Well, it's on to the week I know a lot of fans have been waiting for and it became clear today the coaching staff has been, too. Arizona went back to work Tuesday morning with its big work day of the week and we were able to talk with offensive players (outside of Khalil Tate) as well as Rod Smith and of course Rich Rodriguez.
There is a certain feel about this game at least on Arizona's side that feels like a big game and we know where the motivation is coming from. I'll get into that more in today's notes so lets get right into it.
* I'll start with a question @PSArnaud had for Rodriguez and finding out where some of the players Arizona lost for the season are at in their progress. I know the concern was with Jalen Cochran but I'll have to do some more digging because Rodriguez talked about everyone but him even though, as you'll hear, I asked the UA head coach about it. Some positive news in regards to Bryson Cain as he is back and practicing with the team albeit in a limited capacity.
* Now, we'll move to the fun stuff for this week. I was the bad guy today and brought up what is clearly a touchy subject still and asked about all that's going on with Oregon and Arizona's staff. It has been clear there is friction there, so I asked Smith how the team tries to keep this week from getting personal and as you'll see below in the video he was not exactly thrilled with the question.
It became very clear today that there is an extra bit of motivation and that Arizona's coaches are mad about Willie Taggart flipping commits and continuing to offer prospects after Arizona does. A little bad blood can make things fun and it's clear the coaching staff wants this win and is making that known to the team.
Receiver Shun Brown, as you'll hear after Smith talks in the clip below, said the coaches are angry about it and some of the players are as well. I talked with Nate Eldridge and brought up the mood this week and he mentioned the players already on the team feel slighted when a recruit flips from Arizona. He brought up Cody Shear's late flip. As you saw with the articles today on the weekend visitors, Arizona's current players take time out of their own day and put in effort of their own to help the team recruit as well and when players flip it's almost like wasted time for those guys.
Clearly, the team is a bit more angry this week and the plan is to ask Rodriguez about it more tomorrow but you can get the feel for where the team is at with all this Oregon stuff in the clip below.
* It was brought up Monday so I asked Smith about recruiting quarterbacks and how much Tate having success has helped on that side of things with both the signal callers and just recruiting in general. That is something he was more than happy to talk about and with Rodriguez saying the team has seen an uptick in Southern California recruiting since Tate has emerged the UA QBs coach has a similar feeling.
"That's recruiting, right?" Smith said when I asked how much having a guy like Tate can let the staff show what they can do. "That's what you do. You present a vision to a guy and now I can show him the plan. Present the vision, here's how we're doing it. It pays off."
* Something that has struck me about the rise of Tate is that his teammates have fully rallied behind him this season. Winning will do that but at a certain point even the most humble players will get a little jealous of someone else getting the attention. That just hasn't happened with this team and a lot of that has to do with Tate and his personality. He's developed into quite the leader. Eldridge said he has been surprised by how far along Tate has come in that regard and mentioned that he has been much more vocal this year than he was this time last season.
"Tells you a lot about the kid, don't it?" Smith said when I asked him about it. "Your team will never lie to you. They'll gravitate to the players, they'll gravitate to the person. I don't think your team will ever lie to you."
I thought that statement by Smith said a lot about Tate but also about Brandon Dawkins as well. It just never felt the same earlier in the year and if you take the theory that Smith brings up it's clear what has helped move this thing along from that standpoint.
* Arizona is going back to the chrome red helmets this week breaking out a little flash for the game in Oregon.
There is a certain feel about this game at least on Arizona's side that feels like a big game and we know where the motivation is coming from. I'll get into that more in today's notes so lets get right into it.
* I'll start with a question @PSArnaud had for Rodriguez and finding out where some of the players Arizona lost for the season are at in their progress. I know the concern was with Jalen Cochran but I'll have to do some more digging because Rodriguez talked about everyone but him even though, as you'll hear, I asked the UA head coach about it. Some positive news in regards to Bryson Cain as he is back and practicing with the team albeit in a limited capacity.
* Now, we'll move to the fun stuff for this week. I was the bad guy today and brought up what is clearly a touchy subject still and asked about all that's going on with Oregon and Arizona's staff. It has been clear there is friction there, so I asked Smith how the team tries to keep this week from getting personal and as you'll see below in the video he was not exactly thrilled with the question.
It became very clear today that there is an extra bit of motivation and that Arizona's coaches are mad about Willie Taggart flipping commits and continuing to offer prospects after Arizona does. A little bad blood can make things fun and it's clear the coaching staff wants this win and is making that known to the team.
Receiver Shun Brown, as you'll hear after Smith talks in the clip below, said the coaches are angry about it and some of the players are as well. I talked with Nate Eldridge and brought up the mood this week and he mentioned the players already on the team feel slighted when a recruit flips from Arizona. He brought up Cody Shear's late flip. As you saw with the articles today on the weekend visitors, Arizona's current players take time out of their own day and put in effort of their own to help the team recruit as well and when players flip it's almost like wasted time for those guys.
Clearly, the team is a bit more angry this week and the plan is to ask Rodriguez about it more tomorrow but you can get the feel for where the team is at with all this Oregon stuff in the clip below.
* It was brought up Monday so I asked Smith about recruiting quarterbacks and how much Tate having success has helped on that side of things with both the signal callers and just recruiting in general. That is something he was more than happy to talk about and with Rodriguez saying the team has seen an uptick in Southern California recruiting since Tate has emerged the UA QBs coach has a similar feeling.
"That's recruiting, right?" Smith said when I asked how much having a guy like Tate can let the staff show what they can do. "That's what you do. You present a vision to a guy and now I can show him the plan. Present the vision, here's how we're doing it. It pays off."
* Something that has struck me about the rise of Tate is that his teammates have fully rallied behind him this season. Winning will do that but at a certain point even the most humble players will get a little jealous of someone else getting the attention. That just hasn't happened with this team and a lot of that has to do with Tate and his personality. He's developed into quite the leader. Eldridge said he has been surprised by how far along Tate has come in that regard and mentioned that he has been much more vocal this year than he was this time last season.
"Tells you a lot about the kid, don't it?" Smith said when I asked him about it. "Your team will never lie to you. They'll gravitate to the players, they'll gravitate to the person. I don't think your team will ever lie to you."
I thought that statement by Smith said a lot about Tate but also about Brandon Dawkins as well. It just never felt the same earlier in the year and if you take the theory that Smith brings up it's clear what has helped move this thing along from that standpoint.
* Arizona is going back to the chrome red helmets this week breaking out a little flash for the game in Oregon.
