Bear Down Wildcats

14. Arizona
Why they rank: Coach Rich Rodriguez has his no-huddle offense in sync with quarterback Anu Solomon returning from a standout freshman season, while running back Nick Wilson can average 100 yards a game.
How they might falter: The Wildcats have a highly-talented starting 22, but depth at multiple spots is lacking. A few injuries could make a big difference, and this team plays 12 consecutive weeks without a bye.

There has only ever been one repeat winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, but Arizona’s Scooby Wright III is hoping to become the second. The 2014 Nagurski Trophy winner was among the 88 players listed on the watch list for one of the top defensive player awards in college football.

The only other player to repeat as Nagurski Trophy winner was Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, as a linebacker in 1995 and 1996. Fitzgerald is now the head coach of the Wildcats.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... watch-lst/

OSUCat wrote:

There has only ever been one repeat winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, but Arizona’s Scooby Wright III is hoping to become the second. The 2014 Nagurski Trophy winner was among the 88 players listed on the watch list for one of the top defensive player awards in college football.

The only other player to repeat as Nagurski Trophy winner was Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, as a linebacker in 1995 and 1996. Fitzgerald is now the head coach of the Wildcats.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... watch-lst/

This reads a bit funky to me. Almost sounds like the writer is implying that Fitzgerald is the coaching the Arizona Wildcats.

OSUCat wrote:

There has only ever been one repeat winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, but Arizona’s Scooby Wright III is hoping to become the second. The 2014 Nagurski Trophy winner was among the 88 players listed on the watch list for one of the top defensive player awards in college football.

The only other player to repeat as Nagurski Trophy winner was Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, as a linebacker in 1995 and 1996. Fitzgerald is now the head coach of the Wildcats.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... watch-lst/

This reads a bit funky to me. Almost sounds like the writer is implying that Fitzgerald is the coaching the Arizona Wildcats.

ANGCatFan wrote:Anu is also now on the Polynesian POY watch list.

Five finalists for the award will be unveiled on Nov. 19, and the winner will be honored on Dec. 8. Former coaches Dick Tomey, LaVell Edwards, Ron McBride and Dick Vermeil and ex-NFLPA president Kevin Mawae are among the members of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame's selection committee.

Arizona -- Like Notre Dame, many seem to remember only the outcome of the Wildcats' bowl game last season. Boise State ran past them in the Fiesta Bowl, but the Wildcats return potent offensive weapons in Anu Solomon, Nick Wilson and Cayleb Jones and perhaps the best defensive player in the country in Scooby Wright. They've made moves to improve their secondary, as well, and could surprise after being ranked No. 22 by the coaches.

Breakout player: Tyrell Johnson, WR
Tyrell Johnson might be small at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, but he is super fast. He finished third in the 100-meter final at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships with a time of 10.41 seconds. It was the first time Arizona has scored in the 100-meter in the Pac-12 Championships since 2011.

So what does Rich Rod do with all this speed? Pretty much whatever he wants.

Johnson had 14 catches last season for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Shockingly, he only had three rushing attempts for 19 yards. Expect those numbers to change this year, especially since Johnson has spent the offseason trying to get stronger to be able to compete against bigger linebackers. Johnson can be a dynamic weapon coming out of the backfield on a sweep or a reverse; he has the perfect size and speed to be a slot receiver, especially with Nate Phillips, the primary slot receiver, recovering from a foot injury. He returned 29 kicks for an average of 23.7 yards and was a few key blocks away from breaking free for a touchdown.

Johnson adds just another dimension to an already scary-good offense, one that will be a lot of fun to watch this fall.

3. Arizona Wildcats: Much like the Ducks, the Wildcats are the defending South Division champs and deserve the benefit of the doubt and the credit that goes with that. They probably won’t be tested the first three weeks of the season with nonconference matchups against UTSA, Nevada and Northern Arizona. But things ramp up after that with a critical showdown against UCLA and then Stanford. They close at USC, vs. Utah and at ASU -- and they’ll have to do it all without a bye week. If they’re able to repeat, Rich Rodriguez needs to give his strength and conditioning guys a hefty raise.

ANGCatFan wrote:Here's the espn blog's preseason P12 power ranking. We come in at 3 behind Oregon and USC.

3. Arizona Wildcats: Much like the Ducks, the Wildcats are the defending South Division champs and deserve the benefit of the doubt and the credit that goes with that. They probably won’t be tested the first three weeks of the season with nonconference matchups against UTSA, Nevada and Northern Arizona. But things ramp up after that with a critical showdown against UCLA and then Stanford. They close at USC, vs. Utah and at ASU -- and they’ll have to do it all without a bye week. If they’re able to repeat, Rich Rodriguez needs to give his strength and conditioning guys a hefty raise.

ANGCatFan wrote:Here's the espn blog's preseason P12 power ranking. We come in at 3 behind Oregon and USC.

As far as squads that should be ranked higher, the one that immediately jumps out is Arizona. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 South last season and return an offense loaded with playmakers, including quarterback Anu Solomon, running back Nick Wilson and receiver Cayleb Jones.

Still, the main attraction for Arizona is on the defensive side in linebacker Scooby Wright:

If Wright can anchor the defense, the Wildcats could once again surprise people in 2015.

7. Arizona: Rich Rodriguez and Anu Solomon

Rich Rodriguez made his big breakthrough at Arizona last season as the Wildcats won an extremely tough Pac-12 South and finished with 10 victories. And now, for the first time in his tenure in Tucson, he has a returning starter at quarterback—sophomore Anu Solomon.

"He was a little bigger [in the spring], a little faster, little stronger," Rodriguez said at Pac-12 media days, per Kevin Gemmell of ESPN.com. "He had a better knowledge of the offense. I thought he did really well last year in his first year as a starter. I think the other part of it is we know what his strengths and weaknesses are at crunch time as well."

Rodriguez, who had a 60-26 record at West Virginia before a disastrous stint at Michigan, continues to put out excellent offenses with his spread-option scheme. Solomon had more than 4,000 all-purpose yards and scored 30 touchdowns as the key man of that system last season.

Now with a full season together under their belts and several offensive playmakers still on campus, Rodriguez and Solomon should compete for a repeat this fall against the Los Angeles schools and rival Arizona State.

Wright ranks highest among the 40 Pac-12 players listed, checking in at No. 2 overall, second only to Ohio State strong-side defensive end Joey Bosa.

Cayleb Jones is rated as the No. 13 wide receiver, nationally, and the No. 112 player overall. A third Wildcat, sophomore Nick Wilson, also made the list as the No. 169 player overall and the No. 13 running back in the country.

Here is the full list of UA players selected as Playboy All-Americans:

1971 Mark Arneson, senior linebacker
1972 Jackie Wallace, senior cornerback
1975 Theopolis “T” Bell, senior receiver
1979 Cleveland Crosby, senior defensive tackle
1982 Ricky Hunley, junior linebacker
1983 Ricky Hunley, senior linebacker
1988 Joe Tofflemire, senior center
1993 Rob Waldrop, senior defensive tackle
1994 Sean Harris, senior linebacker
1995 Tedy Bruschi, senior defensive end
2002 Clarence Farmer, junior tailback
2007 Antoine Cason, senior cornerback
2015 Scooby Wright, junior linebacker

ASUHATER! wrote:USA today did a 1-128 ranking of every team. Absolutely ridiculous too. Some highlights:

#5 Boise state
#8 Asu
#10 Stanford
#17 Usc
Utah ranked behind byu and utah state
Western Michigan ahead of Michigan
Lsu #27