It is officially time to for the 2015-16 seasons to get underway. Arizona goes back to school Monday and now it will be full speed ahead until next spring for the Wildcats. The UA football team is now out of fall camp and will begin preparations for its season opener starting this week all while the recruiting wheels continue to turn.
Here is this week’s GOAZCATS.com War Room to get you all up to speed.
Football
Arizona wrapped up the camp portion of its schedule this month on Saturday with a scrimmage that let the media in on a little more about the team as it turns the page to game prep and the season opener against UTSA. There were not too many surprises during Saturday’s scrimmage, but there are still some remaining questions as UA prepares to start its new season.
* As we have been doing all month long here is a look at the top story lines going into the new week as Arizona changes things up with normal practices and game prep this week.
- After watching practice throughout camp it is still the offensive line that presents the biggest question mark for Arizona going into the season, and it really has not a lot to do with the starting unit. Sure, there have been some position switches with Cayman Bundage moving from guard to center and the guard spot being taken by either TD Gross or Zach Hemmila, but behind those first five or six players along the line there is not a lot of experience.
Bundage has done a good job of improving himself and Rich Rodriguez was pleased with how his snaps looked during Saturday’s scrimmage. At this point it would be surprising if he is not the starting center come Sept. 3. Hemmila has been getting plenty of work in at the open guard spot going into the new week, but when healthy TD Gross has been a contributor there as well.
Arizona is going to need players on that second unit that included the likes of Layth Friekh, Kaige Lawrence, David Catalano and Gerhard de Beer to step things up early in the season so they can be ready to go should anything happen during the busy schedule. It will be interesting to see how much that second unit can get into games during the early part of the schedule.
- The other interesting spot for Arizona going into the next week will be the cornerback position. Right now Arizona has some options, but again a couple of those are unproven. DaVonte’ Neal now looks like he has the best chance to start at one of the spots for Arizona as he had a strong finish to camp. On the other side it will be interesting. Both Cam Denson and freshman Sammy Morrison figure to play, but only one of them will start. Denson has some experience on his side, but for the second part of camp he mostly worked with the second unit during the open portions of practice. Again, during Saturday’s scrimmage he was mostly with what would have been the second group. Arizona usually likes to side with experience, but Morrison put together a strong camp and if there’s a spot where Arizona would be willing to start a freshman that could be it.
It still feels like Denson’s experience will win out in the end, but it is certainly something to continue watching this week. Jarvis McCall (when healthy), Kwesi Mashack and Devin Holiday are some others who will likely see some time this year in certain situations at corner.
- The linebackers around Scooby Wright will be something important to watch over the next week as well. DeAndre’ Miller has come on strong over the last week or so and he has been consistently working with the first group during the open portion of practice and again during Saturday’s scrimmage. After dealing with his shoulder injury last year he has bounced back strong over the last almost nine months and he will be a contributor whether he starts or not.
Arizona opted to go with Cody Ippolito at the other linebacker spot with the first unit during Saturday’s scrimmage, and out side of Wright the redshirt junior looks like he will be the team’s most important linebacker because of his versatility. That first group looked strong during Saturday’s scrimmage when Wright was on the field to start, but Jake Matthews has put together a good offseason and Derrick Turituri looks even bigger than last season.
There is some more flexibility within the unit than before, but still an injury here or there could mean some trouble. If everyone can stay healthy it has the chance to be a good unit for Arizona’s defense, but it wouldn’t hurt to get some more depth over the early portion of the season.
Football recruiting
Arizona is continuing to prepare for its season, but the recruiting of course never stops. The Wildcats had five-star prospect N’Keal Harry on campus Sunday for another short unofficial visit and there were other prospects on campus over the weekend as well. In the immediate future, however, the ‘Cats added their next commit in the 2016 class on Monday.
* That is where we will start as three-star offensive lineman Bryson Cain made his decision known Monday. The Temecula (Calif.) Great Oak prospect has the versatility to play really any position on the offensive line and that had intrigued plenty of programs including Arizona. Arizona was always the leader for the 6-foot-5 recruit as he has built a strong relationship with UA offensive line coach Jim Michalczik who is also his lead recruiter as well.
The Wildcats really led the way because of Michalczik and that really ended up making the difference.
"Coach M (Michalczik) is pretty much the main factor," Cain told GOAZCATS.com about his decision. "He's going to be like my dad away from home since he's the offensive line coach."
There was plenty of belief that Cain was going to commit to Arizona back when he visited last month when the Wildcats hosted numerous visitors and ended up with a big day with multiple commitments, but the offensive lineman decided to wait things out some more before announcing his decision at his school on Monday.
Army was a factor because of Cain's ties to the military with some of his family members, but he didn't end up making a trip out that way and that is when it was going to be all Arizona.
* Three-star athlete recruit Lorenzo Burns was one of the visitors Arizona had over the weekend as the Temecula (Calif.) Linfield Christian standout made his way to Tucson with his family. The 5-foot-11 recruit was able to make it to Saturday’s scrimmage and that gave him a great chance to see how things run under Rodriguez. Because he was able to see things with his family that gave the receiver/cornerback a chance to really evaluate things and he came away impressed with what he saw.
“I was glad I got to see coach Rodriguez interact with his players, because usually you don’t get to see the head coach actually coach his players when you go out for an unofficial visit so it was good to see that,” Burns said. “My whole family went and we had a conversation with coach Rodriguez, and it was just a good atmosphere. He was very welcoming of my family and I felt at home to be honest talking with coach and the other coaches.
“It just felt like we were very welcome there.”
Multiple members of Burns’ family were able to make the trip out to Tucson along with him including his coach and father, DeChon Burns, who has experience playing the game as well as coaching at the collegiate level as well. Having that many family members on a visit was certainly important for the 2016 recruit.
“It was good because with them coming out it’s not just me going out there and coming back to tell them how it was,” he said. “Especially with my dad being around the game so long he was able to help me out questions and what he thought of the university - which he had nothing but positive things to say about the school. My mom went with me to Colorado and her coming on this one was good.
“But having my little brother and my sister and my grandfather there really, really helped me appreciate the fact that Arizona and staff at Arizona is all about family. And they just didn’t talk about it they actually showed it. I felt that presence when I went there and that was great.”
Burns is in no rush to make his college choice and now with his season getting started that is where a lot of his focus will go now. Arizona certainly helped itself with the visit over the weekend and definitely put itself in contention for his eventual commitment. For now the three-star recruit, who Arizona wants at cornerback, will start planning some official trips.
Wisconsin and Nebraska are going to be two of the five for sure he said, but Arizona also has the chance to get back in there as well. At this stage Burns would like to use his official visits on schools he would have a harder time getting out to on his own, so it will be interesting to see which programs earn the other three visits.
* Darnay Holmes enjoyed his visit to Arizona over the weekend as well. The five-star recruit came mostly to watch his older brother and current Arizona freshman receiver Darick Holmes play, but it gave the five-star 2017 recruit another chance to be on campus. At this stage Arizona is going to remain in the picture because of that connection and playing with his brother again is a real desire for the five-star cornerback, but Stanford remains the favorite at this stage.
From the beginning when he was first offered by Arizona we were always told it would be one of those two programs where Holmes would eventually end up. Holmes is definitely into the academic side of things and as long as things continue to go right for him in the classroom the Cardinal will be tough to beat.
Another winning season would certainly help Arizona’s cause since there is that natural connection with his brother.
Here is this week’s GOAZCATS.com War Room to get you all up to speed.
Football
Arizona wrapped up the camp portion of its schedule this month on Saturday with a scrimmage that let the media in on a little more about the team as it turns the page to game prep and the season opener against UTSA. There were not too many surprises during Saturday’s scrimmage, but there are still some remaining questions as UA prepares to start its new season.
* As we have been doing all month long here is a look at the top story lines going into the new week as Arizona changes things up with normal practices and game prep this week.
- After watching practice throughout camp it is still the offensive line that presents the biggest question mark for Arizona going into the season, and it really has not a lot to do with the starting unit. Sure, there have been some position switches with Cayman Bundage moving from guard to center and the guard spot being taken by either TD Gross or Zach Hemmila, but behind those first five or six players along the line there is not a lot of experience.
Bundage has done a good job of improving himself and Rich Rodriguez was pleased with how his snaps looked during Saturday’s scrimmage. At this point it would be surprising if he is not the starting center come Sept. 3. Hemmila has been getting plenty of work in at the open guard spot going into the new week, but when healthy TD Gross has been a contributor there as well.
Arizona is going to need players on that second unit that included the likes of Layth Friekh, Kaige Lawrence, David Catalano and Gerhard de Beer to step things up early in the season so they can be ready to go should anything happen during the busy schedule. It will be interesting to see how much that second unit can get into games during the early part of the schedule.
- The other interesting spot for Arizona going into the next week will be the cornerback position. Right now Arizona has some options, but again a couple of those are unproven. DaVonte’ Neal now looks like he has the best chance to start at one of the spots for Arizona as he had a strong finish to camp. On the other side it will be interesting. Both Cam Denson and freshman Sammy Morrison figure to play, but only one of them will start. Denson has some experience on his side, but for the second part of camp he mostly worked with the second unit during the open portions of practice. Again, during Saturday’s scrimmage he was mostly with what would have been the second group. Arizona usually likes to side with experience, but Morrison put together a strong camp and if there’s a spot where Arizona would be willing to start a freshman that could be it.
It still feels like Denson’s experience will win out in the end, but it is certainly something to continue watching this week. Jarvis McCall (when healthy), Kwesi Mashack and Devin Holiday are some others who will likely see some time this year in certain situations at corner.
- The linebackers around Scooby Wright will be something important to watch over the next week as well. DeAndre’ Miller has come on strong over the last week or so and he has been consistently working with the first group during the open portion of practice and again during Saturday’s scrimmage. After dealing with his shoulder injury last year he has bounced back strong over the last almost nine months and he will be a contributor whether he starts or not.
Arizona opted to go with Cody Ippolito at the other linebacker spot with the first unit during Saturday’s scrimmage, and out side of Wright the redshirt junior looks like he will be the team’s most important linebacker because of his versatility. That first group looked strong during Saturday’s scrimmage when Wright was on the field to start, but Jake Matthews has put together a good offseason and Derrick Turituri looks even bigger than last season.
There is some more flexibility within the unit than before, but still an injury here or there could mean some trouble. If everyone can stay healthy it has the chance to be a good unit for Arizona’s defense, but it wouldn’t hurt to get some more depth over the early portion of the season.
Football recruiting
Arizona is continuing to prepare for its season, but the recruiting of course never stops. The Wildcats had five-star prospect N’Keal Harry on campus Sunday for another short unofficial visit and there were other prospects on campus over the weekend as well. In the immediate future, however, the ‘Cats added their next commit in the 2016 class on Monday.
* That is where we will start as three-star offensive lineman Bryson Cain made his decision known Monday. The Temecula (Calif.) Great Oak prospect has the versatility to play really any position on the offensive line and that had intrigued plenty of programs including Arizona. Arizona was always the leader for the 6-foot-5 recruit as he has built a strong relationship with UA offensive line coach Jim Michalczik who is also his lead recruiter as well.
The Wildcats really led the way because of Michalczik and that really ended up making the difference.
"Coach M (Michalczik) is pretty much the main factor," Cain told GOAZCATS.com about his decision. "He's going to be like my dad away from home since he's the offensive line coach."
There was plenty of belief that Cain was going to commit to Arizona back when he visited last month when the Wildcats hosted numerous visitors and ended up with a big day with multiple commitments, but the offensive lineman decided to wait things out some more before announcing his decision at his school on Monday.
Army was a factor because of Cain's ties to the military with some of his family members, but he didn't end up making a trip out that way and that is when it was going to be all Arizona.
* Three-star athlete recruit Lorenzo Burns was one of the visitors Arizona had over the weekend as the Temecula (Calif.) Linfield Christian standout made his way to Tucson with his family. The 5-foot-11 recruit was able to make it to Saturday’s scrimmage and that gave him a great chance to see how things run under Rodriguez. Because he was able to see things with his family that gave the receiver/cornerback a chance to really evaluate things and he came away impressed with what he saw.
“I was glad I got to see coach Rodriguez interact with his players, because usually you don’t get to see the head coach actually coach his players when you go out for an unofficial visit so it was good to see that,” Burns said. “My whole family went and we had a conversation with coach Rodriguez, and it was just a good atmosphere. He was very welcoming of my family and I felt at home to be honest talking with coach and the other coaches.
“It just felt like we were very welcome there.”
Multiple members of Burns’ family were able to make the trip out to Tucson along with him including his coach and father, DeChon Burns, who has experience playing the game as well as coaching at the collegiate level as well. Having that many family members on a visit was certainly important for the 2016 recruit.
“It was good because with them coming out it’s not just me going out there and coming back to tell them how it was,” he said. “Especially with my dad being around the game so long he was able to help me out questions and what he thought of the university - which he had nothing but positive things to say about the school. My mom went with me to Colorado and her coming on this one was good.
“But having my little brother and my sister and my grandfather there really, really helped me appreciate the fact that Arizona and staff at Arizona is all about family. And they just didn’t talk about it they actually showed it. I felt that presence when I went there and that was great.”
Burns is in no rush to make his college choice and now with his season getting started that is where a lot of his focus will go now. Arizona certainly helped itself with the visit over the weekend and definitely put itself in contention for his eventual commitment. For now the three-star recruit, who Arizona wants at cornerback, will start planning some official trips.
Wisconsin and Nebraska are going to be two of the five for sure he said, but Arizona also has the chance to get back in there as well. At this stage Burns would like to use his official visits on schools he would have a harder time getting out to on his own, so it will be interesting to see which programs earn the other three visits.
* Darnay Holmes enjoyed his visit to Arizona over the weekend as well. The five-star recruit came mostly to watch his older brother and current Arizona freshman receiver Darick Holmes play, but it gave the five-star 2017 recruit another chance to be on campus. At this stage Arizona is going to remain in the picture because of that connection and playing with his brother again is a real desire for the five-star cornerback, but Stanford remains the favorite at this stage.
From the beginning when he was first offered by Arizona we were always told it would be one of those two programs where Holmes would eventually end up. Holmes is definitely into the academic side of things and as long as things continue to go right for him in the classroom the Cardinal will be tough to beat.
Another winning season would certainly help Arizona’s cause since there is that natural connection with his brother.
