Here is a rundown of what was talked about today during Rich Rodriguez's weekly press conference. The team had a film day on Saturday and had an extended light practice on Sunday. Today was a semi-off day with the team doing some light work and tomorrow will be a full go practice for the team as it gets ready for Utah.
* Rodriguez said his players had a "nice bounce in their step" during Sunday's practice and that any time you can win a game there is a confidence boost. He later added that the practice had a ton of energy and it felt like a team getting ready to play in the Super Bowl. It is clear the UTEP game gave the team some confidence and Rodriguez was pleased with how practice went.
* Nick Wilson started the game against UTEP and Rodriguez said any time a player can play it's best to do so rather than sitting them out, so he wanted the senior running back to play Friday. Wilson "couldn't make the cuts" prior to the Houston game so they held him out. Rodriguez said Wilson will be a full go for practice this week. He said the team will play "the same three or four guys" when it comes to the running back position this week.
He added that was "good to see Branden Leon and Nate Tilford get some more experience too, because we're gonna need them as the season goes along."
Rodriguez continues to say that there are guys ahead of Tilford, but he added that Gary Brightwell is someone the team wants to get more touches. He didn't specify if that is at running back or in the slot but it sure sounded like running back.
* There was plenty of Brandon Dawkins talk today and the overarching theme was that he had a more focused, serious demeanor in the week before Friday's win and Rodriguez wants to see that more out of his quarterback as well as the rest of the team as things move forward. Rodriguez reiterated that he challenged the offense to be better after the Houston game. Like he did after the game, Rodriguez said there is another level Dawkins can reach.
He said there was not a whole lot that changed within the offense to make things easier on Dawkins, it more just came down to being better about the fundamentals and execution.
Rodriguez said the staff is working more with Dawkins to lower his shoulder more when taking hits instead of being so upright. He doesn't want any of the QBs to slide since he feels that leaves them more open to hits but that is one part of the running game with Dawkins the staff is working on.
* Rodriguez was asked about Khalil Tate and he said that the sophomore quarterback could have played but later answered another question by saying that Rhett Rodriguez was the second quarterback on Friday should Dawkins have went down. The UA head coach said that "he'll be ready to go this week" when finishing up his initial thought on Tate.
* It was brought up that Colin Schooler has some of the same qualities that Scooby Wright had during his time at Arizona and while Rodriguez said it's a fair comparison he doesn't think it's right to to do so right now. He does see similarities in the two linebackers including athleticism with both being running backs in high school.
* Utah runs a similar offense to Arizona and Rodriguez said unless "they had a big old slug at quarterback" it probably doesn't help the Wildcats that they see the offense everyday in practice. Rodriguez said Tyler Huntley reminds him of Dawkins in many ways. He added that this is the most athletic the Utah defense has been since he's coached against the team.
* Jack Banda played tight end against UTEP and caught a pass and it was an idea that Rodriguez said the senior brought to the coaching staff. Rodriguez said it was a process that had to happen quickly in just a couple days and he learned enough to go in the game. As of now he is beginning to transition to a tight end.
"I think we found a home for him" Rodriguez said. "I'll still rep him some defensively and on special teams, but tight end is probably where he'll finish his career out here."
Rodriguez said Banda will "get some normal time" at tight end because of how many two tight-end sets the staff wants to use and has been using.
* Rodriguez wasn't too happy with the offensive line in the first half of Friday's game right after it took place but he said it was better than the Houston game when he had a chance to go back and watch the film. He didn't have an issue with the assignments but he thought the line could have been better about sustaining blocks.
He said he thinks everything that didn't go well can be corrected.
* Arizona played some freshmen we had not seen up until Friday's game such as JB Brown and Anthony Pandy and Rodriguez said there will be more as the season moves along that will play who have yet to see the field. The Wildcats are behind only LSU (20) and Illinois (18) when it comes to playing true freshmen as the team has played 17 of them so far, and Rodriguez said there will be more before the season is over.
He said the team will likely end up having the most true freshmen play in the country when the season is done because there are "three or four more other true freshmen who have a chance to help us."
* DeAndre' Miler is still trying to get back into form and this about the time frame he should be coming back. Rodriguez said he isn't sure if the STUD linebacker will return to the field this Friday but he is hopeful Miller can practice "a little bit this week."
* Rodriguez said his players had a "nice bounce in their step" during Sunday's practice and that any time you can win a game there is a confidence boost. He later added that the practice had a ton of energy and it felt like a team getting ready to play in the Super Bowl. It is clear the UTEP game gave the team some confidence and Rodriguez was pleased with how practice went.
* Nick Wilson started the game against UTEP and Rodriguez said any time a player can play it's best to do so rather than sitting them out, so he wanted the senior running back to play Friday. Wilson "couldn't make the cuts" prior to the Houston game so they held him out. Rodriguez said Wilson will be a full go for practice this week. He said the team will play "the same three or four guys" when it comes to the running back position this week.
He added that was "good to see Branden Leon and Nate Tilford get some more experience too, because we're gonna need them as the season goes along."
Rodriguez continues to say that there are guys ahead of Tilford, but he added that Gary Brightwell is someone the team wants to get more touches. He didn't specify if that is at running back or in the slot but it sure sounded like running back.
* There was plenty of Brandon Dawkins talk today and the overarching theme was that he had a more focused, serious demeanor in the week before Friday's win and Rodriguez wants to see that more out of his quarterback as well as the rest of the team as things move forward. Rodriguez reiterated that he challenged the offense to be better after the Houston game. Like he did after the game, Rodriguez said there is another level Dawkins can reach.
He said there was not a whole lot that changed within the offense to make things easier on Dawkins, it more just came down to being better about the fundamentals and execution.
Rodriguez said the staff is working more with Dawkins to lower his shoulder more when taking hits instead of being so upright. He doesn't want any of the QBs to slide since he feels that leaves them more open to hits but that is one part of the running game with Dawkins the staff is working on.
* Rodriguez was asked about Khalil Tate and he said that the sophomore quarterback could have played but later answered another question by saying that Rhett Rodriguez was the second quarterback on Friday should Dawkins have went down. The UA head coach said that "he'll be ready to go this week" when finishing up his initial thought on Tate.
* It was brought up that Colin Schooler has some of the same qualities that Scooby Wright had during his time at Arizona and while Rodriguez said it's a fair comparison he doesn't think it's right to to do so right now. He does see similarities in the two linebackers including athleticism with both being running backs in high school.
* Utah runs a similar offense to Arizona and Rodriguez said unless "they had a big old slug at quarterback" it probably doesn't help the Wildcats that they see the offense everyday in practice. Rodriguez said Tyler Huntley reminds him of Dawkins in many ways. He added that this is the most athletic the Utah defense has been since he's coached against the team.
* Jack Banda played tight end against UTEP and caught a pass and it was an idea that Rodriguez said the senior brought to the coaching staff. Rodriguez said it was a process that had to happen quickly in just a couple days and he learned enough to go in the game. As of now he is beginning to transition to a tight end.
"I think we found a home for him" Rodriguez said. "I'll still rep him some defensively and on special teams, but tight end is probably where he'll finish his career out here."
Rodriguez said Banda will "get some normal time" at tight end because of how many two tight-end sets the staff wants to use and has been using.
* Rodriguez wasn't too happy with the offensive line in the first half of Friday's game right after it took place but he said it was better than the Houston game when he had a chance to go back and watch the film. He didn't have an issue with the assignments but he thought the line could have been better about sustaining blocks.
He said he thinks everything that didn't go well can be corrected.
* Arizona played some freshmen we had not seen up until Friday's game such as JB Brown and Anthony Pandy and Rodriguez said there will be more as the season moves along that will play who have yet to see the field. The Wildcats are behind only LSU (20) and Illinois (18) when it comes to playing true freshmen as the team has played 17 of them so far, and Rodriguez said there will be more before the season is over.
He said the team will likely end up having the most true freshmen play in the country when the season is done because there are "three or four more other true freshmen who have a chance to help us."
* DeAndre' Miler is still trying to get back into form and this about the time frame he should be coming back. Rodriguez said he isn't sure if the STUD linebacker will return to the field this Friday but he is hopeful Miller can practice "a little bit this week."
