Kevin Sumlin held his first press conference of the season Monday ahead of Arizona's trip to Hawaii this week. The Wildcats will take off Wednesday to get to Hawaii a little earlier than a normal road trip. There will be some extra things the team will do while they are there along with continuing practice once they arrive.
I wanted to highlight some of the things that were discussed Monday as the UA head coach was able to talk with the media for the first time in a little over a week. Things have come together over the last week with the team releasing a depth chart Monday just before the press conference. It opened Sumlin up to having to answer questions about the decision he and his staff made and gave an opportunity to get some insight into the group.
Players will get their opportunity to speak with the media Tuesday, but here is a look at what Sumlin had to say ahead of the trip to Hawaii.
* Sumlin was asked about it being the second year in his new program and how it compares to his other stops. Since it is still early in his second year at Arizona he didn't get into how it all looks compared to other places, but he did give some insight into his thoughts on the process so far in Tucson.
"Every job has been different," he said. "There has been different second years at all three places and this one is just getting going. So, I think we're happy with where we are right now from the offseason standpoint. I think from a strength and conditioning standpoint, coach [Brian] Johnson has done a fine job creating strength and size, but also attitude in the offseason. I think that's shown throughout fall camp. There's new blood out there. ... A little bit different energy. It's just a different team. That's kind of been the case in all three of these situations, but I like where we are right now."
Sumlin was also asked what type of anticipation level he has for the season and the season opener and he came back to this year's team being a different team than what he had last year.
* The defensive line has gone through a bit of a transformation, and while there are still some questions and some mystery about the group considering most of the key players have not had a chance to play a huge role yet there remains confidence that it is in a much better spot. For Sumlin it is the part of the team that he feels much more comfortable with right now than this time a year ago.
"We've got more able bodies," he said. "More guys that can really play without the talent level dropping off that much. There's some guys on the two-deep now on the second team that started a bunch of games last year. That being said, you would think that the talent level has been raised. There's been great competition on the defensive line and the offensive line and just a lot of places."
Arizona decided to put junior college transfer newcomers Myles Tapusoa and Trevon Mason as the two starting interior defensive linemen. Both players had to work their way up the depth chart, but both have shown the coaching staff enough to make the move for the first game of the season. Neither player would have been able to get on the field with the starting unit without some serious progress since the time they arrived to campus. The process was longer for Tapusoa who arrived back in January, but is more impressive in the case of Mason who arrived to UA just days before the start of camp.
Sumlin spoke about what helped both players move up to the top of the depth chart Monday.
* The receiver situation is an interesting one for Arizona considering there were a lot of openings after the loss of three veteran starters after last year. Cedric Peterson came into camp as the only proven receiver and he was not surprisingly listed as one of the starters at wide receiver. On the other side will be a group of players who have not had much experience so far including freshman Boobie Curry and redshirt freshman Tre Adams. At the top of the list, however, is someone who has quietly made a transformation during his career. Drew Dixon came in as a utility type of player having done a lot during his time at Sabino High School in Tucson. He settled in at wideout for UA but didn't quite make the progress he hoped during his first couple seasons. Now he's in the top spot at wideout and it shouldn't be surprising considering what has been said about him throughout the last several months.
"I think he has come a long way," Sumlin said Monday. "From attitude, his approach in daily life and our big thing this fall camp has been consistency. We've challenged our players, coaches, everybody that that's where we need to be. We need to be a more consistent team. ... Part of that is just growing up. Part of that is maturing."
In addition to Dixon earning one of the top two wideout spots, another local standout who played quarterback in high school made his debut at one of the top inside receiver spots with the release of Monday's depth chart. Jamarye Joiner made the transition from quarterback to receiver this summer and he has quickly made his presence felt at his new position. Joiner is listed alongside Brian Casteel as a starter in the slot and he will play quite a bit for the Wildcats this year at his new position. There are a lot of reasons the coaching staff decided to move Joiner up the depth chart, but it starts with his understanding of the offense and his athleticism according to Sumlin.
* Junior quarterback Rhett Rodriguez was placed ahead of Grant Gunnell on the quarterback depth chart behind Khalil Tate, which is different from how the reps worked for a lot of camp. Sumlin was asked about the move to have Rodriguez step back into his role as Tate's backup. He didn't clearly answer the questions about the gap between the two players and leaned on Rodriguez's experience as to why the order on the depth chart is the way it is. It is still my belief that should the Wildcats' need a quick fix due to a less-severe injury to Tate then Rodriguez will be the guy on the field. However, if there is any long-term solution needed at any point this year it is still my understanding that Gunnell would be the player the team would turn to. There are a lot of potential factors that will play into the decision, such as if the staff can retain Gunnell's redshirt, but that is how things would go down should something happen to Tate from my understanding of the situation.
"One guy's got more experience than the other guy," Sumlin said. "One guy has been here since January and the other guy has been here since before I got here. So, he's been around a bit. He's started a game and he's played in games. Both of them are different guys skill set wise. Grant is a little bigger guy and probably doesn't move as well as Rhett, but Rhett has experience. Grant's come along fine."
* Sumlin has a relationship with Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich from being around coaching, so there is a certain amount of respect there. The UA head coach did his part to talk up the Warriors today including standout quarterback Cole McDonald who was one of the best passers in the country last season.
* The linebacker position is an interesting one for the Wildcats. The "stud" linebacker position has essentially gone away now with the Wildcats listing the players who have been at that spot simply as "ends" now with the release of the depth chart today. That means there are only two linebacker spots on Marcel Yates' defense and we know who the top two players are at those positions – Colin Schooler and Tony Fields II. Anthony Pandy, however, was listed as a co-starter with Fields with today's depth chart release and it is certainly something that was being talked about before the press conference.
Pandy has been making improvements across the board this offseason and Sumlin put it simply, 'he wants to start.'
In a way the coaching staff is going into the season viewing Pandy as a third starter. In addition to Pandy the Wildcats have liked the progress made by converted safety Day Day Coleman who is now backing up Schooler at middle linebacker as well as freshman Derrion Clark who Sumlin was talking up once again Monday. He spoke about the depth behind Schooler and Fields as well.
I wanted to highlight some of the things that were discussed Monday as the UA head coach was able to talk with the media for the first time in a little over a week. Things have come together over the last week with the team releasing a depth chart Monday just before the press conference. It opened Sumlin up to having to answer questions about the decision he and his staff made and gave an opportunity to get some insight into the group.
Players will get their opportunity to speak with the media Tuesday, but here is a look at what Sumlin had to say ahead of the trip to Hawaii.
* Sumlin was asked about it being the second year in his new program and how it compares to his other stops. Since it is still early in his second year at Arizona he didn't get into how it all looks compared to other places, but he did give some insight into his thoughts on the process so far in Tucson.
"Every job has been different," he said. "There has been different second years at all three places and this one is just getting going. So, I think we're happy with where we are right now from the offseason standpoint. I think from a strength and conditioning standpoint, coach [Brian] Johnson has done a fine job creating strength and size, but also attitude in the offseason. I think that's shown throughout fall camp. There's new blood out there. ... A little bit different energy. It's just a different team. That's kind of been the case in all three of these situations, but I like where we are right now."
Sumlin was also asked what type of anticipation level he has for the season and the season opener and he came back to this year's team being a different team than what he had last year.
* The defensive line has gone through a bit of a transformation, and while there are still some questions and some mystery about the group considering most of the key players have not had a chance to play a huge role yet there remains confidence that it is in a much better spot. For Sumlin it is the part of the team that he feels much more comfortable with right now than this time a year ago.
"We've got more able bodies," he said. "More guys that can really play without the talent level dropping off that much. There's some guys on the two-deep now on the second team that started a bunch of games last year. That being said, you would think that the talent level has been raised. There's been great competition on the defensive line and the offensive line and just a lot of places."
Arizona decided to put junior college transfer newcomers Myles Tapusoa and Trevon Mason as the two starting interior defensive linemen. Both players had to work their way up the depth chart, but both have shown the coaching staff enough to make the move for the first game of the season. Neither player would have been able to get on the field with the starting unit without some serious progress since the time they arrived to campus. The process was longer for Tapusoa who arrived back in January, but is more impressive in the case of Mason who arrived to UA just days before the start of camp.
Sumlin spoke about what helped both players move up to the top of the depth chart Monday.
* The receiver situation is an interesting one for Arizona considering there were a lot of openings after the loss of three veteran starters after last year. Cedric Peterson came into camp as the only proven receiver and he was not surprisingly listed as one of the starters at wide receiver. On the other side will be a group of players who have not had much experience so far including freshman Boobie Curry and redshirt freshman Tre Adams. At the top of the list, however, is someone who has quietly made a transformation during his career. Drew Dixon came in as a utility type of player having done a lot during his time at Sabino High School in Tucson. He settled in at wideout for UA but didn't quite make the progress he hoped during his first couple seasons. Now he's in the top spot at wideout and it shouldn't be surprising considering what has been said about him throughout the last several months.
"I think he has come a long way," Sumlin said Monday. "From attitude, his approach in daily life and our big thing this fall camp has been consistency. We've challenged our players, coaches, everybody that that's where we need to be. We need to be a more consistent team. ... Part of that is just growing up. Part of that is maturing."
In addition to Dixon earning one of the top two wideout spots, another local standout who played quarterback in high school made his debut at one of the top inside receiver spots with the release of Monday's depth chart. Jamarye Joiner made the transition from quarterback to receiver this summer and he has quickly made his presence felt at his new position. Joiner is listed alongside Brian Casteel as a starter in the slot and he will play quite a bit for the Wildcats this year at his new position. There are a lot of reasons the coaching staff decided to move Joiner up the depth chart, but it starts with his understanding of the offense and his athleticism according to Sumlin.
* Junior quarterback Rhett Rodriguez was placed ahead of Grant Gunnell on the quarterback depth chart behind Khalil Tate, which is different from how the reps worked for a lot of camp. Sumlin was asked about the move to have Rodriguez step back into his role as Tate's backup. He didn't clearly answer the questions about the gap between the two players and leaned on Rodriguez's experience as to why the order on the depth chart is the way it is. It is still my belief that should the Wildcats' need a quick fix due to a less-severe injury to Tate then Rodriguez will be the guy on the field. However, if there is any long-term solution needed at any point this year it is still my understanding that Gunnell would be the player the team would turn to. There are a lot of potential factors that will play into the decision, such as if the staff can retain Gunnell's redshirt, but that is how things would go down should something happen to Tate from my understanding of the situation.
"One guy's got more experience than the other guy," Sumlin said. "One guy has been here since January and the other guy has been here since before I got here. So, he's been around a bit. He's started a game and he's played in games. Both of them are different guys skill set wise. Grant is a little bigger guy and probably doesn't move as well as Rhett, but Rhett has experience. Grant's come along fine."
* Sumlin has a relationship with Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich from being around coaching, so there is a certain amount of respect there. The UA head coach did his part to talk up the Warriors today including standout quarterback Cole McDonald who was one of the best passers in the country last season.
* The linebacker position is an interesting one for the Wildcats. The "stud" linebacker position has essentially gone away now with the Wildcats listing the players who have been at that spot simply as "ends" now with the release of the depth chart today. That means there are only two linebacker spots on Marcel Yates' defense and we know who the top two players are at those positions – Colin Schooler and Tony Fields II. Anthony Pandy, however, was listed as a co-starter with Fields with today's depth chart release and it is certainly something that was being talked about before the press conference.
Pandy has been making improvements across the board this offseason and Sumlin put it simply, 'he wants to start.'
In a way the coaching staff is going into the season viewing Pandy as a third starter. In addition to Pandy the Wildcats have liked the progress made by converted safety Day Day Coleman who is now backing up Schooler at middle linebacker as well as freshman Derrion Clark who Sumlin was talking up once again Monday. He spoke about the depth behind Schooler and Fields as well.
