2018 Arizona Wildcats football team

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:33 pm

^ gotta agree with that. Cats are still going to give up 35 or more every game, so Tate needs to be healthy in order to score 40 points.

Either Rhett or a true freshman? No thanks. Lightning does not strike twice to give the Cats another Khalil Tate as a freshman.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:54 pm

Merkin wrote:^ gotta agree with that. Cats are still going to give up 35 or more every game, so Tate needs to be healthy in order to score 40 points.

Either Rhett or a true freshman? No thanks. Lightning does not strike twice to give the Cats another Khalil Tate as a freshman.

What do you want to bet that U of A does not give up 35 point every game?

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:17 pm

OK, let's take it from this angle. Let's set the bar at 30 points per game given up by the defense. You taking the over or under on that?

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:23 pm

azpenguin wrote:OK, let's take it from this angle. Let's set the bar at 30 points per game given up by the defense. You taking the over or under on that?

Definitely the over

OSUCat · Post by **OSUCat** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:38 pm

I’m taking a hard under. I think this defense will be better than the 28 point defense RR had in 2014.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:45 pm

I'm trying to think of the season that Stanford played a lot of freshmen on defense and got torched week in and week out. They returned everybody the following year and their D was near the top of the PAC. I'm praying for that model.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:54 pm

azgreg wrote:I'm trying to think of the season that Stanford played a lot of freshmen on defense and got torched week in and week out. They returned everybody the following year and their D was near the top of the PAC. I'm praying for that model.

That is how Desert Swarm got started.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:18 pm

azpenguin wrote:OK, let's take it from this angle. Let's set the bar at 30 points per game given up by the defense. You taking the over or under on that?

Under...around 20pts a game i think. The secondary is stronger than people give them credit for. They're a bit thin...but the D line is the key. If they can push and disrupt then it gives the guys in the secondary a chance. Most interested to see what happens, or who plays the Spur

ByJoveByJingle · Post by **ByJoveByJingle** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:49 pm

I think it depends on offensive tempo as much as anything. Our guys couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs, but when your offense is playing a million miles an hour it also extends the number of plays a defense has to face every game. I’m hoping for sub-30 points a game, but not holding my breath.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:14 pm

whatisee wrote:
azpenguin wrote:OK, let's take it from this angle. Let's set the bar at 30 points per game given up by the defense. You taking the over or under on that?
Under...around 20pts a game i think. The secondary is stronger than people give them credit for. They're a bit thin...but the D line is the key. If they can push and disrupt then it gives the guys in the secondary a chance. Most interested to see what happens, or who plays the Spur

So you think this will statistically be one of the best defenses of the last 25 years? Allowing 20 a game would mean we have a top 15-20 defense nationally.

Basically..... hahahahahahahaha

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:17 pm

ByJoveByJingle wrote:I think it depends on offensive tempo as much as anything. Our guys couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs, but when your offense is playing a million miles an hour it also extends the number of plays a defense has to face every game. I’m hoping for sub-30 points a game, but not holding my breath.

No more 3 and outs on offense! What a motivational killer for the defense.

OSUCat · Post by **OSUCat** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:32 pm

Merkin wrote:
ByJoveByJingle wrote:I think it depends on offensive tempo as much as anything. Our guys couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs, but when your offense is playing a million miles an hour it also extends the number of plays a defense has to face every game. I’m hoping for sub-30 points a game, but not holding my breath.
No more 3 and outs on offense! What a motivational killer for the defense.

How about all the 3rd and long conversions? That was a motivational killer for me.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:39 pm

OSUCat wrote:
Merkin wrote:
ByJoveByJingle wrote:I think it depends on offensive tempo as much as anything. Our guys couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs, but when your offense is playing a million miles an hour it also extends the number of plays a defense has to face every game. I’m hoping for sub-30 points a game, but not holding my breath.
No more 3 and outs on offense! What a motivational killer for the defense.
How about all the 3rd and long conversions? That was a motivational killer for me.

That was far worse than the offense. The defense couldn't get a stop, save the occasional turnover, for their lives. 3rd and long was a guaranteed 20 yard play for the opposing offense.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:59 pm

ByJoveByJingle wrote:I think it depends on offensive tempo as much as anything. Our guys couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs, but when your offense is playing a million miles an hour it also extends the number of plays a defense has to face every game. I’m hoping for sub-30 points a game, but not holding my breath.

This is what I am thinking. Hoping the Sumlin offense runs some clock.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:56 am

I go back to the Houston and Utah games last year. The defense did every damn thing they could to win that game. They held tight and kept getting the ball back to the offense. These guys had some really promising moments. I do actually give the defense a pass for the Colorado game, because if you look at the drive chart, Arizona was striking so fast with Tate going nuts that they were often running less time off the clock for a score than they did for a three and out. (Up until the last 5 minute drive to kill the clock, Arizona had the ball less than 19 minutes and put up 45 points. Putting the defense out there that long up at altitude... Tate was amazing but those guys got no rest at all.) I think they can hang around the 24-27 points per game area if the D-line shows improvement.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:25 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 12:06 pm

Arizona

"There’s a lot of similarities between Texas A&M and Arizona. Kevin Sumlin was a great hire. You assume from Day 1 he’s been able to build a relationship with Khalil Tate, who really is a special talent, where Tate can believe in Sumlin’s track record of maximizing dual-threat quarterbacks."

"I don’t think Arizona will look like a team with a new coaching staff this fall. Most of their offensive talent is back; Sumlin can work with a lot of the concepts Rich (Rodriguez) used. Tate looked more aware of the offense as the year went on. I think he might run less with Sumlin and Noel Mazzone, at least by design, but he’ll be able to freelance. The running back (J.J. Taylor) is really explosive. This is a staff unafraid of creating a superstar and building around him."

"Keeping (defensive coordinator) Marcel Yates was interesting. It could be a short-term play to keep the roster and this year’s recruiting intact."

"I thought Kylan Wilborn was one of the best defensive players in our league last year. He kind of came out of nowhere. Those are the best kind of recruits. You see the potential, and then it develops into something completely out of the ordinary. He’s not the biggest guy. But he’s got such a quick first step, he’s hard to block. They better get some help for him, because they couldn’t tackle anyone last year. It was YAC (yards after catch/contact) for days last year against them."

"At Arizona, you can either go to L.A. or Texas to fill out recruiting, and obviously they can sell in Texas. Sumlin will be able to go as far east as Dallas and compete for talent. Can’t remember a time when Arizona could do that.

"Considering all that program was going through, to be able to hire a guy with a proven track record of recruiting and winning is huge. If you’re Kevin Sumlin, you can just as easily sit out and sit on your money from Texas A&M and not jump into the mess someone else created. But I also think Kevin looked at the roster and looked at Khalil Tate, and said, yeah, I can work with this."

"Khalil Tate is as close to what Rich had with Pat White at West Virginia as you can get. At this point in their careers, Pat was a more comfortable thrower. But Khalil is such a threat in the run game; if he gets to the second level, strike up the band. The more he improves in the passing game – where I can see Kevin making a significant impact on him, like he did with Johnny Manziel, who was raw when he got him – the more dangerous Arizona can be."

"Offense will not be a problem there. They’re going to make a lot of us in this league look bad. But measure that against their one-man defense, and you see why Tate can only do so much."

btfd16 · Post by **btfd16** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:51 pm

azgreg wrote:

Arizona

"There’s a lot of similarities between Texas A&M and Arizona. Kevin Sumlin was a great hire. You assume from Day 1 he’s been able to build a relationship with Khalil Tate, who really is a special talent, where Tate can believe in Sumlin’s track record of maximizing dual-threat quarterbacks."

"I don’t think Arizona will look like a team with a new coaching staff this fall. Most of their offensive talent is back; Sumlin can work with a lot of the concepts Rich (Rodriguez) used. Tate looked more aware of the offense as the year went on. I think he might run less with Sumlin and Noel Mazzone, at least by design, but he’ll be able to freelance. The running back (J.J. Taylor) is really explosive. This is a staff unafraid of creating a superstar and building around him."

"Keeping (defensive coordinator) Marcel Yates was interesting. It could be a short-term play to keep the roster and this year’s recruiting intact."

"I thought Kylan Wilborn was one of the best defensive players in our league last year. He kind of came out of nowhere. Those are the best kind of recruits. You see the potential, and then it develops into something completely out of the ordinary. He’s not the biggest guy. But he’s got such a quick first step, he’s hard to block. They better get some help for him, because they couldn’t tackle anyone last year. It was YAC (yards after catch/contact) for days last year against them."

"At Arizona, you can either go to L.A. or Texas to fill out recruiting, and obviously they can sell in Texas. Sumlin will be able to go as far east as Dallas and compete for talent. Can’t remember a time when Arizona could do that.

"Considering all that program was going through, to be able to hire a guy with a proven track record of recruiting and winning is huge. If you’re Kevin Sumlin, you can just as easily sit out and sit on your money from Texas A&M and not jump into the mess someone else created. But I also think Kevin looked at the roster and looked at Khalil Tate, and said, yeah, I can work with this."

"Khalil Tate is as close to what Rich had with Pat White at West Virginia as you can get. At this point in their careers, Pat was a more comfortable thrower. But Khalil is such a threat in the run game; if he gets to the second level, strike up the band. The more he improves in the passing game – where I can see Kevin making a significant impact on him, like he did with Johnny Manziel, who was raw when he got him – the more dangerous Arizona can be."

"Offense will not be a problem there. They’re going to make a lot of us in this league look bad. But measure that against their one-man defense, and you see why Tate can only do so much."

The bold is what I found most telling. Everything else was pretty chalk. But I am on the same page about Yates. Hope he proves me wrong.

prh · Post by **prh** » Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:19 pm

azgreg wrote:

Pretty good read, there's some good thoughts from the coaches in there.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 8:44 am

Got the new poster up in my office!

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:29 am

https://athlonsports.com/college-footba ... ball-teams" target="_blank

32. Arizona

New coach Kevin Sumlin inherits a favorable situation for his first year in Tucson. The Wildcats return dynamic quarterback Khalil Tate and won’t have to play Washington or Stanford in Pac-12 crossover play. Also, USC visits Tucson in late September. With a friendly schedule and Tate returning, a trip to the conference title game isn’t out of the question. In addition to Tate, Arizona’s offense features running back J.J. Taylor and a solid group of receivers, headlined by Shun Brown on the outside. Sumlin and coordinator Noel Mazzone will have to do a little tweaking up front, but two returning starters and Michigan State transfer Tshiyombu Lukusa should keep this unit performing at a high level. Sumlin decided to retain defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, and that decision could pay off in a big way. The Wildcats have made progress under Yates, and nine returning starters provide hope for a big jump. Linebackers Kylan Wilborn and Colin Schooler, along with cornerbacks Jace Whittaker and Lorenzo Burns should push for all-conference honors in the fall.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:33 am

84Cat · Post by **84Cat** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:33 pm

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:32 am

prh · Post by **prh** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:48 am

azgreg wrote:

https://athlonsports.com/college-footba ... tions-2018" target="_blank

There's a writeup too. They mention Tate's progression determining our season, but I think it's going to be our line play. That's the biggest concern I have. We know what we have (and are lacking) with offense and defense, but poor line play will derail everything in a hurry.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Fri Aug 10, 2018 6:56 pm

OSUCat · Post by **OSUCat** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:52 pm

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ule-roster" target="_blank

This was a good pre-season read with stats. Projects Arizona wins at 7.5 but can see a 10 win season if defense is better than 93rd.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:41 am

Arizona can win ten but they’re going to need a lot of breaks to fall their way to win that many. I think the floor is five, ceiling is ten, and I’d expect eight.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:55 am

Seems a lot of people are starting to get bullish on the cats. Hope they are right

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:48 pm

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footba ... ule-roster" target="_blank

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:36 pm

David Kelly and Glenn Howell video breakdowns for Fox ch 11 on the offensive line and defensive line.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:40 pm

ANGCatFan wrote:David Kelly and Glenn Howell video breakdowns for Fox ch 11 on the offensive line and defensive line.

Great info here...especially on the D line. Wilborn and Jalen Harris should be fun to watch this with the big boys on the inside

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:41 pm

Looking forward to next Saturday.

My biggest concern is the offensive line. Right now we have a frosh starting at left tackle, a transfer who hasn't played in two years at left guard, a walk on at center, and the right side of the line were last years backups. If the line doesn't gel quickly Tate will be running for his life. We will get Friekh back for the 3rd game, hopefully Eldridge gets over his injury issues.

The DL is my next biggest concern. I keep hearing about all of the new "Beef" on the DL. The only beef I have seen is a lot of fat. Between Taufahema, Irving, and Johnson the 3 of them need to drop a combined 100 pounds.

Here's to hoping that Eldridge recovers quickly and one of the 3 Gravity Challenged 300 lb DL's had a great summer in the weightroom. Boles needs some help on the interior.

Bear Down

Carcassdragger · Post by **Carcassdragger** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 7:24 am

dmjcat wrote:Looking forward to next Saturday.

My biggest concern is the offensive line. Right now we have a frosh starting at left tackle, a transfer who hasn't played in two years at left guard, a walk on at center, and the right side of the line were last years backups. If the line doesn't gel quickly Tate will be running for his life. We will get Friekh back for the 3rd game, hopefully Eldridge gets over his injury issues.

The DL is my next biggest concern. I keep hearing about all of the new "Beef" on the DL. The only beef I have seen is a lot of fat. Between Taufahema, Irving, and Johnson the 3 of them need to drop a combined 100 pounds.

Here's to hoping that Eldridge recovers quickly and one of the 3 Gravity Challenged 300 lb DL's had a great summer in the weightroom. Boles needs some help on the interior.

Bear Down

Yep, and the O line situation without Friekh will be even worse against Houston. I'm sure they'll just put their consensus All American D lineman wherever the best mismatch is. Sure hope our O line stays healthy.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 8:24 am

^ on the OL issues:

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/2018/8/22 ... epth-chart" target="_blank

On the offensive line:
“It’s been a little bit of everything. It’s been more of a rotation at different positions to try to find the right pieces. I think a lot of times people think in terms of five guys, but when you’re a little bit thin at that position and you’ve got a guy (senior left tackle Layth Freikh) who’s really out for a couple games you can’t just find the five, you’ve got to have a what-if plan.

On the status of freshman OL Donovan Laie’s knee injury:
“Donovan got hurt a couple weeks ago and has missed practice. He was doing really well. He’s back, doing some things. That was another setback. He’ll be back next week, and I look for him to be in some part of the rotation.”

On whether offensive linemen Nathan Eldridge and Alex Kosinski, both of whom have missed practice for unspecified reasons, are part of the rotation:
“Not right now.”

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:19 am

Merk, enter the tix giveaway

even if you're in CA and can't make it, you can donate them (I know a lot of teachers for example who would love some free tix)

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:34 pm

So what is todays bad news Scheer is talking about. Did we finally find out what's up with Eldridge?

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:36 pm

whatisee wrote:So what is todays bad news Scheer is talking about. Did we finally find out what's up with Eldridge?

Yep. Injured. Not sounding good.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:40 pm

UAEebs86 wrote:
whatisee wrote:So what is todays bad news Scheer is talking about. Did we finally find out what's up with Eldridge?
Yep. Injured. Not sounding good.

Well shit...i hope it's not career ending. I think he had a chance of getting a NFL sniff

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 7:40 am

Pat Forde on Dan Patrick this morning...they're all aboard the Tate and Arizona being a national surprise contender bandwagon

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:08 am

Gimino on why we should have hope for the defense. Included is his guess at the starters on D:

DT Dereck Boles* (6-2, 306, Sr.)
NG P.J. Johnson (6-4, 335, Jr.)
DE Justin Belknap* (6-3, 259, Jr.)
STUD Kylan Wilborn* (6-2, 248, So.)
LB Colin Schooler* (6-0, 236, So.)
LB Tony Fields II* (6-1, 230, So.)
CB Lorenzo Burns* (5-10, 181, So.)
CB Jace Whittaker* (5-11, 189, Sr.)
S Tristan Cooper (6-1, 194, Jr.)
S Jarius Wallace (6-1, 180, So.)
S Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles* (6-2, 209, Sr.)

Side note: Does All Sports Tucson load slowly for anyone else? I use a mac and chrome and it is the slowest site on the interweb for me.

CatinVA · Post by **CatinVA** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:35 am

ANGCatFan wrote:Gimino on why we should have hope for the defense. Included is his guess at the starters on D:

DT Dereck Boles* (6-2, 306, Sr.)
NG P.J. Johnson (6-4, 335, Jr.)
DE Justin Belknap* (6-3, 259, Jr.)
STUD Kylan Wilborn* (6-2, 248, So.)
LB Colin Schooler* (6-0, 236, So.)
LB Tony Fields II* (6-1, 230, So.)
CB Lorenzo Burns* (5-10, 181, So.)
CB Jace Whittaker* (5-11, 189, Sr.)
S Tristan Cooper (6-1, 194, Jr.)
S Jarius Wallace (6-1, 180, So.)
S Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles* (6-2, 209, Sr.)
Side note: Does All Sports Tucson load slowly for anyone else? I use a mac and chrome and it is the slowest site on the interweb for me.

Chrome is a RAM hog.

That said, I use chrome and it seems to load ok for me. Firefox maybe?

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:37 am

I am extremely optimistic about our defense this year.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:42 am

I run Chrome on Windows 10 and AG's site is blazing fast.

Might be your hops, you could try a traceroute.

In any event, I don't think the offense will be in as much as a hurry as under RichRod, so I don't expect as many 3 and outs in 80 seconds, so the defense should not be on the field as long as it has been.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:09 am

azgreg wrote:I am extremely optimistic about our defense this year.

I'm in this camp...if we can get any push along the front line then i think we'll be a much different team. Active and creating turnovers from our strong set of young LB's

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:14 am

I feel better about the defense too, but the offensive line worries me

btfd16 · Post by **btfd16** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:32 am

Yup^ Weirdest part of this offseason is I have done a complete 180. More worried about offense instead of the defense.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:34 am

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:05 pm

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:51 pm

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