Rich Rodriguez held his usual Monday press conference today even with the holiday and with some game film to go off of it was a little longer than last week. Again, per NCAA rules, Arizona is not allowed to have players at its press conferences any longer so it was just Rodriguez speaking about week's game against Houston and the unique challenges it presents.
Houston
When it comes to this week's opponent the Cougars are obviously coming off of a horrendous couple of weeks with a hurricane devastating the Houston area and impacting players on the team who come from the city. It forced the team to postpone its first game meaning its opener will be Saturday night in Tucson. That means no film on a team with a new coach and a different kind of approach for the Wildcats because of it.
* It will be Major Applewhite's debut as head coach at Houston and that in itself brings some mystery when Arizona has no film to go off of.
"We don't know exactly what they're gonna do because it's their first game with a new staff," Rodriguez said. "So there's a lot of unsure things in our mind about that and certainly they'll be healthy coming in. ... Considering what they've gone through ... it's just a tragic thing that's happened to that city but it's also uplifting to see how many people have reached out to try and help including a lot of folks here.
"I'm sure they're anxious to play a football game."
* There are a couple questions when it comes to Houston that remain out there but something that is certain is they will be bringing one of the top players in college football with them over to Tucson on Saturday. Sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver is one of the best in the game already and the former five-star, top-20 recruit has lived up to his lofty ranking through one year of his career. Rodriguez knows his team will have a lot to deal with in Oliver this weekend.
"We have some big guys up front, but if you don't bend your knees and you let him get underneath of you – because he'll play with great pad level - he can embarrass you," Rodriguez said. "So, we've gotta do a great job this week getting our pad-level down a little bit. And they'll do a lot of moving up front so we've gotta be ready for a lot of active movement up front from their D-line."
* Then there is of course the quarterback situation at Houston as Applewhite does not plan on announcing who his starter will be until Friday. That means a week of guessing for Arizona with Scottsdale native and one-time Arizona target Kyle Allen, who transferred from Texas A&M, battling it out with senior junior college transfer Kyle Posta who played in 10 games last season for the Cougars starting one of them.
"I think they're probably closer and similar in their skill set," Rodriguez said of the two Houston quarterbacks. "I guess they're not going to announce it until Friday, but I think the defensive plan is going to be the same irregardless."
Arizona
Rodriguez of course has his own team to worry about as well and there was plenty to watch on film after Saturday's game and things weren't as bad as he thought after getting a second chance to watch the win over NAU. Things he felt weren't great are aspects he feels can be corrected and he is happy to at least have a game under the team's belt where he can now see more clearly what elements of the team need to be worked on more than others.
* The freshmen were of course the topic of the day once again with the Wildcats playing 13 of those first-year players in the 62-24 victory over the Lumberjacks. The UA head coach said he sensed some nerves from the group but overall he was pleased with how things went.
"Overall it was a good time to teach off of because you really don't know for sure until you go live like a lot of the special teams stuff and some of the new guys on defense and all that," Rodriguez said. "So, we got a lot of experience and we know we gotta play a lot better."
* On the injury front it sounds like backup quarterback Khalil Tate will be fine judging by what Rodriguez said today. Arizona wasn't sure initially how severe the shoulder injury was but Rodriguez made it sound like it will not be something that is prolonged.
* Cam Denson was a very clear omission from Saturday's game and Rodriguez said the senior receiver is still dealing with the foot injury that has hampered him for quite some time. The option for a redshirt is still available and if the issue doesn't clear up it is something the coaches are not afraid to explore with the Tucson standout since he has not used his redshirt season yet.
"He could," Rodriguez said of the redshirt possibility. "He hasn't got a redshirt yet. We're just really waiting to see how it goes day-to-day, week-to-week goes to get him back in there."
Foot issues and skill players can be tricky and it's not something the staff is going to want to push with him and hasn't pushed with him as of now.
Houston
When it comes to this week's opponent the Cougars are obviously coming off of a horrendous couple of weeks with a hurricane devastating the Houston area and impacting players on the team who come from the city. It forced the team to postpone its first game meaning its opener will be Saturday night in Tucson. That means no film on a team with a new coach and a different kind of approach for the Wildcats because of it.
* It will be Major Applewhite's debut as head coach at Houston and that in itself brings some mystery when Arizona has no film to go off of.
"We don't know exactly what they're gonna do because it's their first game with a new staff," Rodriguez said. "So there's a lot of unsure things in our mind about that and certainly they'll be healthy coming in. ... Considering what they've gone through ... it's just a tragic thing that's happened to that city but it's also uplifting to see how many people have reached out to try and help including a lot of folks here.
"I'm sure they're anxious to play a football game."
* There are a couple questions when it comes to Houston that remain out there but something that is certain is they will be bringing one of the top players in college football with them over to Tucson on Saturday. Sophomore defensive tackle Ed Oliver is one of the best in the game already and the former five-star, top-20 recruit has lived up to his lofty ranking through one year of his career. Rodriguez knows his team will have a lot to deal with in Oliver this weekend.
"We have some big guys up front, but if you don't bend your knees and you let him get underneath of you – because he'll play with great pad level - he can embarrass you," Rodriguez said. "So, we've gotta do a great job this week getting our pad-level down a little bit. And they'll do a lot of moving up front so we've gotta be ready for a lot of active movement up front from their D-line."
* Then there is of course the quarterback situation at Houston as Applewhite does not plan on announcing who his starter will be until Friday. That means a week of guessing for Arizona with Scottsdale native and one-time Arizona target Kyle Allen, who transferred from Texas A&M, battling it out with senior junior college transfer Kyle Posta who played in 10 games last season for the Cougars starting one of them.
"I think they're probably closer and similar in their skill set," Rodriguez said of the two Houston quarterbacks. "I guess they're not going to announce it until Friday, but I think the defensive plan is going to be the same irregardless."
Arizona
Rodriguez of course has his own team to worry about as well and there was plenty to watch on film after Saturday's game and things weren't as bad as he thought after getting a second chance to watch the win over NAU. Things he felt weren't great are aspects he feels can be corrected and he is happy to at least have a game under the team's belt where he can now see more clearly what elements of the team need to be worked on more than others.
* The freshmen were of course the topic of the day once again with the Wildcats playing 13 of those first-year players in the 62-24 victory over the Lumberjacks. The UA head coach said he sensed some nerves from the group but overall he was pleased with how things went.
"Overall it was a good time to teach off of because you really don't know for sure until you go live like a lot of the special teams stuff and some of the new guys on defense and all that," Rodriguez said. "So, we got a lot of experience and we know we gotta play a lot better."
* On the injury front it sounds like backup quarterback Khalil Tate will be fine judging by what Rodriguez said today. Arizona wasn't sure initially how severe the shoulder injury was but Rodriguez made it sound like it will not be something that is prolonged.
* Cam Denson was a very clear omission from Saturday's game and Rodriguez said the senior receiver is still dealing with the foot injury that has hampered him for quite some time. The option for a redshirt is still available and if the issue doesn't clear up it is something the coaches are not afraid to explore with the Tucson standout since he has not used his redshirt season yet.
"He could," Rodriguez said of the redshirt possibility. "He hasn't got a redshirt yet. We're just really waiting to see how it goes day-to-day, week-to-week goes to get him back in there."
Foot issues and skill players can be tricky and it's not something the staff is going to want to push with him and hasn't pushed with him as of now.
