Arizona has the weekend off meaning Wednesday night's practice was the last one before this week's scrimmage that will take place Thursday as the last practice of the week. It meant an easier day for the Wildcats who had a bit of a shorter practice than normal with a return to shorts and jerseys instead of full pads.
Here's a rundown of what we saw and what was discussed at Wednesday's practice as linebackers coach John Rushing and outside linebacker Tony Fields II were the two representatives selected to speak with the media.
Observations/notes
- One thing that stood out to me most Wednesday than any other practice, for whatever reason, was the vibe around practice. There is certainly a more relaxed and positive atmosphere this spring than there was a year ago. Maybe it's just familiarity with everyone, but there are just a few more happy faces and just overall positivity around the group than I can remember at any point last year. UA has had a lot of players leave the program and maybe that plays a part, but it certainly just feels different right now. Who knows if that means anything once the team hits the field, but we have heard how Kevin Sumlin's teams have felt at other schools and it is certainly starting to reflect his personality a bit more now than it did a year ago.
I think something that is also contributing to it, at least a little bit, is how much the position groups are cross training with other coaches on the team. Yesterday, for example, the different defensive groups had stations with each coach where they were working on different elements of the game with each coach on the staff. It not only helps them get better, but to me it's clear that the players have a good relationship with their position coach but also the other coaches on staff. This team feels closer than it did a season ago and some of the players have already said that this spring.
- We were finally allowed to watch a little bit of seven-on-seven time during practice Wednesday and while it was only for a couple minutes someone who has been standing out during the individual periods finally was able to show us what he does during some of the team stuff. Redshirt freshman receiver Tre Adams has looked pretty good this week in the individual portion of practice and he was part of the group the media was able to watch Wednesday for some of the team workouts. He had a couple catches including a nice one off a pass from Jamarye Joiner to open the team period as he worked against the first-team defense and cornerback Jace Whittaker.
Arizona is still looking for options on the outside at receiver and he's someone else who is getting himself into the conversation now it seems. At the very least he can help provide some depth there if he isn't able to crack that starting unit.
- So far I have been impressed with the two new coaches on staff and they continue to stand out among the group this spring. Maybe it's just wanting to make a good early impression or maybe it's just who they are but Kyle DeVan and DeMarco Murray have jumped right in when it comes to being vocal and bringing the team together. Kevin Sumlin said last week that he likes the energy from both coaches and that has been clear up to this point in the spring. DeVan was the one firing up the offense before the group broke into team drills and he is certainly a fiery guy. Josh McCauley mentioned this week how enjoyable it is to be around DeVan and there is a line that he toes beautifully when it comes to being stern but also not pushing it too far with his players.
Murray works with the returners as well and that gives him an opportunity to work with players outside of his group and he is someone who just seems to enjoy being around the team. He was having some fun with Jamarye Joiner during one of the parts of practice and he seems to be one of the coaches who makes it a point to bring some energy and fun to practice.
Again, we'll see how any of this shows itself on the field but I think being in a positive environment is good for this team.
Discussions
- Rushing made the move from coaching UA's safeties to coaching its linebackers this offseason with the hope that the move for he and Marcel Yates eventually makes the defensive better overall. While he has not done it at the college level Rushing said he did coach linebackers some in the NFL when he was with the Los Angeles Rams, so there is at least some history there for him as opposed to coming into a completely new situation.
So far he feels like the move has been a positive one for the team and will help everyone involved to be better players.
"It's a challenge and it continues to help me grow as a coach," he said after Wednesday's practice. "I get a chance to know what the front and line are doing and I get a chance to be behind the defensive line and help those guys and help those linebackers. It's a challenge and it's always good to continue to learn in this profession."
Rushing said he watched a lot of tape during the offseason and had a lot of conversations with Yates about the future of the group. He also said the staff went out to the University of Cincinnati to talk with the defensive staff there and get some ideas plus he talked with linebacker coaches in the NFL to get some help on preparing for the upcoming season with the Wildcats coaching a new position.
Like Colin Schooler, Fields is looking at the experience as a positive for his own development. It is the third linebacker coach he has worked with at UA, but rather than seeing that as a negative he is trying to get the most out of learning from a new coach.
"Most people think of it in a negative way where we're getting taught three different things, but I think of it in a positive way because we're getting more tools for our toolbox every year," Fields said. "So now even with two weeks with coach Rush we've learned so many new things, so many more ways to take on blockers and coverage. It's just more tools in our toolbox to use next year. ... With coach Rush he helps us with more about what's going on on the back end.
"So, now we understand safeties are giving the calls they're giving or why the corners are giving the calls they're giving. Now we're able to react and move faster when we get to our drops whether we're in man or zone or whatever."
- In addition to talking about his new role, I asked Rushing about recruiting a little bit and he said his role isn't changing much with the new setup. He has always had a hand in recruiting some of the linebackers that fall into his recruiting area so now he will just focus more on that group just a little bit more. He does have all of Washington now, he said, when it comes to expanding his personal recruiting area.
However, one of the most interesting things he had to say was that Arizona has simply been too small and he noticed that last season when UA would take the field. It's something fans have often thought about UA over the last several years, but I don't remember a coach going on record like Rushing did Wednesday night talking about it like he did.
- There has been a theme to how things have gone this spring when it comes to players being mentioned by their teammates. A couple of the names that have continued to come up as players who have impressed the team this spring receiver Jaden Mitchell and cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace are two of the more popular names. Fields mentioned both as newcomers he has been impressed by and it's not just for what they do between the lines.
It will be interesting to see how much both can get on the field this season, but both have come out of the gate in impressive fashion so far.
Videos
Here's a rundown of what we saw and what was discussed at Wednesday's practice as linebackers coach John Rushing and outside linebacker Tony Fields II were the two representatives selected to speak with the media.
Observations/notes
- One thing that stood out to me most Wednesday than any other practice, for whatever reason, was the vibe around practice. There is certainly a more relaxed and positive atmosphere this spring than there was a year ago. Maybe it's just familiarity with everyone, but there are just a few more happy faces and just overall positivity around the group than I can remember at any point last year. UA has had a lot of players leave the program and maybe that plays a part, but it certainly just feels different right now. Who knows if that means anything once the team hits the field, but we have heard how Kevin Sumlin's teams have felt at other schools and it is certainly starting to reflect his personality a bit more now than it did a year ago.
I think something that is also contributing to it, at least a little bit, is how much the position groups are cross training with other coaches on the team. Yesterday, for example, the different defensive groups had stations with each coach where they were working on different elements of the game with each coach on the staff. It not only helps them get better, but to me it's clear that the players have a good relationship with their position coach but also the other coaches on staff. This team feels closer than it did a season ago and some of the players have already said that this spring.
- We were finally allowed to watch a little bit of seven-on-seven time during practice Wednesday and while it was only for a couple minutes someone who has been standing out during the individual periods finally was able to show us what he does during some of the team stuff. Redshirt freshman receiver Tre Adams has looked pretty good this week in the individual portion of practice and he was part of the group the media was able to watch Wednesday for some of the team workouts. He had a couple catches including a nice one off a pass from Jamarye Joiner to open the team period as he worked against the first-team defense and cornerback Jace Whittaker.
Arizona is still looking for options on the outside at receiver and he's someone else who is getting himself into the conversation now it seems. At the very least he can help provide some depth there if he isn't able to crack that starting unit.
- So far I have been impressed with the two new coaches on staff and they continue to stand out among the group this spring. Maybe it's just wanting to make a good early impression or maybe it's just who they are but Kyle DeVan and DeMarco Murray have jumped right in when it comes to being vocal and bringing the team together. Kevin Sumlin said last week that he likes the energy from both coaches and that has been clear up to this point in the spring. DeVan was the one firing up the offense before the group broke into team drills and he is certainly a fiery guy. Josh McCauley mentioned this week how enjoyable it is to be around DeVan and there is a line that he toes beautifully when it comes to being stern but also not pushing it too far with his players.
Murray works with the returners as well and that gives him an opportunity to work with players outside of his group and he is someone who just seems to enjoy being around the team. He was having some fun with Jamarye Joiner during one of the parts of practice and he seems to be one of the coaches who makes it a point to bring some energy and fun to practice.
Again, we'll see how any of this shows itself on the field but I think being in a positive environment is good for this team.
Discussions
- Rushing made the move from coaching UA's safeties to coaching its linebackers this offseason with the hope that the move for he and Marcel Yates eventually makes the defensive better overall. While he has not done it at the college level Rushing said he did coach linebackers some in the NFL when he was with the Los Angeles Rams, so there is at least some history there for him as opposed to coming into a completely new situation.
So far he feels like the move has been a positive one for the team and will help everyone involved to be better players.
"It's a challenge and it continues to help me grow as a coach," he said after Wednesday's practice. "I get a chance to know what the front and line are doing and I get a chance to be behind the defensive line and help those guys and help those linebackers. It's a challenge and it's always good to continue to learn in this profession."
Rushing said he watched a lot of tape during the offseason and had a lot of conversations with Yates about the future of the group. He also said the staff went out to the University of Cincinnati to talk with the defensive staff there and get some ideas plus he talked with linebacker coaches in the NFL to get some help on preparing for the upcoming season with the Wildcats coaching a new position.
Like Colin Schooler, Fields is looking at the experience as a positive for his own development. It is the third linebacker coach he has worked with at UA, but rather than seeing that as a negative he is trying to get the most out of learning from a new coach.
"Most people think of it in a negative way where we're getting taught three different things, but I think of it in a positive way because we're getting more tools for our toolbox every year," Fields said. "So now even with two weeks with coach Rush we've learned so many new things, so many more ways to take on blockers and coverage. It's just more tools in our toolbox to use next year. ... With coach Rush he helps us with more about what's going on on the back end.
"So, now we understand safeties are giving the calls they're giving or why the corners are giving the calls they're giving. Now we're able to react and move faster when we get to our drops whether we're in man or zone or whatever."
- In addition to talking about his new role, I asked Rushing about recruiting a little bit and he said his role isn't changing much with the new setup. He has always had a hand in recruiting some of the linebackers that fall into his recruiting area so now he will just focus more on that group just a little bit more. He does have all of Washington now, he said, when it comes to expanding his personal recruiting area.
However, one of the most interesting things he had to say was that Arizona has simply been too small and he noticed that last season when UA would take the field. It's something fans have often thought about UA over the last several years, but I don't remember a coach going on record like Rushing did Wednesday night talking about it like he did.
- There has been a theme to how things have gone this spring when it comes to players being mentioned by their teammates. A couple of the names that have continued to come up as players who have impressed the team this spring receiver Jaden Mitchell and cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace are two of the more popular names. Fields mentioned both as newcomers he has been impressed by and it's not just for what they do between the lines.
It will be interesting to see how much both can get on the field this season, but both have come out of the gate in impressive fashion so far.
Videos
