Arizona had its final regular spring practice Wednesday morning with just one more to go on Friday and that will be the scrimmage to end spring ball. Here are the quick notes after today's practice getting a chance to talk with players and Rich Rodriguez.
* As far as Friday goes just to specify it will not be televised and that is one reason it is being held. Rodriguez felt like the atmosphere and TV being in control of the spring showcase messed things up for his team and it didn't feel like a good practice and he went so far as to call it a wasted day then. Now with no TV involvement he has changed some things around. UA had a draft Tuesday to select the two teams and it will be much more like a spring game than the showcase was. There were certain rules and even a trade that happened but Matt Dudek and Billy Kirelawich will be the coaches for one team while Chris Singletary and Dusty Rutledge will be the coaches for the other team. The actual coaches will roam around and work with both teams.
The rosters are expected to be announced later today, but that is how it will work Friday. The winner will get a nice dinner according to Rodriguez.
"More people, better execution," Rodriguez said about what he hopes is different from the showcase earlier this month. "... We've got some recruits coming in too, so it's going to be good. I think it's a chance for some folks who maybe haven't been in our stadium to enjoy that plus I think they're giving away prizes."
* I asked Rich Rodriguez about the man of spring Tony Fields II and while Rodriguez doesn't like to single anyone out he did say that the freshman linebacker is looking at playing this year.
* Rodriguez said he's hopeful the 10th assistant coach rule will pass when it is voted on next month, but he isn't sure if it will immediately go into effect. He does think it is needed and that coaching staffs are stretched too thin, and he thinks it will pass.
"I hope it passes and is effective immediately," he said. "I think it'll pass. I'm not sure it'll be effective immediately. I think there's a lot of places that want to wait until after the season. I think it's another job for another 128, 130 guys - whatever - so I'd like to make it effective immediately. It's needed. The coach-to-player ratio is really low especially in football."
* Terrence Miller is the last is one of the last pieces to the staff right now and he is expected to come on as an offensive GA to work with the receivers. Miller has been helping the Wildcats all spring but he doesn't have an official position with the team because he as some things to get sorted out before he is officially a grad assistant. So for now he is just a student helper, but the hope is he is able to finish up some coursework and officially take over the role by August camp.
"He's gotta take a class I think this summer, one or two classes and do well in that," Rodriguez said of the former UA receiver. "If does well, which I think he will because he's a sharp guy, then he'll be our offensive graduate assistant starting in the fall."
* I had a chance to speak with Tony Ellison who has once again been a popular guy among his teammates this spring. He had some interesting things to say about last season and now we are starting to see there was a change in mindset with last year's squad. Clearly the work was not as strong as it had been and putting in time over the summer wasn't a priority like it should have been. Ellison said, in his mind, the 2014 season and going to the Fiesta Bowl negatively impacted the team over the last couple years. He said the mindset changed from being a team that felt it was always the underdog to a feeling of "we've arrived" after that season. He felt guys weren't taking things as seriously and he is hopeful the team has that back now heading into the offseason.
I hadn't heard it put quite that way, but it makes sense and it is becoming clear there was a lot more going on internally with the team last year than most people knew.
* As far as Friday goes just to specify it will not be televised and that is one reason it is being held. Rodriguez felt like the atmosphere and TV being in control of the spring showcase messed things up for his team and it didn't feel like a good practice and he went so far as to call it a wasted day then. Now with no TV involvement he has changed some things around. UA had a draft Tuesday to select the two teams and it will be much more like a spring game than the showcase was. There were certain rules and even a trade that happened but Matt Dudek and Billy Kirelawich will be the coaches for one team while Chris Singletary and Dusty Rutledge will be the coaches for the other team. The actual coaches will roam around and work with both teams.
The rosters are expected to be announced later today, but that is how it will work Friday. The winner will get a nice dinner according to Rodriguez.
"More people, better execution," Rodriguez said about what he hopes is different from the showcase earlier this month. "... We've got some recruits coming in too, so it's going to be good. I think it's a chance for some folks who maybe haven't been in our stadium to enjoy that plus I think they're giving away prizes."
* I asked Rich Rodriguez about the man of spring Tony Fields II and while Rodriguez doesn't like to single anyone out he did say that the freshman linebacker is looking at playing this year.
* Rodriguez said he's hopeful the 10th assistant coach rule will pass when it is voted on next month, but he isn't sure if it will immediately go into effect. He does think it is needed and that coaching staffs are stretched too thin, and he thinks it will pass.
"I hope it passes and is effective immediately," he said. "I think it'll pass. I'm not sure it'll be effective immediately. I think there's a lot of places that want to wait until after the season. I think it's another job for another 128, 130 guys - whatever - so I'd like to make it effective immediately. It's needed. The coach-to-player ratio is really low especially in football."
* Terrence Miller is the last is one of the last pieces to the staff right now and he is expected to come on as an offensive GA to work with the receivers. Miller has been helping the Wildcats all spring but he doesn't have an official position with the team because he as some things to get sorted out before he is officially a grad assistant. So for now he is just a student helper, but the hope is he is able to finish up some coursework and officially take over the role by August camp.
"He's gotta take a class I think this summer, one or two classes and do well in that," Rodriguez said of the former UA receiver. "If does well, which I think he will because he's a sharp guy, then he'll be our offensive graduate assistant starting in the fall."
* I had a chance to speak with Tony Ellison who has once again been a popular guy among his teammates this spring. He had some interesting things to say about last season and now we are starting to see there was a change in mindset with last year's squad. Clearly the work was not as strong as it had been and putting in time over the summer wasn't a priority like it should have been. Ellison said, in his mind, the 2014 season and going to the Fiesta Bowl negatively impacted the team over the last couple years. He said the mindset changed from being a team that felt it was always the underdog to a feeling of "we've arrived" after that season. He felt guys weren't taking things as seriously and he is hopeful the team has that back now heading into the offseason.
I hadn't heard it put quite that way, but it makes sense and it is becoming clear there was a lot more going on internally with the team last year than most people knew.
