Cochran is a 6'4", 225, Freshman linebacker from Canton HS, Canton, MI. He was one of the last members of the class getting his offer and making a visit and commit all in the last week of January. He picked Arizona over Iowa and Michigan State largely because of weather and a chance to play earlier.
Cochran was a defense end and tight end in high school, but Arizona has recruited him as an outside linebacker and edge rusher. Film shows good speed and instincts, but hard to tell if he will have a chance to play this year or will redshirt.
51 was the number for Jason Sweet whose name was removed from the roster this week. I suspect Sweet left the team and decided to focus on academics since he is prepping for med school, but I haven't seen any official announcement. Maybe we will hear something at media day today. Regardless, Sweet was one of my favorite Wildcats. A walk-on who would have seen playing time last year except he tore his knee at the end of camp. Here is my write-up last year on Sweet:
During this last offseason, Sweet worked hard to impact all of football. He was part of a team presenting a virtual reality concussion simulator to help train players on concussion protocols.
Sweet is a 6-1, 222, redshirt Junior linebacker from Niceville, FL and Payson, AZ. Sweet's only playing time last year was when he played special teams during the USC game, but he is definitely the most battle tested of all the Wildcat players. Before heading back to school, Sweet spent 6 years in the Air Force where he was a special operations pararescue jumper (PJ).
Sweet in action in the field. Best action photo I have seen of any of our players.
First, I need you to appreciate what the PJs do and what Sweet has already accomplished. PJs are the special operations branch of the US Air Force and their motto is, "That Others May Live."
Air Force Pararescue is the only United States Department of Defense elite combat force specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spectrum personnel recovery to include both conventional and unconventional combat rescue operations. These Battlefield Airmen are the most highly trained and versatile personnel recovery specialists in the world. Pararescue is the nation’s force of choice to execute the most perilous, demanding, and extreme rescue missions anytime, anywhere across the globe.PJs have the longest training of any of the special operations forces. They go through a 2 year training course affectionately called "Superman School" training to be not only an elite soldier, but also a combat medic. Coach Rod's practices may be fast, tough, and grueling, but they are nothing compared to what Sweet has already been through.THE PARARESCUE CREED: It is my duty as a Pararescueman to save lives and to aid the injured. I will be prepared at all times to perform my assigned duties quickly and efficiently, placing these duties before personal desires and comforts. These things I do, that others may live.
After 6 years in the Air Force and seeing combat in Southern Afghanistan, Sweet decided to return to school and wanted to play a little football while he was there. Sweet attacked making the Arizona football team like a combat mission. He trained at the Desert Speed School to make sure that when he got a chance he was ready. Sweet attended an open try out for the football team last year and impressed the coaches enough (with his football ability) that he was on the 105 man roster last fall.
Oh, and did I mention why Sweet is back in school? He is majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology as a pre-med student.
Jason Sweet - a true OKG.
If you can't tell, I already miss having Sweet on the team. He already looks to be one of the most accomplished players of the Rich Rod era.Jason Sweet, a Wildcats football player, Ricardo Valerdi, associate professor of systems engineering at UA, Hirsch Handmaker and Jonathan Lifshitz at the UA College of Medicine in Phoenix created Brain Gainz to change the way athletes are educated about concussions.
The app is used with Google cardboard glasses and it allows athletes to experience the symptoms of a concussion through virtual reality.
The app was created as a part of the Mind Matters Challenge, a program launched by the NCAA and DOD aimed at research and education of concussions in athletes as well as those in the military.
"I really don't remember much of my concussion training my freshman year, playing football here," Sweet said. "This is something that's unforgettable."
Sweet said the hands-on approach will be a game changer.
"Fifty percent of players that show up to college as freshman have already experienced concussions in high school football," Sweet said. "So what do you do about the other 50 percent? Well, they don't even know what concussion symptoms are. You give them this virtual reality experience and they're able to get those symptoms simulated."
Brain Gainz was up against five other projects in the education portion of the Mind Matters Challenge.
The team could receive more funding and the app could make it into the hands of 400,000 NCAA student athletes across the country if they beat out the other projects.
51 is where Arizona ranked last year in both Passing S&P+ and Passing Success Rate.
51
Most Touchdown Passes, Career: 67, Willie Tuitama, 2005-08 (40 games), and Nick Foles, 2009-11 (35 games)
