keep those guys healthy.
Safety:
Cam Nelson is Cam Nelson, but all the talk has been about how good Robert Golden has been in his move to strong safety. In fact, it’s believed that he’s even more of a natural at safety than he was at corner. It sounds like he pretty much has that position locked down.
Cornerback:
Devin Ross is Devin Ross, but everyone is very excited about what Trevin Wade has done across the field. UA isn’t expected to miss a beat replacing Marquis Hundley.
Kicker/Punter:
I don’t know because they don’t kick when we’re around. Sorry.
* Arizona is expecting a very large contingent of ex-players in town for its spring game on April 4. Among them will be Lance Briggs, Bobby Wade and Antoine Cason.
* Also, expect several 2009 signees at the spring game. Among them should be Daniel Jenkins, Terrence Miller, Ryan Milus and Chris Putton.
* There may not be a large number of recruits in town, at least from Phoenix, as ASU’s junior day is the same day as the spring game. (JG)
Back to Scheer for his weekly recruiting update:
This was somewhat of a quiet week, but there seems to be some players that are going on record as saying they are visiting Arizona over the summer.
* 5-foot-11, 190-pound San Diego Mission Bay cornerback Dorion Howard says that he plans on camping at Arizona, USC, and San Diego State this summer. Howard is a fast rising corner and told Rivals.com, "Academics will be a big consideration. I am also looking for a school where there is an opportunity for early playing time. Another important consideration will be the school's weight and conditioning program." Expect to hear more about Howard in the future.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Mt. Prospect (Ill.) quarterback Miles Osei may be taking a visit to Arizona this spring. He is a baseball player as well, thus it will be difficult to visit any schools. However, he is going to try to get out and see some, one of which could be the UA. While it remains to be seen if Arizona will seriously pursue Osei, there is a good chance that the Wildcats will be taking two signal callers this year.
* 6-foot-3, 195-pound Goodyear Millennium athlete Marquis Flowers is once again seeing new schools get involved. UCLA and Oregon State could be close to offering and USC and Oklahoma are schools Flowers would like to see get involved.
* 6-foot-8, 270-pound Owasso (Okla.) offensive lineman Trent Spurgeon has Arizona among his final schools. He tells PonyPride.com, "I like Texas Tech, Arizona, Oklahoma State and SMU. Those would be the only four that I'm really looking at right now. I've narrowed it down to those four out of my offers." Spurgeon has plans to visit Arizona sooner than later and it will give the Wildcats a fantastic opportunity to make an impression on him. As far as an actual decision goes, Spurgeon is unsure. He may be able to decide once he visits Arizona, or simply wait until Signing Day.
* 6-foot-2, 218-pound San Diego Point Loma linebacker Anthony Joyner may be taking a visit to Arizona this summer. Joyner tells Rivals.com, "I want to be an architect so I want to attend a school that has a strong architect program. I would like to play as close to home as possible, but if a big program across the country was interested and I am a good fit, I would definitely look at that." Arizona, ASU, San Diego State, Colorado State, and others have shown early interest. While he does not have an offer, he is one to keep an eye on, especially if attends camp.
* 6-foot-4, 210-pound Danville (Calif.) Monte Vista quarterback Brett Nottingham looks like he will also be attending Arizona’s camp this summer. He tells Rivals.com, “I have been getting a lot of mail from Arizona assistant coach Jeff Hammerschmidt. I'm looking forward to going to their camp. I have watched them play and they like to throw the ball around." Nottingham will likely see recruiting attention from much of the Pac-10 and it remains to be seen just how serious the UA is about him.
* 6-foot-4, 210-pound Celina (Texas) linebacker Caleb Lavey seems to have opened things up a bit. Many thought that he was centered on only a handful of schools, but it looks as if he may be taking some more visits. Lavey tells AggieYell.com, "I'll make as many as I can in the spring and after that I will narrow it down and make a decision. I will definitely try to see A&M, Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State again for sure. Then, I'll try to make some of the Florida colleges. I will try to make as many as I can." Basically, if Lavey visits, Arizona has a shot. If not, you can probably count it out. For what it’s worth, we hear Michigan and Oklahoma State are doing very well for him.
* 6-foot-6, 205-pound Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West quarterback Tyler Warden may visit Arizona in the spring. He tells EdgyTim.com, “Other than going to Michigan State for a junior day, it was pretty hard for me to get out this winter because of basketball. I definitely plan to see some schools in person this spring, and we are thinking about heading to Arizona for spring break." Like many prospects, it remains to be seen how serious Arizona is about him. However, there is definitely a possibility that we start to hear more about Warden in the future.
* 6-foot-1, 190-pound Downer’s Grove (Ill.) quarterback Chandler Whitmer is visiting Arizona next week. He is on record as saying that Stanford and Arizona are his top schools, as it definitely looks like he is high on the Pac-10. Whitmer will also be visiting Stanford and Ohio State, so we may have a very clear picture of his recruitment by the end of next week.
This post was edited on 3/27 1:57 AM by Josh Gershon
This post was edited on 3/27 8:57 AM by Josh Gershon
Basketball:
There are several developments going on right now across college basketball, many of which could impact Arizona.
To start, I asked Jason Scheer to put together a summary of what’s going on at Kentucky and why UA fans should care. Here’s his analysis:
* There are a lot of questions about how the Kentucky opening is going to affect Arizona’s search for a head coach, especially with the rumor that John Calipari will be a major candidate.
From what we have heard, that is not necessarily true. Numerous sources say that Kentucky president Lee Todd has no interest in signing Calipari for many reasons. It also does not help that the current compliance director at Kentucky was one of the main people involved in getting Calipari into some hot water at UMass.
From what we understand, Florida coach Billy Donovan and Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford are the main two guys. In fact, we had a source tell us that Donovan is already in Kentucky, but that could also be in the same range of validity as Rick Pitino owning a house in Tucson already.
There may be something brewing because there is obviously a reason VCU coach Anthony Grant has not accepted the Alabama job yet. If Donovan takes the Kentucky job, Grant would slide in at Florida. If he does not, you’d think Grant would accept Alabama.
With that said, the longer that he remains unsigned, the more of a chance there is for Grant becoming a candidate at Arizona if the Pitino’s and Calipari’s of the coaching world turn down the UA.
Obviously there are no guarantees, but we have heard numerous people tell us that as of today, Calipari is not a candidate at Kentucky and he has a long way to go to become one. (JS)
* All of that could change in a heartbeat, but that’s where Scheer feels Kentucky is at as of today. So where’s Arizona at?
The biggest news of Thursday was Calipari’s Memphis squad losing to Missouri in the Sweet 16. The loss was good news for Arizona in that the further Memphis went in the tournament, the less time Jim Livengood would have to officially make his pitch to Calipari, as well as the fact that coaches just rarely leave their schools have advancing deep into the tournament.
So what happens between Arizona and Calipari now? Through intermediaries, throughout this process, Cal has shown interest in the UA job. He’s never promised anyone he was going to take it, but he has made it clear that he’s very intrigued by the position.
I would imagine that some time very soon, Livengood will ask permission from Memphis’ athletic director to talk to Cal, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.
Cal and Memphis stayed in Glendale on Thursday night and will fly back to Memphis Friday morning.
I don’t know how public any contact between Livengood and Cal will become, but it would be a complete shock if they aren’t talking very soon.
And if they aren’t talking ASAP, it’s become Livengood feels very confident in someone else. So who could that be?
* The rumor mill is see-sawed between Cal and Pitino all week, and Pitino blew everything up nationally when he refused to deny interest in the UA job at his press conference in Indianapolis on Thursday.
Pitino not flat out saying he wasn’t interested in the Arizona job was significant. By him not flat out denying it, it means one of two things: He wants a raise or he’s interested in the job.
If he wants more money at Louisville, he can get it whenever he wants. Every year a school offers him more money than he’s currently making and he always has the option of leveraging that for a raise. He doesn’t do it.
Combine that with the fact that we already know he’s interested in the job and you have your reason why he didn’t deny anything in his press conference.
My biggest concern hasn’t been Arizona not being able to pay the money, as this isn’t a guy completely driven by money, like some coaches. Despite how many things I’ve heard about Pitino and Arizona, I’ve always been worried about him wanting, at 56, to rebuild another program.
That was until I heard Pitino on Colin Cowherd a couple days ago, going on about how much he loves rebuilding programs. So maybe he has one more rebuilding project to go before he throws in the towel.
* Back to Grant. There had been some talk that UA could get involved with Grant, but the fact that it never happened (to our knowledge anyway) is significant, and shows that Livengood is fairly comfortable with this ability to land a candidate whose team was still playing as of Thursday morning.
If Louisville keeps marching on and nothing materializes between Livengood and Calipari, or anyone else whose team was eliminated before the Final Four, you should have another hint on who Livengood is concentrated on.
* To sum up everything above, I think Calipari and Pitino are at the forefront of this search and Livengood will do his best to land one of the two. If he doesn’t push for Calipari in the near future, something is up with someone else, and chances are that someone else is Pitino. But there’s every reason to believe he will be talking to Calipari (officially) shortly.
* I spent Thursday afternoon/evening at University of Phoenix Stadium watching Memphis/Missouri and Purdue/UConn. Jim Rosborough drove up to Glendale to show Josh Pastner support, and also in attendance were Steve Kerr and World Wide Wes.
* Livengood was in Tucson on Monday and Tuesday, and he boarded the team plane to Indianapolis on Wednesday, which is where I assume he was on Thursday but I don’t know for sure. (JG)
* In other news, apparently Arizona has a basketball game today, and Scott Karpen put together some notes about the matchup:
The Wildcats will take on Louisville Friday night and in this week’s War Room we look at what Arizona may need to do to come out on top.
* One of the biggest concerns for the ‘Cats may be the depth of Louisville. The Cardinals are expected to push the tempo and attempt to wear down UA as the game continues. Louisville has eight players who average double-digit minutes per game and only two players average over 30 minutes per contest. On the other hand, UA rarely goes more than six deep and the Big Three all average at least 35 minutes a game.
* Louisville not only enters the Sweet 16 as the top seed in the Midwest regional, but it is the number one overall seed in the tournament, which puts coach Rick Pitino in a comfortable position. Pitino is enjoying his fifth tournament as a number one seed (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2009) and he has an 18-3 overall record as a top seed. Also, Pitino is 29-4 when playing as the higher seed.
* Arizona will need to outshoot Louisville to win just as UA did in the first weekend of the tournament. The Wildcats are 12-2 on the season when shooting better than 50 percent and 18-5 when out-shooting their opponent. On the year UL is 28-0 when it shoots better from the field than the opposition and 29-4 when its opponent shoots below 50 percent.
* The contest may also come down to which team can jump out to an early lead. Arizona is 13-7 when leading at the break and only 7-6 when trailing. But when Louisville gets a first half lead, it doesn’t lose. UL is 25-0 when leading at halftime and the record jumps to 27-0 when leading with five minutes to play.
* In the end Arizona is going to have to earn this victory. This will not be a contest where UA can afford to lose the box score battle but grind out a victory. Louisville rarely loses when it wins box score categories of turnovers, rebounding, three-point makes and field goal makes, free throw shooting, and bench scoring. Arizona will have to control the contest to get the victory as Louisville is too talented to win the box score but not the game. (SK)
Football:
With spring football only having a week to go, I thought I’d go position by position, sharing what I’ve learned so far by watching all the practices, which have been open to the media (practices are closed to media in the season).
Offense:
Quarterback:
Nothing against Nick Foles, who is a good kid and a hard worker, but it is obvious that Matt Scott has a firm grip on the #1 spot. I don’t expect any of the coaches to come out and say that, but as of today, that’s definitely the case, in my opinion.
Scott seems much more confident with the offense than he was in the fall, is doing a good job making reads and is using his legs as a backup plan, not his primarily means of attack, which you often worry about with young running QB’s.
Foles still has plenty of time to overtake Scott, but in my opinion Scott will head into the summer being on top of the depth chart.
Running Back:
Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin have been impressive, as expected. The only news here is that Greg Nwoko has really stepped up and impressed everyone. He gives UA something it doesn’t have in a big, physical back, but also has shown impressive speed as well. It looks like he’ll head into the fall as 3rd on the depth chart.
Tight End/H-Back:
Rob Gronkowski is ridiculous, as usual. He caught two one-handed passes in 11-on-11 scrimmage on Wednesday, and it’s not even a surprise when he does stuff like that anymore. Chris Gronkowski is getting pretty much all reps at H-Back, and has continued to build off his successful 2008 season. There’s nothing to report on outside of those two.
Wide Receiver:
Delashaun Dean and Terrell Turner have been as good as expected and are definitely well ahead of the others at the position. The two who have stepped up the most as potential contributors are Bug Wright and David Douglas, both of which could really work themselves into the offense.
Juron Criner is getting better and has the upside, but Wright and Douglas probably have looked a little better in the spring. Devin Veal has improved and is seeing more reps, but still probably isn’t someone UA will count on.
Joe Reese and David Roberts are still trying to work their way in the mix.
Offensive Line:
Left Tackle: Trace Biskin has the advantage over Jack Julsing right now. Phillip Garcia, who is out for the spring, will battle Biskin for the starting spot in the fall, unless Julsing shows enough improvement between now and then to be considered in the mix.
Left Guard: Mike Diaz has a command of the starting spot, but he’s been hurt with a sprained ankle. Conan Amituanai is second string and has done fine replacing Diaz. Solomon Koehler is 3rd string and has improved since the season.
Center: Colin Baxter has control of the starting spot. Many of Herman Hall’s backup reps have been going to Kyle Quinn recently.
Right Guard: Vaughn Dotsy has the starting spot locked up. He looks very, very good. Jovon Hayes backs him up.
Right Tackle: Adam Grant has been very good. Shane Zink is backing him up.
Defense:
Defensive Tackle:
Several players are getting reps, but from what I’ve heard the UA will see if it can redshirt Dominique Austin and Jowyn Ward, going with a top five of Earl Mitchell, Lolomana Mikaele, Jonathan Hollins, Kaniela Tuipulotu and Donald Horton. Chris Merrill would also get reps as the 6th guy.
Defensive End:
It’s still a battle between D’Aundre Reed and Ricky Elmore to be a consistent pass rusher opposite Brooks Reed. Scott Smith has been out. Kenny Barnes shows a lot of promise but needs to put on weight. I haven’t seen a ton of Apaiata Tuihalamaka one way or the other.
Linebacker:
Arizona loves its front three of Sterling Lewis, Xavier Kelley and Vuna Tuihalamaka. It’s as fast of a linebacker trio as UA has had in the Mike Stoops era. There isn’t much behind them, however, so UA really needs to keep those guys healthy.
Safety:
Cam Nelson is Cam Nelson, but all the talk has been about how good Robert Golden has been in his move to strong safety. In fact, it’s believed that he’s even more of a natural at safety than he was at corner. It sounds like he pretty much has that position locked down.
Cornerback:
Devin Ross is Devin Ross, but everyone is very excited about what Trevin Wade has done across the field. UA isn’t expected to miss a beat replacing Marquis Hundley.
Kicker/Punter:
I don’t know because they don’t kick when we’re around. Sorry.
* Arizona is expecting a very large contingent of ex-players in town for its spring game on April 4. Among them will be Lance Briggs, Bobby Wade and Antoine Cason.
* Also, expect several 2009 signees at the spring game. Among them should be Daniel Jenkins, Terrence Miller, Ryan Milus and Chris Putton.
* There may not be a large number of recruits in town, at least from Phoenix, as ASU’s junior day is the same day as the spring game. (JG)
Back to Scheer for his weekly recruiting update:
This was somewhat of a quiet week, but there seems to be some players that are going on record as saying they are visiting Arizona over the summer.
* 5-foot-11, 190-pound San Diego Mission Bay cornerback Dorion Howard says that he plans on camping at Arizona, USC, and San Diego State this summer. Howard is a fast rising corner and told Rivals.com, "Academics will be a big consideration. I am also looking for a school where there is an opportunity for early playing time. Another important consideration will be the school's weight and conditioning program." Expect to hear more about Howard in the future.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Mt. Prospect (Ill.) quarterback Miles Osei may be taking a visit to Arizona this spring. He is a baseball player as well, thus it will be difficult to visit any schools. However, he is going to try to get out and see some, one of which could be the UA. While it remains to be seen if Arizona will seriously pursue Osei, there is a good chance that the Wildcats will be taking two signal callers this year.
* 6-foot-3, 195-pound Goodyear Millennium athlete Marquis Flowers is once again seeing new schools get involved. UCLA and Oregon State could be close to offering and USC and Oklahoma are schools Flowers would like to see get involved.
* 6-foot-8, 270-pound Owasso (Okla.) offensive lineman Trent Spurgeon has Arizona among his final schools. He tells PonyPride.com, "I like Texas Tech, Arizona, Oklahoma State and SMU. Those would be the only four that I'm really looking at right now. I've narrowed it down to those four out of my offers." Spurgeon has plans to visit Arizona sooner than later and it will give the Wildcats a fantastic opportunity to make an impression on him. As far as an actual decision goes, Spurgeon is unsure. He may be able to decide once he visits Arizona, or simply wait until Signing Day.
* 6-foot-2, 218-pound San Diego Point Loma linebacker Anthony Joyner may be taking a visit to Arizona this summer. Joyner tells Rivals.com, "I want to be an architect so I want to attend a school that has a strong architect program. I would like to play as close to home as possible, but if a big program across the country was interested and I am a good fit, I would definitely look at that." Arizona, ASU, San Diego State, Colorado State, and others have shown early interest. While he does not have an offer, he is one to keep an eye on, especially if attends camp.
* 6-foot-4, 210-pound Danville (Calif.) Monte Vista quarterback Brett Nottingham looks like he will also be attending Arizona’s camp this summer. He tells Rivals.com, “I have been getting a lot of mail from Arizona assistant coach Jeff Hammerschmidt. I'm looking forward to going to their camp. I have watched them play and they like to throw the ball around." Nottingham will likely see recruiting attention from much of the Pac-10 and it remains to be seen just how serious the UA is about him.
* 6-foot-4, 210-pound Celina (Texas) linebacker Caleb Lavey seems to have opened things up a bit. Many thought that he was centered on only a handful of schools, but it looks as if he may be taking some more visits. Lavey tells AggieYell.com, "I'll make as many as I can in the spring and after that I will narrow it down and make a decision. I will definitely try to see A&M, Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State again for sure. Then, I'll try to make some of the Florida colleges. I will try to make as many as I can." Basically, if Lavey visits, Arizona has a shot. If not, you can probably count it out. For what it’s worth, we hear Michigan and Oklahoma State are doing very well for him.
* 6-foot-6, 205-pound Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West quarterback Tyler Warden may visit Arizona in the spring. He tells EdgyTim.com, “Other than going to Michigan State for a junior day, it was pretty hard for me to get out this winter because of basketball. I definitely plan to see some schools in person this spring, and we are thinking about heading to Arizona for spring break." Like many prospects, it remains to be seen how serious Arizona is about him. However, there is definitely a possibility that we start to hear more about Warden in the future.
* 6-foot-1, 190-pound Downer’s Grove (Ill.) quarterback Chandler Whitmer is visiting Arizona next week. He is on record as saying that Stanford and Arizona are his top schools, as it definitely looks like he is high on the Pac-10. Whitmer will also be visiting Stanford and Ohio State, so we may have a very clear picture of his recruitment by the end of next week.
This post was edited on 3/27 1:57 AM by Josh Gershon
This post was edited on 3/27 8:57 AM by Josh Gershon
