Here is some quick analysis of Arizona by position group after Saturday night’s game in Palo Alto that the Wildcats will want to forget.
Quarterbacks: Arizona knew it was going to be without Anu Solomon all week so Jerrard Randall had a week to prepare, but he was just not able to get anything really going smoothly all night long. The staff tried to get things going through the air with some short passes but it almost took Randall away from what he does best. He was trying to make passes when he should have been running the ball and overall he just didn’t look comfortable.
As expected the senior was at his best when he was in space and able to make plays with his feet. Stanford had trouble stopping him at times when he was able to do that.
Brandon Dawkins had his shot for a drive but it was a quick one and he really just didn’t get a chance to do much.
Running backs: It wasn’t the best night for Nick Wilson either but he didn’t always have a ton of room to do anything either. I liked what Arizona was trying to do with him working him on the outside as a receiver, but it really just couldn’t get much going with him on the ground tonight.
Receivers: There were times when Johnny Jackson looked like the only one who could handle some of the rockets Randall was tossing tonight. The senior caught 10 passes the last time UA played Stanford and he really become a comfortable target for Randall all night. Cayleb Jones was getting frustrated at times and you could see it, but he was able to make a couple nice plays.
Overall it was a strange night for the group who also looked just taken out of the game with Randall’s passes overthrown a lot of times - especially early on.
Offensive line: The group just didn’t have it tonight. It wasn’t that it played poorly, but it just didn’t look like it had any kind of urgency against Stanford. There were times when it was opening up some good holes but other times it just looked off as well. Freddie Tagaloa might not still be healthy but he just wasn’t very effective when he was in either. Layth Friekh did a decent job while he was in, but the group as a whole just wasn’t very special Saturday night.
Defensive line: There is a reason Arizona is really focusing on that group with 2016 recruiting. Stanford just looked more imposing tonight and the Wildcats really could not get much going against as the game went on. That speed helped UA early on but once it settled in Stanford’s line was able to get push and really let its running backs run wild. It all starts up front in this defense and that unit wasn’t doing any favors for the players behind it against the Cardinal.
Linebackers: The group was very banged up, but Arizona likes to think it has the players to be able to make some stops and continue playing like it normally would without very much drop off. However, that just wasn’t the case Saturday night. The linebackers, like most groups, had some issues tackling and there continued to be breakdowns within the unit.
The biggest issue for the group the last two weeks and one of the main reasons you saw a number of running backs have big days the last two games was that Arizona’s linebackers are getting sucked underneath far too often and it is taking them out of position when running backs bounce it outside. That is one of the things that needs to be cleaned up or not much will change.
Secondary: Arizona safeties were spectacular, but the unit accounted for a ton of tackles on the evening. I thought Jamar Allah had solid showing and if not for him on certain occasions things could have been a lot worse. He looked like he was playing through some pain too. He finished as the tackle leader in the game with 11. Will Parks contributed with 10 tackles and Tellas Jones had eight tackles including half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
That unit held a lot of things together for the defense it could have been much worse if not for them.
However, the unit that really just didn’t have its best night at all was the cornerback group. Cam Denson got taken out by quarterback Keller Chryst on one play and he got beat on some others. DaVonte’ Neal has been solid, but he looked less sharp than he has been as well. Neal has been a big help at points this season in run support, but Christian McCaffery was doing some damage to all the units Saturday night.
Then late in the game even some of the backups were victims on big runs by the Cardinal. For all that it did on the ground, Stanford also just had two incompletions on the night as well.
Quarterbacks: Arizona knew it was going to be without Anu Solomon all week so Jerrard Randall had a week to prepare, but he was just not able to get anything really going smoothly all night long. The staff tried to get things going through the air with some short passes but it almost took Randall away from what he does best. He was trying to make passes when he should have been running the ball and overall he just didn’t look comfortable.
As expected the senior was at his best when he was in space and able to make plays with his feet. Stanford had trouble stopping him at times when he was able to do that.
Brandon Dawkins had his shot for a drive but it was a quick one and he really just didn’t get a chance to do much.
Running backs: It wasn’t the best night for Nick Wilson either but he didn’t always have a ton of room to do anything either. I liked what Arizona was trying to do with him working him on the outside as a receiver, but it really just couldn’t get much going with him on the ground tonight.
Receivers: There were times when Johnny Jackson looked like the only one who could handle some of the rockets Randall was tossing tonight. The senior caught 10 passes the last time UA played Stanford and he really become a comfortable target for Randall all night. Cayleb Jones was getting frustrated at times and you could see it, but he was able to make a couple nice plays.
Overall it was a strange night for the group who also looked just taken out of the game with Randall’s passes overthrown a lot of times - especially early on.
Offensive line: The group just didn’t have it tonight. It wasn’t that it played poorly, but it just didn’t look like it had any kind of urgency against Stanford. There were times when it was opening up some good holes but other times it just looked off as well. Freddie Tagaloa might not still be healthy but he just wasn’t very effective when he was in either. Layth Friekh did a decent job while he was in, but the group as a whole just wasn’t very special Saturday night.
Defensive line: There is a reason Arizona is really focusing on that group with 2016 recruiting. Stanford just looked more imposing tonight and the Wildcats really could not get much going against as the game went on. That speed helped UA early on but once it settled in Stanford’s line was able to get push and really let its running backs run wild. It all starts up front in this defense and that unit wasn’t doing any favors for the players behind it against the Cardinal.
Linebackers: The group was very banged up, but Arizona likes to think it has the players to be able to make some stops and continue playing like it normally would without very much drop off. However, that just wasn’t the case Saturday night. The linebackers, like most groups, had some issues tackling and there continued to be breakdowns within the unit.
The biggest issue for the group the last two weeks and one of the main reasons you saw a number of running backs have big days the last two games was that Arizona’s linebackers are getting sucked underneath far too often and it is taking them out of position when running backs bounce it outside. That is one of the things that needs to be cleaned up or not much will change.
Secondary: Arizona safeties were spectacular, but the unit accounted for a ton of tackles on the evening. I thought Jamar Allah had solid showing and if not for him on certain occasions things could have been a lot worse. He looked like he was playing through some pain too. He finished as the tackle leader in the game with 11. Will Parks contributed with 10 tackles and Tellas Jones had eight tackles including half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
That unit held a lot of things together for the defense it could have been much worse if not for them.
However, the unit that really just didn’t have its best night at all was the cornerback group. Cam Denson got taken out by quarterback Keller Chryst on one play and he got beat on some others. DaVonte’ Neal has been solid, but he looked less sharp than he has been as well. Neal has been a big help at points this season in run support, but Christian McCaffery was doing some damage to all the units Saturday night.
Then late in the game even some of the backups were victims on big runs by the Cardinal. For all that it did on the ground, Stanford also just had two incompletions on the night as well.
