Bear Down Wildcats

The Wildcats arrive for Fall Football Camp this week. Players report on Monday, they will have picture day Tuesday and the first official practice is on Wednesday.

The team will have 18 practices during the fall camp, including three two-a-day sessions. The Cats will go on their annual mid-camp trip to Fort Huachuca where they will have dinner with the post’s military personnel.

UA will meet the local media on Sunday August 23 and then start classes the next day.

Returning to lead the Wildcats into the new season are plenty of familiar faces. On defense, Scooby Wright III is a household name after collecting numerous national awards a season ago. On offense, freshmen sensations Anu Solomon and Nick Wilson are now sophomores. In the kicking game, Casey Skowron and Drew Riggleman provide stability after solid campaigns a year ago.

The stability goes beyond the position groups, however. Rodriguez welcomes back his entire coaching staff for the third year in a row, and that continuity pays dividends not just on Saturdays in the fall, but every single day throughout the year. The Wildcats have been getting bigger, stronger, faster, smarter and better conditioned in the months since they last took the field.

Who will win the center job?

Who ends up at corner?

Can the quarterbacks keep making progress?

FightWildcatsFight wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qxks_LVUdk

Wood has also bulked up over the summer to make himself more physically able to be a starting center in the Pac-12.

"I was able to put on about 20-25 pounds this summer," he continued. "I had a pretty good summer. I was pretty banged up, and now I'm finally healthy and able to put some good weight on. I'm about 280 (now). I was about 280 back in high school, and I got here and got banged up so I lost a little bit of weight but I worked hard over the summer and got some good weight back."

There's one obvious thing that whoever wins the starting center job is going to have to show to the coaches, and that's the ability to consistently snap the football and get it into Anu's hands. And learning how to do that has taken a ton of reps for Wood.

"After a workout, you just grab a buddy in the locker room and say 'Hey, come catch a couple snaps for me'," Wood explained. "Or when receivers and quarterbacks are doing seven-on-seven you go out there and snap for that. Just whenever you can really, grab a ball and work on it. You can never get too many. Do fifty, sixty, seventy snaps. If it's a bad day maybe a hundred. Just until it's right and it feels good."

One thing that most people noticed after spring practices was David Catalano doing just that with the coaching staff. He would stay on the field after practice and just send off snap after snap after snap. It's going to be interesting between a ton of guys to see who can actually lock down that center spot.

So what will define that guy who becomes the starting center?

"Just show that you can get the job done, make sure the coaches can trust you in a game, and have the trust of the other four guys on the line with you. Just let them know you can do it."

His glittering hardware from last year's awards circuit sits in his parents' home in northern California. Scooby recently was home for a couple of weeks before returning to Tucson.

"He's funny," his dad, Phillip Wright, said by phone Tuesday.

"He walked by every once in a while and put a trophy in a drawer. He'll see his rings out and put those in the case and put them back in the drawer. Or he'll see a plaque and cover it or turn it around. He's different.

"The individual stuff is awesome, but he just wants the team to keep winning and let everything else happen after that."

. . .

"When he was home, he was like a race horse stuck in a stable," Phillip Wright said.

"He's like, 'Dad, I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. This is the best I've ever felt.'"

Another Season of Scooby begins.

NOTES: Arizona's updated roster includes free safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who was ineligible at Marana Mountain View last season after transferring from Tucson High. Flannigan-Fowles was considered a candidate to delay his enrollment until the semester break, but the Wildcats ended up with room on the roster. Antonio Parks, a three-star defensive back from Reserve, La., who signed in February, is not on the roster. ... Among the walk-ons listed on the roster is wide receiver Bryant O'Georgia, who caught 21 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown last season at NAU. He set a state high school record with a high jump of 7 feet 2 1/4 inches as a senior at Phoenix North Canyon in the spring of 2014; he is expected to compete in track and field at Arizona, too

ANGCatFan wrote:So, now we have to figure out how to embed Instagram posts on the board. Matty D with lots of short videos from practice on Instagram.

Oh, and Ellison is going to burn some people.

Premium news: Samjie Grant's left hand is in a cast. Not limited in practice.

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Haha we just need a live Matty D twitter feed on the side of the page or something.

The offense didn’t dominate as wide receiver Caleb Jones had promised at Tuesday’s Picture Day. In fact there were quite few drops and incompletions and on the scoreboard the Wildcats keep during their practices the defense actually finished on top by two points.

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Haha we just need a live Matty D twitter feed on the side of the page or something.

With college programs across the country starting camp this week, the dreaded conditioning test is on the mind of every player entering camp.

At Arizona that meant timed fifths, where players did a lap around the field in a certain time constraint before being given a one minute rest. This had to be done five times for time. Sounds pretty grueling right?

Well, Arizona devised an interesting incentive for players who have earned their keep over the summer with an opportunity to skip the conditioning test.

Players that made all their runs in the summer, or those that break a record, got the option to relax on chairs in the comfort of a nice tent, with cooling fans directed at them while their teammates went through the grueling five-fifths.

If you’re looking for a great incentive to use this off season, dangling a carrot like this might be just the trick.

I really like this move by Rich Rod and his staff. Well played.

ANGCatFan wrote:Excellent breakdown of key players and positions by Brad Allis at WSR.

BearDown89 wrote:

FightWildcatsFight wrote:Haha we just need a live Matty D twitter feed on the side of the page or something.

Holy Turituri!

Play of the Day:

Junior safety Tellas Jones stepped in front of an Anu Solomon pass during 7-on-7 action, snatching it from the waiting hands of receiver Samajie Grant. The play helped the defense narrowly edge the offense for the second-straight day in the modified practice scoring rules.

Stat of the Day:

In 2014, Tellas Jones registered 18 tackles as key reserve in the secondary and a prominent member of the coverage units in the kicking game. Then a redshirt sophomore, Jones blocked a second-quarter punt that set up a touchdown in Arizona’s Territorial Cup victory last November.

Coach Rod Said It:

On the ability of the younger players:

“It usually takes two weeks to see which guy will play where and to get a full read on what they are capable of. You start to see more after two weeks of just us, and then two weeks with a little bit of us and first game preparation. After two weeks you get a little bit of an idea, certainly by three weeks you’ll know if they are ready for the first game.”

On the team’s athleticism:

“You can see athleticism pretty quickly. But mentally, sometimes they hit a little bit of a wall after two weeks. It’s not camp like it used to be with a bunch of two-a-days and I don’t necessarily think it has to be. There is some promise in what you can see in short. When we start putting the pads on tomorrow, it’ll clear it up a little bit more.”

On the depth at running back:

“Behind Nick (Wilson), I think Jared (Baker) is a co-starter. Obviously Nick is a proven guy but we think Jared is too. He’s had a great off season. Now behind that, it’s wide open. I think we feel those two guys can be put in a game right now. We would like to find two or three more and it’ll be coming from either guys that have been in the program or that whole group of freshman.”

On center spot:

“It’s wide open at center. Zach (Hemmila) has a chance and Carter (Wood) has a little bit of experience. We have David (Catalano) there and a couple other new guys as well. It’s wide open and I haven’t seen much in the first two days because we’re in shorts, but the snaps have been better and that’s a good thing. They worked hard on them over the summer.”

On pads and hitting the next couple days:

“I think every coach is wrestling with that. You have to tackle some and you have to go live some because it’s a sport that requires technique and fundamentals. It’ll be brief moments, it’ll be intense when we do it but it’ll be brief. We won’t have a lot of back to back live tackling days just simply because you can’t afford to get guys hurt. When we go live and we go tackle, our guys will have to understand, it’s got to be intense and really zoned in on the fundamentals.”

In their Own Words:

RS Junior Defensive Back DaVonte Neal

On making the switch to defense…

“I was excited because I love defense. I played defense and receiver in high school so jumping back on the defensive side was a plus to me. I like hitting and being physical.”

On his preference on playing offense or defense…

“I would say this is the player that I am because I can be more physical and be more tenacious. Offense is a different kind of style because you have to slow it down a bit and everyone works together. Defense you can go at your own pace and go full speed every play. There aren’t a ton of mental mistakes to make on defense but you can make them and I’m trying to make sure that I don’t.”

Sophomore Running Back Nick Wilson

On going into his sophomore year and his health…

“I feel really good and I can’t believe it is my second year already. I feel like I just got here. I’m really happy with where I am at right now. I’m very healthy right now and everything is working well.”

ANGCatFan wrote:Black Oaks at AFO with some observations on Thursday's practice. This is AFO premium info, so only click on the link if you are a BDW premium member. We have a reciprocity agreement in place.