Another win, another move up the rankings. The RichRod train rolled to 3-0 to open the 2012 season, and here's more notes and quotes from Saturday's win - including plenty of looks ahead to the next opponent, No. 3 Oregon.
Football team
* By the numbers
2 - Wildcats who switched positions and jersey numbers Saturday; Jowyn Ward now wears No. 55 and played on the offensive line, while Dame Ndiaye wears No. 85 and played tight end
2.2-to-1 - The opponent-to-Arizona ratio in penalties through three games. Teams have committed 33 penalties for 340 yards against the Wildcats this season.
3 - Wins away from bowl eligibility with three-fourths of the schedule left to play
3:05 - Average scoring drive on the Wildcats' eight touchdowns Saturday
8 - First downs allowed by the Arizona defense against South Carolina State
30 - Completions by Matt Scott against the Bulldogs, equaling his career high
43 - First downs by Arizona, setting a new school record for one game
69 - Players used by Arizona on Saturday, including a handful of Division I debuts
329 - Rushing yards per game by next week's opponent, No. 3 Oregon
605 - Total offense average through the first three games of the RichRod era, which already owns the second- and third-best single-game totals for yards gained in school history
* Don't fix what's not broke
Ranked opponent or not - FBS or FCS, even - the Wildcats are not changing the game plan for anybody. That theory gets put to the test in one of the biggest games of the season, and the team's biggest road challenge, when it visits defending Rose Bowl champion Oregon on Saturday.
Walking out to practice on Sunday, there were the smiles of a team that knows it's 3-0 but also the same body language after the upset over Oklahoma State.
Does it necessarily mean anything? No, but it at least falls in line with the precedent the coaching staff has created. Train like an elite athlete and prepare like an elite team.
"We're not going to change our routine this week for Oregon, that we did South Carolina State," UA head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We kind of have a set structure - you know, there may be different things in the game plan - but as far as how we go about our business, I think the kids want consistency. When you start changing from week to week then you start lessening the importance of every game, and they're all pretty important.
"Would I like to be faster and bigger and stronger, and all that? Sure - and we've got to get that. But the one thing I have been pleased with is they have sat up and paid attention, so to speak. They've been eager to learn.
"When you have a team like that: One, it's fun to coach, but, two, it gives you a chance because I think the guys are hungry."
* Movin' on up
The Pac-12 Conference has received quite a bit of respect to start the year. Stanford's upset over USC moved the Cardinal up to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 poll - a 12-spot from one week ago. Meanwhile, the Trojans dropped 11 spots to No. 13.
See what one victory can do? By that math, a shocking win at No. 3 Oregon could make No. 22 Arizona a top-10 team by this time next week. Definitely did not think I would be constructing that sentence at any point this season.
In all, five Pac-12 schools are ranked in the AP Top 25, including 19th-ranked UCLA.
* Fresh legs and a shutout
The rout allowed Arizona - most notably, the defense - to finally get some rest.
After staying on the field for about 100 plays in each of the first two games, linebacker Jake Fischer was the first to head to the sidelines about midway through the third quarter. His replacement, true freshman Dakota Conwell, recorded his first career tackle later in the game - a sack for a 10-yard loss.
While the rest is welcome, linebacker Marquis Flowers wasn't quite ready to exit the game for good.
"It felt good. I kind of still wanted to play some more," Flowers said. "Hopefully we're going to go out there fresh and ready to play for next week."
The donut the defense put up, even after the second-unit slowly trickled onto the field, was not lost on Flowers.
"I think it means a lot," Flowers said. "I think we're coming together. We struggled last year, obviously. There was times we struggled against our offense (this offseason). But to get a shutout, that's big. It just lets you know that we have pride and we're going to keep fighting."
Also, for the second straight game cornerback Jonathan McKnight intercepted a pass. His addition to this defense after missing all of 2011 with a torn ACL cannot be forgotten.
* Scott not shying away from contact
Forget it, fifth-year senior quarterback Matt Scott will probably never slide. In fact, he's been seeking contact to start the year with two big blocks already - including one against South Carolina State.
With the nature of the zone-read, there will be times Scott makes the correct decision but cannot avoid contact. After the win, Scott insisted that he did not notice any unnecessary shots even though his coach wanted to see his quarterback on the ground less.
"I didn't take that many, actually," Scott said. "I'm a pretty tough guy so I can take 'em. I like getting hit - I mean, I like taking hits, giving hits. It's part of the game."
* Can't get no satisfaction
There are teams that start off strong and pull upsets that are clearly happy with how they played. While Arizona is not complaining about its record and national ranking, there always seems to be a "but" when asked about each of their three performances.
A lot of times, it becomes about execution and leaving chances on the field to score more, and it was the same thing Saturday night.
That can only be a good sign with this team and the expectation level this staff has despite the fact it knows it is not the most talented bunch in the country. Basically, they want to at least make sure they are not outworked by anybody, and that's where the real satisfaction comes into play. Effort is not a question mark for this team right now.[/B]
* More notes from Saturday's victory
Rodriguez on when to insert backup quarterback B.J. Denker: "I was about to put him in when it was 28-0, but then for sure when it was 35-0."[/B]
[/B]
[/B]
Rodriguez on the changes with Jowyn Ward and Dame Ndiaye: "I think I moved (Ward) about two weeks ago. I wish I would've moved him in spring. I think he would've been in the mix; but, at the time, we were still looking for guys defensively. He's clearly a second-team guard and got a lot of reps.[/B]
"(Ndiaye's move) was two days ago. I don't even know if he knew how to get in the stance. He didn't jump offsides, so I'll have to see the film if he blocked anybody."
Basketball team
With Rondae Jefferson giving his verbal, he would be head coach Sean Miller's sixth five-star recruit in the last three recruiting classes - and possibly more on the way.
So, let's look at what 2014 may look like:
Guards
Gone will be wing Kevin Parrom and point guard Mark Lyons, but coming in will be T.J. McConnell after sitting out this season and fellow 2014 commit Elliott Pitts - who could eventually grow into a small forward.
McConnell is the guard that many believe will put the Wildcats over the hump and contend for a national title by 2013-14. He's that good and will make everybody around him happier, like a true point guard should.
Pitts, a three-star recruit, has the shooting touch to stay at guard but has the skill set to move over. He's the kind of glue guy that could be a valuable piece to a championship team as his career moves along.
Returning: Nick Johnson, Jordin Mayes, Gabe York and Jacob Hazzard
A lot rides on the 2012-13 season before you start to think about the following year will look like for this group. The guards have both the most to lose and gain when compared to any other positions on the roster.
Johnson's sophomore slump came a bit early, and the Wildcats are looking for the 6-3 combo guard to develop more on the defensive end and be a similar Kyle Fogg-type dogged defender. Offensively, it's just about being more consistent with his jump shot. Just don't expect him to be assuming much of a role at the point with McConnell's availability.
With a more ideal recovery compared to last year, Mayes will be more prepared to prove that he is more like the freshman who was a key cog off the bench in the run to the Elite Eight. But he is not the athlete and defender Johnson is, so McConnell's presence will only make it tougher for Mayes next year to crack the starting rotation.
York is a wild card both this season and the next. Can he score and get to the rim? No question, but so can a lot of other players at this level.
At just 6-1 and 170 pounds but absolutely no future as a point guard, York is a one-dimensional player who has plenty to prove as a freshman. Whether York can eventually push for minutes will likely be determined by the work he puts in on the defensive end of the floor.
Forwards
Out goes Solomon Hill, a possible Pac-12 Conference player of the year, and in comes a similar talent in Jefferson.
The 6-7, 200-pounder will give the Wildcats a worker on defense and gifted all-around athlete. Jump shooting will be an issue early, but Jefferson has enough solid tools elsewhere and is not much of a big scorer. Depending on who sticks around for a sophomore season in this year's class, Jefferson may not have to be.
Returning: Brandon Ashley, Angelo Chol, Grant Jerrett and Drew Mellon
Should he stick around, Ashley will be a natural small forward who could continue to play a bit out of position at the four, if things go well this year with that transition. Whether he sticks around to see 2013-14 is a whole 'nother story with plenty left to be decided on the court before anything comes close to a reality.
But scoring will not be an issue if he is still in a Wildcats uniform.
Jerrett would give Johnson and Ashley plenty of room to operate with his outside shooting ability. Defensively, Jerrett and Chol would continue to give UA an impressive frontcourt.
Centers
Kaleb Tarczewski and Matt Korcheck, a voluntary redshirt this season, will give Miller a 7-foot and 6-9 tandem he can roll out. Tarczewski still needs some work and looks like a guy that will stay in college for a bit. Korcheck is a hustling big man that can make opposing centers work.
Given the team's versatility, many of the players could just as easily slide over one spot, as will be the case in 2012-13.
And now, here's a look at the recruiting end from Matt Moreno:
Well there is obviously plenty to talk about this week when it comes to the Wildcats and recruiting. On the football side of things, Arizona's commits have begun getting into the important part of their schedules with league play opening up for a big portion of the recruiting class. Also, with the 2013 class at 25 commits - currently - the Wildcats have started to move forward a bit in getting out new offers to 2014 prospects.
On the basketball side of things, Sean Miller and his staff finally received a verbal commitment from five-star wing Rondae Jefferson and it was really not a big surprise. We'll take a closer look at the commitment and what it means going forward. Also, Miller and his staff were on the road last week and saw plenty of future recruits as well. There were a couple of big-time 2014 prospects who had UA stop by, so we'll discuss that as well.
With so much going on, let's get to it. Here's this week's recruiting breakdown installment.
Football recruiting
As we will do every week, here is a look at what some of the notable future Wildcats did in their games over the weekend. There were definitely some ups and downs this week for the UA commits.
Derek Babiash: The three-star cornerback commit continued to show why he could be one of the UA's biggest pledges of the class Friday night as his Poway, Calif., squad moved to 2-1 on the year with a 21-6 win over Escondido (Calif.) San Pasqual. Babiash picked off his fourth pass of the year on San Pasqual's first drive of the game, and he also contributed on offense with five catches for 83 yards.
His 35-yard kickoff return also set up Poway for its first score.
Samajie Grant: The UA commit won't be playing quarterback for the Wildcats next year, but he is playing the position during his senior year at Ontario (Calif.) Colony. His squad hasn't won a game this year and the struggles continued Friday night. Colony was on the wrong end of a 56-7 loss when Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Tesoro beat Grant's team with its big-time running attack.
Grant scored his team's only touchdown late in the game on a 50-yard run. That was the only real bright spot for Colony as Grant finished with just 56 yards passing.
Zachary Green: Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure has some tough games on its schedule this year but its contest with Atascadero, Calif., wasn't one of them. Green's squad rolled to a 56-22 win Friday night and the Wildcat commit did his part. The UA pledge rushed for two touchdowns - including the first on St. Bonaventure's opening drive - and caught a pass for another.
With what could have been a trap game out of the way, St. Bonventure will take on one of the nation's best team Friday night when the Seraphs travel to Orange County to face Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita.
DeAndre Miller: For all its big wins this season, Miller's Buckeye (Ariz.) Buckeye Union squad hasn't registered a shutout. But just like his future squad did Saturday night, a day earlier Miller and his team easily knocked off Wellton (Ariz.) Antelope 58-0. The future Wildcat had one catch for 18 yards in the win.
Miller's squad will be back at home for a contest with Yuma (Ariz.) Catholic this Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Nate Phillips: After starting the season with a five-touchdown performance, the UA commit hasn't found the end zone as regularly in the games after the season opener and that continued Friday night. However, the future Wildcat receiver wasn't completely shutout in Chandler (Ariz.) Basha's loss to inter-city foe Chandler, Ariz. Phillips hauled in eight passes for 156 yards in the loss in which Chandler came back from a 17-point deficit to take the 41-31 win.
The loss was the first of the season for Basha, which moved to 3-1 on the year. Phillips and his team will return home Friday night for a meeting with Gilbert (Ariz.) Highland at 7 p.m.
Anu Solomon: The UA quarterback commit hasn't had many bad games in his career, and Friday night's contest against Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic might not fall under that category but it certainly wasn't the four-star prospect's best performance either.
Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman had uncharacteristic turnovers and it led to the team losing just its fourth game in four years, 42-35. Solomon tried to lead a late comeback, but he ran out of time and the Gaels took the loss.
Solomon completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. The future Wildcat had touchdown passes of 11, 35 and 15 yards, but he also had a rare interception.
This week, the Gaels will face another tough opponent as they head to Southern California to take on Anaheim (Calif.) Servite.
* While there were plenty of UA commits on the field, there were also a few who were missing for various reasons.
Devin Holiday and his team from San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills had their game cancelled after their opponent decided the night before Friday's contest that they didn't want to take part in the game. Mission Hills couldn't convince Los Angeles (Calif.) West Adams Prep to participate and the game was cancelled.
Quarterback commit Brandon Cox recently suffered a stress fracture in his foot and is expected to be out for just a couple more weeks. He is expected to be fine to play normally once he returns later this season.
* The Wildcats are hoping the success on the field translates to the recruiting trail as the coaching staff has been using its ranking as well as it performances on the field to help them as they talk to different recruits throughout the country.
One prospect who recently just learned of his offer is 2014 offensive center Trenton "Tiny" Noller. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound recruit originally picked up his offer a few weeks ago, but just learned about it last week.
It was and is the junior's only offer at this point, and keeping with its approach UA wanted to make sure it was the first to get an offer in to the talented offensive lineman from Windsor, Colo.
Noller doesn't know too much about the 'Cats, but he's going to take a harder look at UA now that he holds an offer.
"I've never really followed Arizona, but I know they have a good football team," he told GOAZCATS.com. "I'll probably look into it now that they've offered."
The big junior was surprised that his first offer came from where it did.
"I was kind of surprised, actually," he said. "I thought it (first offer) was going to be from a different school, and I didn't think Arizona was going the be one to come out and do it. ... That's what I've been waiting for - that first offer - because after that it just takes a lot of weight off your shoulders."
While it is his first offer, it certainly won't be Noller's last so the Wildcats may have their work cut out for them in this recruitment. But the strategy of offering first has worked previously with this staff in 2013, so there is always reason to believe UA will have a chance.
Basketball recruiting
It was obviously a big week for Miller and Co., as they landed a coveted recruit in five-star prospect Rondae Jefferson last week while conducting an in-home visit with the Chester, Pa., standout. It was not a big surprise that the versatile wing made the decision he did after taking two visits (one unofficial and one official) to UA and then conducting the in-home visit.
There was going to be a pretty big hole to fill on the wing in the 2013 season as Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom are both seniors this season. However, Jefferson's commitment takes out those worries as he can slide right in and start from Day 1 in Tucson.
That was a big part of his decision to end things early and give the 'Cats his pledge, according to his travel coach with Team Final, Rob Brown.
"That played a big part," Brown told GOAZCATS.com about Jefferson earning early playing time. "Rondae doesn't like to sit and watch games. He likes to play games and win, he doesn't want to sit and wait his turn. He wants to help his team in a positive way."
If you listen to Brown, the Wildcats got a player who he believes will help team in more ways than one.
"He's going to be the hardest worker on the team," he said. "He's going to wear that jersey with a lot of pride and play as hard as he can to win games. That's what he takes pride in - just winning basketball games. He doesn't care too much about stats, he's not a stat guy, even though he can fill them up in every category.
"He just loves to win games, and he plays the game of basketball to win games."
* With Jefferson giving his pledge to the Wildcats to go along with fellow 2013 commit Elliott Pitts, the natural question is going to be about the rest of the class. At this point, UA can start to really narrow down who it wants to take on in the 2013 class as the loaded 2014 class awaits.
Right now the focus will continue to be on a few different guys for UA. While there isn't necessarily an order of importance, there are certainly a few prospects who the 'Cats will continue pursuing for the remainder of the class.
Aaron Gordon will continue to be recruited by the Wildcats and he's a prospect Miller wouldn't mind adding to the 2013 class - to say the least. The talented five-star recruit will take his official visit to Tucson for UA's Red-Blue game and that will be a very important visit for the future of his recruitment.
UA has continued to make ground on the other programs involved and the Wildcats are part of a three-team group that has started to separate itself a bit with Washington and Oregon being the other three programs.
One prospect who is going to do his best to work on getting a commitment out of Gordon is Pitts. The pair are both from Northern California and have played together in the past.
"We haven't talked about Arizona too much, but I'm definitely going to get on him about that," Pitts told GOAZCATS.com. "We played together in eighth and ninth grade, and I know he's a great player. Last year we played Archbishop Mitty - De La Salle did - and he had 32 points against us, and there aren't too many players who can get 32 points against De La Salle.
"So I know that he's great player."
Pitts will be making his way down to Tucson for the Red-Blue game and he will have his chance, much like the Wildcats' staff, to make his pitch to Gordon then.
* The 'Cats will also continue to recruit five-star guard Keith Frazier, who doesn't plan on making his decision until the spring. Because of that the Wildcats can somewhat slow play the recruitment and see where they stand as things move forward.
Florida is one of the newer schools to enter the picture and it has definitely become one of the biggest schools of competition for UA.
James Young is another talented guard who has the Wildcats among his favorites. The five-star prospect is still considered a Kentucky lean, but depending on what happens with John Calipari's class, UA could become an option for Young. He's planning on visiting UA officially fairly soon.
* With the 2013 class well on its way to being completed after Jefferson's commitment, the Wildcats are also focusing on key recruits in the 2014 class.
Miller and his assistants stopped by to check on a handful of recruits during the last week and a couple are big-time targets in the current junior class.
The Wildcats checked in on both Stanley Johnson and four-star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright early last week.
Johnson is planning to cut down his list to 15 schools within the coming weeks and there is no reason to believe UA will not be on that list of schools.
"We have some of the best college coaches around coming and watching practice," Johnson told GOAZCATS.com. "So it's always good to see them there and having them there [Tuesday] was very honorable and I appreciate them coming. I like seeing them as much as I can because it shows that they really want me at their schools.
"It makes things easier for me recruiting-wise."
The five-star prospect wants to see which schools stop by and visit him early this school year to gauge the interest level of those involved with his recruitment. After that happens and he feels like he's got a good handle on which schools those are, that's when he'll trim his list down.
There is no doubt that Johnson is a big target for the Wildcats, but there could be an even bigger one with the point guard from Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola.
* Jackson-Cartwright was pleased to see Miller stop by his school last week and it continues to show how interested the 'Cats are in the pure point guard.
"We're just talking about moving forward and what they want to see from me this year," Jackson-Cartwright said. "Their view hasn't changed on me, but I want to see more of the school and that's why I'm excited to get back up there for Red-Blue then we'll see where it goes."
Jackson-Cartwright already visited UA this summer after the July evaluation period, and he will make the return trip in October for Red-Blue. It will be a big weekend for the Wildcats as the point guard, Johnson, Gordon and Pitts are all expected to be in attendance.
While he may not say it publicly, having the confidence to know that he's going to be the guy to run the show is something that is playing into Jackson-Cartwright's decision. He would have that opportunity at UA with T.J. McConnell exhausting his eligibility after the 2014-15 season.
That is one area where the 'Cats have somewhat of an edge on the other schools currently recruiting him.
It's not a big secret that Jackson-Cartwright isn't a huge fan of the process and he doesn't want it to drag on for a long time, and UA continues to do well with him. Based on what I've heard, the four-star wouldn't mind ending things early - again UA is doing well with him - but there are those around him who aren't completely sold on Tucson being the place just yet.
The visit from Miller last week was certainly a positive in Jackson-Cartwright's eyes, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here. The visit in October could end up being a big one, however.
"It means a lot," he said about UA stopping by his school. "They've shown their commitment to me and my family way before they even came today, but this just adds to it. I know where they stand and what their commitment is to me so it's good."[/B]
Football team
* By the numbers
2 - Wildcats who switched positions and jersey numbers Saturday; Jowyn Ward now wears No. 55 and played on the offensive line, while Dame Ndiaye wears No. 85 and played tight end
2.2-to-1 - The opponent-to-Arizona ratio in penalties through three games. Teams have committed 33 penalties for 340 yards against the Wildcats this season.
3 - Wins away from bowl eligibility with three-fourths of the schedule left to play
3:05 - Average scoring drive on the Wildcats' eight touchdowns Saturday
8 - First downs allowed by the Arizona defense against South Carolina State
30 - Completions by Matt Scott against the Bulldogs, equaling his career high
43 - First downs by Arizona, setting a new school record for one game
69 - Players used by Arizona on Saturday, including a handful of Division I debuts
329 - Rushing yards per game by next week's opponent, No. 3 Oregon
605 - Total offense average through the first three games of the RichRod era, which already owns the second- and third-best single-game totals for yards gained in school history
* Don't fix what's not broke
Ranked opponent or not - FBS or FCS, even - the Wildcats are not changing the game plan for anybody. That theory gets put to the test in one of the biggest games of the season, and the team's biggest road challenge, when it visits defending Rose Bowl champion Oregon on Saturday.
Walking out to practice on Sunday, there were the smiles of a team that knows it's 3-0 but also the same body language after the upset over Oklahoma State.
Does it necessarily mean anything? No, but it at least falls in line with the precedent the coaching staff has created. Train like an elite athlete and prepare like an elite team.
"We're not going to change our routine this week for Oregon, that we did South Carolina State," UA head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We kind of have a set structure - you know, there may be different things in the game plan - but as far as how we go about our business, I think the kids want consistency. When you start changing from week to week then you start lessening the importance of every game, and they're all pretty important.
"Would I like to be faster and bigger and stronger, and all that? Sure - and we've got to get that. But the one thing I have been pleased with is they have sat up and paid attention, so to speak. They've been eager to learn.
"When you have a team like that: One, it's fun to coach, but, two, it gives you a chance because I think the guys are hungry."
* Movin' on up
The Pac-12 Conference has received quite a bit of respect to start the year. Stanford's upset over USC moved the Cardinal up to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 poll - a 12-spot from one week ago. Meanwhile, the Trojans dropped 11 spots to No. 13.
See what one victory can do? By that math, a shocking win at No. 3 Oregon could make No. 22 Arizona a top-10 team by this time next week. Definitely did not think I would be constructing that sentence at any point this season.
In all, five Pac-12 schools are ranked in the AP Top 25, including 19th-ranked UCLA.
* Fresh legs and a shutout
The rout allowed Arizona - most notably, the defense - to finally get some rest.
After staying on the field for about 100 plays in each of the first two games, linebacker Jake Fischer was the first to head to the sidelines about midway through the third quarter. His replacement, true freshman Dakota Conwell, recorded his first career tackle later in the game - a sack for a 10-yard loss.
While the rest is welcome, linebacker Marquis Flowers wasn't quite ready to exit the game for good.
"It felt good. I kind of still wanted to play some more," Flowers said. "Hopefully we're going to go out there fresh and ready to play for next week."
The donut the defense put up, even after the second-unit slowly trickled onto the field, was not lost on Flowers.
"I think it means a lot," Flowers said. "I think we're coming together. We struggled last year, obviously. There was times we struggled against our offense (this offseason). But to get a shutout, that's big. It just lets you know that we have pride and we're going to keep fighting."
Also, for the second straight game cornerback Jonathan McKnight intercepted a pass. His addition to this defense after missing all of 2011 with a torn ACL cannot be forgotten.
* Scott not shying away from contact
Forget it, fifth-year senior quarterback Matt Scott will probably never slide. In fact, he's been seeking contact to start the year with two big blocks already - including one against South Carolina State.
With the nature of the zone-read, there will be times Scott makes the correct decision but cannot avoid contact. After the win, Scott insisted that he did not notice any unnecessary shots even though his coach wanted to see his quarterback on the ground less.
"I didn't take that many, actually," Scott said. "I'm a pretty tough guy so I can take 'em. I like getting hit - I mean, I like taking hits, giving hits. It's part of the game."
* Can't get no satisfaction
There are teams that start off strong and pull upsets that are clearly happy with how they played. While Arizona is not complaining about its record and national ranking, there always seems to be a "but" when asked about each of their three performances.
A lot of times, it becomes about execution and leaving chances on the field to score more, and it was the same thing Saturday night.
That can only be a good sign with this team and the expectation level this staff has despite the fact it knows it is not the most talented bunch in the country. Basically, they want to at least make sure they are not outworked by anybody, and that's where the real satisfaction comes into play. Effort is not a question mark for this team right now.[/B]
* More notes from Saturday's victory
Rodriguez on when to insert backup quarterback B.J. Denker: "I was about to put him in when it was 28-0, but then for sure when it was 35-0."[/B]
[/B]
[/B]
Rodriguez on the changes with Jowyn Ward and Dame Ndiaye: "I think I moved (Ward) about two weeks ago. I wish I would've moved him in spring. I think he would've been in the mix; but, at the time, we were still looking for guys defensively. He's clearly a second-team guard and got a lot of reps.[/B]
"(Ndiaye's move) was two days ago. I don't even know if he knew how to get in the stance. He didn't jump offsides, so I'll have to see the film if he blocked anybody."
Basketball team
With Rondae Jefferson giving his verbal, he would be head coach Sean Miller's sixth five-star recruit in the last three recruiting classes - and possibly more on the way.
So, let's look at what 2014 may look like:
Guards
Gone will be wing Kevin Parrom and point guard Mark Lyons, but coming in will be T.J. McConnell after sitting out this season and fellow 2014 commit Elliott Pitts - who could eventually grow into a small forward.
McConnell is the guard that many believe will put the Wildcats over the hump and contend for a national title by 2013-14. He's that good and will make everybody around him happier, like a true point guard should.
Pitts, a three-star recruit, has the shooting touch to stay at guard but has the skill set to move over. He's the kind of glue guy that could be a valuable piece to a championship team as his career moves along.
Returning: Nick Johnson, Jordin Mayes, Gabe York and Jacob Hazzard
A lot rides on the 2012-13 season before you start to think about the following year will look like for this group. The guards have both the most to lose and gain when compared to any other positions on the roster.
Johnson's sophomore slump came a bit early, and the Wildcats are looking for the 6-3 combo guard to develop more on the defensive end and be a similar Kyle Fogg-type dogged defender. Offensively, it's just about being more consistent with his jump shot. Just don't expect him to be assuming much of a role at the point with McConnell's availability.
With a more ideal recovery compared to last year, Mayes will be more prepared to prove that he is more like the freshman who was a key cog off the bench in the run to the Elite Eight. But he is not the athlete and defender Johnson is, so McConnell's presence will only make it tougher for Mayes next year to crack the starting rotation.
York is a wild card both this season and the next. Can he score and get to the rim? No question, but so can a lot of other players at this level.
At just 6-1 and 170 pounds but absolutely no future as a point guard, York is a one-dimensional player who has plenty to prove as a freshman. Whether York can eventually push for minutes will likely be determined by the work he puts in on the defensive end of the floor.
Forwards
Out goes Solomon Hill, a possible Pac-12 Conference player of the year, and in comes a similar talent in Jefferson.
The 6-7, 200-pounder will give the Wildcats a worker on defense and gifted all-around athlete. Jump shooting will be an issue early, but Jefferson has enough solid tools elsewhere and is not much of a big scorer. Depending on who sticks around for a sophomore season in this year's class, Jefferson may not have to be.
Returning: Brandon Ashley, Angelo Chol, Grant Jerrett and Drew Mellon
Should he stick around, Ashley will be a natural small forward who could continue to play a bit out of position at the four, if things go well this year with that transition. Whether he sticks around to see 2013-14 is a whole 'nother story with plenty left to be decided on the court before anything comes close to a reality.
But scoring will not be an issue if he is still in a Wildcats uniform.
Jerrett would give Johnson and Ashley plenty of room to operate with his outside shooting ability. Defensively, Jerrett and Chol would continue to give UA an impressive frontcourt.
Centers
Kaleb Tarczewski and Matt Korcheck, a voluntary redshirt this season, will give Miller a 7-foot and 6-9 tandem he can roll out. Tarczewski still needs some work and looks like a guy that will stay in college for a bit. Korcheck is a hustling big man that can make opposing centers work.
Given the team's versatility, many of the players could just as easily slide over one spot, as will be the case in 2012-13.
And now, here's a look at the recruiting end from Matt Moreno:
Well there is obviously plenty to talk about this week when it comes to the Wildcats and recruiting. On the football side of things, Arizona's commits have begun getting into the important part of their schedules with league play opening up for a big portion of the recruiting class. Also, with the 2013 class at 25 commits - currently - the Wildcats have started to move forward a bit in getting out new offers to 2014 prospects.
On the basketball side of things, Sean Miller and his staff finally received a verbal commitment from five-star wing Rondae Jefferson and it was really not a big surprise. We'll take a closer look at the commitment and what it means going forward. Also, Miller and his staff were on the road last week and saw plenty of future recruits as well. There were a couple of big-time 2014 prospects who had UA stop by, so we'll discuss that as well.
With so much going on, let's get to it. Here's this week's recruiting breakdown installment.
Football recruiting
As we will do every week, here is a look at what some of the notable future Wildcats did in their games over the weekend. There were definitely some ups and downs this week for the UA commits.
Derek Babiash: The three-star cornerback commit continued to show why he could be one of the UA's biggest pledges of the class Friday night as his Poway, Calif., squad moved to 2-1 on the year with a 21-6 win over Escondido (Calif.) San Pasqual. Babiash picked off his fourth pass of the year on San Pasqual's first drive of the game, and he also contributed on offense with five catches for 83 yards.
His 35-yard kickoff return also set up Poway for its first score.
Samajie Grant: The UA commit won't be playing quarterback for the Wildcats next year, but he is playing the position during his senior year at Ontario (Calif.) Colony. His squad hasn't won a game this year and the struggles continued Friday night. Colony was on the wrong end of a 56-7 loss when Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Tesoro beat Grant's team with its big-time running attack.
Grant scored his team's only touchdown late in the game on a 50-yard run. That was the only real bright spot for Colony as Grant finished with just 56 yards passing.
Zachary Green: Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure has some tough games on its schedule this year but its contest with Atascadero, Calif., wasn't one of them. Green's squad rolled to a 56-22 win Friday night and the Wildcat commit did his part. The UA pledge rushed for two touchdowns - including the first on St. Bonaventure's opening drive - and caught a pass for another.
With what could have been a trap game out of the way, St. Bonventure will take on one of the nation's best team Friday night when the Seraphs travel to Orange County to face Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita.
DeAndre Miller: For all its big wins this season, Miller's Buckeye (Ariz.) Buckeye Union squad hasn't registered a shutout. But just like his future squad did Saturday night, a day earlier Miller and his team easily knocked off Wellton (Ariz.) Antelope 58-0. The future Wildcat had one catch for 18 yards in the win.
Miller's squad will be back at home for a contest with Yuma (Ariz.) Catholic this Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Nate Phillips: After starting the season with a five-touchdown performance, the UA commit hasn't found the end zone as regularly in the games after the season opener and that continued Friday night. However, the future Wildcat receiver wasn't completely shutout in Chandler (Ariz.) Basha's loss to inter-city foe Chandler, Ariz. Phillips hauled in eight passes for 156 yards in the loss in which Chandler came back from a 17-point deficit to take the 41-31 win.
The loss was the first of the season for Basha, which moved to 3-1 on the year. Phillips and his team will return home Friday night for a meeting with Gilbert (Ariz.) Highland at 7 p.m.
Anu Solomon: The UA quarterback commit hasn't had many bad games in his career, and Friday night's contest against Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic might not fall under that category but it certainly wasn't the four-star prospect's best performance either.
Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman had uncharacteristic turnovers and it led to the team losing just its fourth game in four years, 42-35. Solomon tried to lead a late comeback, but he ran out of time and the Gaels took the loss.
Solomon completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. The future Wildcat had touchdown passes of 11, 35 and 15 yards, but he also had a rare interception.
This week, the Gaels will face another tough opponent as they head to Southern California to take on Anaheim (Calif.) Servite.
* While there were plenty of UA commits on the field, there were also a few who were missing for various reasons.
Devin Holiday and his team from San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills had their game cancelled after their opponent decided the night before Friday's contest that they didn't want to take part in the game. Mission Hills couldn't convince Los Angeles (Calif.) West Adams Prep to participate and the game was cancelled.
Quarterback commit Brandon Cox recently suffered a stress fracture in his foot and is expected to be out for just a couple more weeks. He is expected to be fine to play normally once he returns later this season.
* The Wildcats are hoping the success on the field translates to the recruiting trail as the coaching staff has been using its ranking as well as it performances on the field to help them as they talk to different recruits throughout the country.
One prospect who recently just learned of his offer is 2014 offensive center Trenton "Tiny" Noller. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound recruit originally picked up his offer a few weeks ago, but just learned about it last week.
It was and is the junior's only offer at this point, and keeping with its approach UA wanted to make sure it was the first to get an offer in to the talented offensive lineman from Windsor, Colo.
Noller doesn't know too much about the 'Cats, but he's going to take a harder look at UA now that he holds an offer.
"I've never really followed Arizona, but I know they have a good football team," he told GOAZCATS.com. "I'll probably look into it now that they've offered."
The big junior was surprised that his first offer came from where it did.
"I was kind of surprised, actually," he said. "I thought it (first offer) was going to be from a different school, and I didn't think Arizona was going the be one to come out and do it. ... That's what I've been waiting for - that first offer - because after that it just takes a lot of weight off your shoulders."
While it is his first offer, it certainly won't be Noller's last so the Wildcats may have their work cut out for them in this recruitment. But the strategy of offering first has worked previously with this staff in 2013, so there is always reason to believe UA will have a chance.
Basketball recruiting
It was obviously a big week for Miller and Co., as they landed a coveted recruit in five-star prospect Rondae Jefferson last week while conducting an in-home visit with the Chester, Pa., standout. It was not a big surprise that the versatile wing made the decision he did after taking two visits (one unofficial and one official) to UA and then conducting the in-home visit.
There was going to be a pretty big hole to fill on the wing in the 2013 season as Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom are both seniors this season. However, Jefferson's commitment takes out those worries as he can slide right in and start from Day 1 in Tucson.
That was a big part of his decision to end things early and give the 'Cats his pledge, according to his travel coach with Team Final, Rob Brown.
"That played a big part," Brown told GOAZCATS.com about Jefferson earning early playing time. "Rondae doesn't like to sit and watch games. He likes to play games and win, he doesn't want to sit and wait his turn. He wants to help his team in a positive way."
If you listen to Brown, the Wildcats got a player who he believes will help team in more ways than one.
"He's going to be the hardest worker on the team," he said. "He's going to wear that jersey with a lot of pride and play as hard as he can to win games. That's what he takes pride in - just winning basketball games. He doesn't care too much about stats, he's not a stat guy, even though he can fill them up in every category.
"He just loves to win games, and he plays the game of basketball to win games."
* With Jefferson giving his pledge to the Wildcats to go along with fellow 2013 commit Elliott Pitts, the natural question is going to be about the rest of the class. At this point, UA can start to really narrow down who it wants to take on in the 2013 class as the loaded 2014 class awaits.
Right now the focus will continue to be on a few different guys for UA. While there isn't necessarily an order of importance, there are certainly a few prospects who the 'Cats will continue pursuing for the remainder of the class.
Aaron Gordon will continue to be recruited by the Wildcats and he's a prospect Miller wouldn't mind adding to the 2013 class - to say the least. The talented five-star recruit will take his official visit to Tucson for UA's Red-Blue game and that will be a very important visit for the future of his recruitment.
UA has continued to make ground on the other programs involved and the Wildcats are part of a three-team group that has started to separate itself a bit with Washington and Oregon being the other three programs.
One prospect who is going to do his best to work on getting a commitment out of Gordon is Pitts. The pair are both from Northern California and have played together in the past.
"We haven't talked about Arizona too much, but I'm definitely going to get on him about that," Pitts told GOAZCATS.com. "We played together in eighth and ninth grade, and I know he's a great player. Last year we played Archbishop Mitty - De La Salle did - and he had 32 points against us, and there aren't too many players who can get 32 points against De La Salle.
"So I know that he's great player."
Pitts will be making his way down to Tucson for the Red-Blue game and he will have his chance, much like the Wildcats' staff, to make his pitch to Gordon then.
* The 'Cats will also continue to recruit five-star guard Keith Frazier, who doesn't plan on making his decision until the spring. Because of that the Wildcats can somewhat slow play the recruitment and see where they stand as things move forward.
Florida is one of the newer schools to enter the picture and it has definitely become one of the biggest schools of competition for UA.
James Young is another talented guard who has the Wildcats among his favorites. The five-star prospect is still considered a Kentucky lean, but depending on what happens with John Calipari's class, UA could become an option for Young. He's planning on visiting UA officially fairly soon.
* With the 2013 class well on its way to being completed after Jefferson's commitment, the Wildcats are also focusing on key recruits in the 2014 class.
Miller and his assistants stopped by to check on a handful of recruits during the last week and a couple are big-time targets in the current junior class.
The Wildcats checked in on both Stanley Johnson and four-star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright early last week.
Johnson is planning to cut down his list to 15 schools within the coming weeks and there is no reason to believe UA will not be on that list of schools.
"We have some of the best college coaches around coming and watching practice," Johnson told GOAZCATS.com. "So it's always good to see them there and having them there [Tuesday] was very honorable and I appreciate them coming. I like seeing them as much as I can because it shows that they really want me at their schools.
"It makes things easier for me recruiting-wise."
The five-star prospect wants to see which schools stop by and visit him early this school year to gauge the interest level of those involved with his recruitment. After that happens and he feels like he's got a good handle on which schools those are, that's when he'll trim his list down.
There is no doubt that Johnson is a big target for the Wildcats, but there could be an even bigger one with the point guard from Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola.
* Jackson-Cartwright was pleased to see Miller stop by his school last week and it continues to show how interested the 'Cats are in the pure point guard.
"We're just talking about moving forward and what they want to see from me this year," Jackson-Cartwright said. "Their view hasn't changed on me, but I want to see more of the school and that's why I'm excited to get back up there for Red-Blue then we'll see where it goes."
Jackson-Cartwright already visited UA this summer after the July evaluation period, and he will make the return trip in October for Red-Blue. It will be a big weekend for the Wildcats as the point guard, Johnson, Gordon and Pitts are all expected to be in attendance.
While he may not say it publicly, having the confidence to know that he's going to be the guy to run the show is something that is playing into Jackson-Cartwright's decision. He would have that opportunity at UA with T.J. McConnell exhausting his eligibility after the 2014-15 season.
That is one area where the 'Cats have somewhat of an edge on the other schools currently recruiting him.
It's not a big secret that Jackson-Cartwright isn't a huge fan of the process and he doesn't want it to drag on for a long time, and UA continues to do well with him. Based on what I've heard, the four-star wouldn't mind ending things early - again UA is doing well with him - but there are those around him who aren't completely sold on Tucson being the place just yet.
The visit from Miller last week was certainly a positive in Jackson-Cartwright's eyes, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here. The visit in October could end up being a big one, however.
"It means a lot," he said about UA stopping by his school. "They've shown their commitment to me and my family way before they even came today, but this just adds to it. I know where they stand and what their commitment is to me so it's good."[/B]
