Arizona Wildcats football: On Samajie's RB progress, Denson's reliability, Matt Scott's empathy
- Updated
Five storylines to prepare you for Arizona's conference game against Colorado on Saturday.
- Michael Lev Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona Wildcats senior Samajie Grant is performing well under difficult circumstances.
Grant, a career-long wide receiver, shifted to tailback during the bye week last month. He has started there the past two weeks, rushing for 141 yards on 27 carries.
Every quarter, Grant looks more comfortable. But in many ways, he’s still feeling his way — still deciphering which decisions are the right ones in any given situation.
For example, in the first quarter against Washington State, Grant tried to hurdle Cougars safety Robert Taylor. Grant leaped high in the air, but Taylor remained upright and caught him, limiting Grant to a 6-yard gain.
“Watching the film, I could’ve just made him miss,” Grant said. “But as I’m seeing the play, all I was thinking of was making a play. Looking behind him in the game, I was telling myself, ‘If I get over him, I can go.’ So I tried it. I didn’t notice he was standing straight up almost. That definitely wasn’t good. I didn’t plan that one out right.”
The previous week against Stanford, Grant took a pitch to the right side and had nowhere to go. Instead of taking a short loss, he tried to cut back. The Wildcats ended up losing 24 yards on the play.
“I should’ve just gone down,” Grant said. “I kept trying to break tackles. Then, as I’m breaking them, I’m going backwards like an idiot. Now I kind of know how to read it and stuff. If something like that ever happened again … I’m just going to put my shoulder down and take the lost yardage.”
The thing is, Grant can break tackles and make defenders miss, and he knows it. Sometimes, it works to his and the Wildcats’ benefit.
Grant should have been stopped for a loss on his signature run to date — a 50-yard gain against Washington State. But Grant spun away from a would-be tackler in the backfield and outraced several others to the left sideline. He even switched the ball to his left hand at the end of the run to throw a stiff-arm at defensive back Shalom Luani.
It was a strong sign that Grant’s instincts as a running back — a position he played in high school — are coming back on line.
“I can’t really describe it,” Grant said. “It was kind of natural. It just kind of came.”
- Michael Lev Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The Arizona Wildcats need the Cam Denson who notched career highs in catches and yards against Washington State. They need him today, and they need him next year.
Denson will be a senior in 2017. Trey Griffey, Nate Phillips and receiver-turned-tailback Samajie Grant will be gone. Someone will have to step into that void.
The hope is that Denson, the supremely talented junior from Tucson, can parlay a strong finish in 2016 into something greater in ’17. That finish got off to a good beginning in Pullman, where Denson made his first start at receiver and caught a team-high four passes for 77 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown.
“Cam is a guy that we should count on,” receivers coach Tony Dews said. “I’ve expressed that to him, as well as the rest of the coaches. He’s a guy we should be able to count on and depend on to help us win.”
Denson is still striving to reach that level. He’s still learning what’s required of him at wide receiver after spending his first two seasons at cornerback. Even in the midst of his career game, Denson missed some assignments, UA coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Denson got the start because Cedric Peterson, the first choice to replace Grant, suffered a season-ending foot injury — and because Denson showed the coaches he deserved it in practice.
“His work ethic has continued to improve,” Dews said. “He’s working hard at it. I won’t say he never understood what we wanted, but I think he understands what’s expected and what the standard of play is that’s been set as far as the program goes. I think he’s taken that to heart.
“We’ve had some injuries and things like that, so he’s looking at, well, here may be an opportunity to showcase myself and do what I’m capable of doing and get the coaches’ attention. I think he’s trying do that. Therefore, he’s having a little bit of success.”
- Michael Lev Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Two yards can cost you seven points. That’s a harsh lesson the Arizona Wildcats learned last week.
On the first play from scrimmage at Washington State, UA quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Nate Phillips. If the play had counted, it would have marked the second time this season the Wildcats had scored on the game’s opening play.
It didn’t count, however. The reason: Arizona guard Christian Boettcher was ruled to have been too far downfield.
Generally speaking, five receivers are eligible to run routes and catch passes on any given football play. The other five — the offensive linemen — have restrictions on pass plays. Rule 7, Article 10 from the NCAA football rulebook states the following about ineligible receivers downfield:
“No originally ineligible receiver shall be or have been more than three yards beyond the neutral zone until a legal forward pass that crosses the neutral zone has been thrown.”
The penalty: 5 yards from the previous spot.
Boettcher was a full 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Although his presence there had no impact on the play, it violated the rule, which was put in place to keep things fair for defenses.
It became a point of emphasis this season because so many college teams run RPO plays — run-pass option. Arizona is one of those teams. Linemen can go as far downfield as they want on running plays.
“We make a call so they know not to be down there,” Rodriguez said. “In defense of what happened, (Boettcher) got bumped 2 yards beyond and he didn’t back up right away.
“We do it every day, numerous times in every game. It’s part of what we do.”
Rodriguez’s advice on how to avoid those penalties?
“Don’t get bumped past 3 yards,” he said. “And if you do, back up faster.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Before the season started, Arizona quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said he felt as comfortable about the position as he’s felt in Tucson since 2012.
With Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins returning, with a freshman Khalil Tate waiting in the wings, that was understandable.
It hasn’t exactly worked out that way.
The Wildcats’ stability in 2012 came about, somewhat, out of luck. Matt Scott was Arizona’s de facto starter after redshirting his true senior season in 2011.
So UA coach Rich Rodriguez arrived and already had the perfect dual-threat quarterback to usher in his offensive system. B.J. Denker, Arizona’s starter in 2013, was Scott’s backup.
Scott proceeded to throw for 3,620 yards, then the third-best total in school history, and 27 touchdown passes. Scott was named MVP of the New Mexico Bowl after orchestrating a come-from-behind win.
“I couldn’t have planned it any better as an ending,” Scott told the Star recently. “Obviously it could’ve been better at the beginning but at the end it’s still something I look back on as one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.”
Scott spent time with the NFL’s Jaguars and Bengals before moving back to Arizona. He now lives in Scottsdale, where he works in sales for a BMW dealership.
Scott watches the UA from afar. He knows what the Wildcats are going through.
Arizona opened the 2010 season 7-1 only to lose their next five games in a row to close out the season. The Wildcats went 4-8 the following season, and Mike Stoops was fired. Scott described the helpless feeling this way:
“It’s bad. The doubt starts creeping in,” Scott said. “It’s to the point where it really hurts your team. Not a whole lot is going right. You can’t start pointing fingers or you’re going to start getting worse and not to where you need to get to.
“I’m not sure how it got to this point (for Arizona) but it seems like a lot of injuries played a big factor too. That’s never good for any team. But once that doubt starts creeping in, it’s tough to get it out.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Things can change fast in college football, and there’s perhaps no better example of that than the Colorado Buffaloes.
Just consider their progression solely in games against the Wildcats since UA coach Rich Rodriguez was hired in 2012.
In 2012, Ka’Deem Carey ran for 366 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-31 rout.
In 2013 Arizona pulled away with a 44-20 win, thanks to B.J. Denker’s 192 rushing yards.
In 2014, Arizona led 21-17 at halftime before pulling out a 38-20 victory.
Last year, the Wildcats trailed into the fourth quarter before Jerrard Randall helped secure a 38-31 win.
In that stretch, Colorado had records of, in order, 1-11, 4-8. 2-10 and 4-9.
Things are different now, and the tables have turned — Colorado is 7-2 and the Pac-12 South favorite, Arizona is 2-7 and without a Pac-12 win.
“I do think our guys have been in that situation before,” said Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre, hired in 2013.
“They understand everybody’s going to show up to play. It doesn’t matter what everybody else says or what everyone’s saying in the classroom. They’ve been in that exact same situation. Hopefully they feed off that memory.”
To see just how far Colorado has come, here’s a side-by-side look at how Colorado’s stat leaders compare to Arizona’s on offense this season, by position.
Passing:
Sefo Liufau (Colorado): 1,322 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 66.7 completion in seven games
Brandon Dawkins (Arizona): 1,055 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT, 54.7 completion percentage in seven games
Rushing:
Phillip Lindsay (Colorado): 818 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, 10 TD in 9 games
Dawkins (Arizona): 597 yards, 6.9 yards per carry, 8 TD
Nick Wilson (Arizona): 320 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 3 TD in 5 games
Receiving:
Shay Fields (Colorado): 34 catches, 602 yards, 6 TD
Devin Ross (Colorado): 45 catches, 515 yards, 5 TD
Shun Brown (Arizona): 25 catches, 406 yards, 3 TD
Trey Griffey (Arizona): 20 catches, 364 yards, 2 TD
Arizona Wildcats senior Samajie Grant is performing well under difficult circumstances.
Grant, a career-long wide receiver, shifted to tailback during the bye week last month. He has started there the past two weeks, rushing for 141 yards on 27 carries.
Every quarter, Grant looks more comfortable. But in many ways, he’s still feeling his way — still deciphering which decisions are the right ones in any given situation.
For example, in the first quarter against Washington State, Grant tried to hurdle Cougars safety Robert Taylor. Grant leaped high in the air, but Taylor remained upright and caught him, limiting Grant to a 6-yard gain.
“Watching the film, I could’ve just made him miss,” Grant said. “But as I’m seeing the play, all I was thinking of was making a play. Looking behind him in the game, I was telling myself, ‘If I get over him, I can go.’ So I tried it. I didn’t notice he was standing straight up almost. That definitely wasn’t good. I didn’t plan that one out right.”
The previous week against Stanford, Grant took a pitch to the right side and had nowhere to go. Instead of taking a short loss, he tried to cut back. The Wildcats ended up losing 24 yards on the play.
“I should’ve just gone down,” Grant said. “I kept trying to break tackles. Then, as I’m breaking them, I’m going backwards like an idiot. Now I kind of know how to read it and stuff. If something like that ever happened again … I’m just going to put my shoulder down and take the lost yardage.”
The thing is, Grant can break tackles and make defenders miss, and he knows it. Sometimes, it works to his and the Wildcats’ benefit.
Grant should have been stopped for a loss on his signature run to date — a 50-yard gain against Washington State. But Grant spun away from a would-be tackler in the backfield and outraced several others to the left sideline. He even switched the ball to his left hand at the end of the run to throw a stiff-arm at defensive back Shalom Luani.
It was a strong sign that Grant’s instincts as a running back — a position he played in high school — are coming back on line.
“I can’t really describe it,” Grant said. “It was kind of natural. It just kind of came.”
The Arizona Wildcats need the Cam Denson who notched career highs in catches and yards against Washington State. They need him today, and they need him next year.
Denson will be a senior in 2017. Trey Griffey, Nate Phillips and receiver-turned-tailback Samajie Grant will be gone. Someone will have to step into that void.
The hope is that Denson, the supremely talented junior from Tucson, can parlay a strong finish in 2016 into something greater in ’17. That finish got off to a good beginning in Pullman, where Denson made his first start at receiver and caught a team-high four passes for 77 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown.
“Cam is a guy that we should count on,” receivers coach Tony Dews said. “I’ve expressed that to him, as well as the rest of the coaches. He’s a guy we should be able to count on and depend on to help us win.”
Denson is still striving to reach that level. He’s still learning what’s required of him at wide receiver after spending his first two seasons at cornerback. Even in the midst of his career game, Denson missed some assignments, UA coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Denson got the start because Cedric Peterson, the first choice to replace Grant, suffered a season-ending foot injury — and because Denson showed the coaches he deserved it in practice.
“His work ethic has continued to improve,” Dews said. “He’s working hard at it. I won’t say he never understood what we wanted, but I think he understands what’s expected and what the standard of play is that’s been set as far as the program goes. I think he’s taken that to heart.
“We’ve had some injuries and things like that, so he’s looking at, well, here may be an opportunity to showcase myself and do what I’m capable of doing and get the coaches’ attention. I think he’s trying do that. Therefore, he’s having a little bit of success.”
Two yards can cost you seven points. That’s a harsh lesson the Arizona Wildcats learned last week.
On the first play from scrimmage at Washington State, UA quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Nate Phillips. If the play had counted, it would have marked the second time this season the Wildcats had scored on the game’s opening play.
It didn’t count, however. The reason: Arizona guard Christian Boettcher was ruled to have been too far downfield.
Generally speaking, five receivers are eligible to run routes and catch passes on any given football play. The other five — the offensive linemen — have restrictions on pass plays. Rule 7, Article 10 from the NCAA football rulebook states the following about ineligible receivers downfield:
“No originally ineligible receiver shall be or have been more than three yards beyond the neutral zone until a legal forward pass that crosses the neutral zone has been thrown.”
The penalty: 5 yards from the previous spot.
Boettcher was a full 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Although his presence there had no impact on the play, it violated the rule, which was put in place to keep things fair for defenses.
It became a point of emphasis this season because so many college teams run RPO plays — run-pass option. Arizona is one of those teams. Linemen can go as far downfield as they want on running plays.
“We make a call so they know not to be down there,” Rodriguez said. “In defense of what happened, (Boettcher) got bumped 2 yards beyond and he didn’t back up right away.
“We do it every day, numerous times in every game. It’s part of what we do.”
Rodriguez’s advice on how to avoid those penalties?
“Don’t get bumped past 3 yards,” he said. “And if you do, back up faster.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Before the season started, Arizona quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said he felt as comfortable about the position as he’s felt in Tucson since 2012.
With Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins returning, with a freshman Khalil Tate waiting in the wings, that was understandable.
It hasn’t exactly worked out that way.
The Wildcats’ stability in 2012 came about, somewhat, out of luck. Matt Scott was Arizona’s de facto starter after redshirting his true senior season in 2011.
So UA coach Rich Rodriguez arrived and already had the perfect dual-threat quarterback to usher in his offensive system. B.J. Denker, Arizona’s starter in 2013, was Scott’s backup.
Scott proceeded to throw for 3,620 yards, then the third-best total in school history, and 27 touchdown passes. Scott was named MVP of the New Mexico Bowl after orchestrating a come-from-behind win.
“I couldn’t have planned it any better as an ending,” Scott told the Star recently. “Obviously it could’ve been better at the beginning but at the end it’s still something I look back on as one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.”
Scott spent time with the NFL’s Jaguars and Bengals before moving back to Arizona. He now lives in Scottsdale, where he works in sales for a BMW dealership.
Scott watches the UA from afar. He knows what the Wildcats are going through.
Arizona opened the 2010 season 7-1 only to lose their next five games in a row to close out the season. The Wildcats went 4-8 the following season, and Mike Stoops was fired. Scott described the helpless feeling this way:
“It’s bad. The doubt starts creeping in,” Scott said. “It’s to the point where it really hurts your team. Not a whole lot is going right. You can’t start pointing fingers or you’re going to start getting worse and not to where you need to get to.
“I’m not sure how it got to this point (for Arizona) but it seems like a lot of injuries played a big factor too. That’s never good for any team. But once that doubt starts creeping in, it’s tough to get it out.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Things can change fast in college football, and there’s perhaps no better example of that than the Colorado Buffaloes.
Just consider their progression solely in games against the Wildcats since UA coach Rich Rodriguez was hired in 2012.
In 2012, Ka’Deem Carey ran for 366 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-31 rout.
In 2013 Arizona pulled away with a 44-20 win, thanks to B.J. Denker’s 192 rushing yards.
In 2014, Arizona led 21-17 at halftime before pulling out a 38-20 victory.
Last year, the Wildcats trailed into the fourth quarter before Jerrard Randall helped secure a 38-31 win.
In that stretch, Colorado had records of, in order, 1-11, 4-8. 2-10 and 4-9.
Things are different now, and the tables have turned — Colorado is 7-2 and the Pac-12 South favorite, Arizona is 2-7 and without a Pac-12 win.
“I do think our guys have been in that situation before,” said Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre, hired in 2013.
“They understand everybody’s going to show up to play. It doesn’t matter what everybody else says or what everyone’s saying in the classroom. They’ve been in that exact same situation. Hopefully they feed off that memory.”
To see just how far Colorado has come, here’s a side-by-side look at how Colorado’s stat leaders compare to Arizona’s on offense this season, by position.
Passing:
Sefo Liufau (Colorado): 1,322 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 66.7 completion in seven games
Brandon Dawkins (Arizona): 1,055 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT, 54.7 completion percentage in seven games
Rushing:
Phillip Lindsay (Colorado): 818 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, 10 TD in 9 games
Dawkins (Arizona): 597 yards, 6.9 yards per carry, 8 TD
Nick Wilson (Arizona): 320 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 3 TD in 5 games
Receiving:
Shay Fields (Colorado): 34 catches, 602 yards, 6 TD
Devin Ross (Colorado): 45 catches, 515 yards, 5 TD
Shun Brown (Arizona): 25 catches, 406 yards, 3 TD
Trey Griffey (Arizona): 20 catches, 364 yards, 2 TD
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