Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez hasn’t run from the truth regarding his roster the past couple of seasons: The UA simply did not have sufficient depth to withstand an unusually high volume of injuries.
Rodriguez accepted the blame for it, saying he and his staff did not do a good enough job of assessing and acquiring talent.
“We’ve made some mistakes in recruiting and probably haven’t recruited like we really needed to,” Rodriguez said in the midst of a 3-9 season last fall. “It gets exacerbated when you get a few guys banged up.”
Injuries struck Arizona particularly hard at three critical positions the past two seasons: quarterback, running back and middle linebacker. But those aren’t the only spots where the Wildcats need to fortify their depth.
With the arrival of Wednesday’s national signing day — when the years-long efforts of Rodriguez and his staff to upgrade the roster officially come to fruition — we examine the five positions that most need reinforcements. And we ask the question: Have RichRod & Co. done enough to address those needs?
(Note: Players listed as “on roster” include only those known to be on scholarship. “Incoming” players include only those known to have signed with or verbally committed to Arizona as of Tuesday.)
LINEBACKER
On roster (4): Jacob Colacion (RS FR), DeAndre’ Miller (RS SR), Kahi Neves (RS FR), Brandon Rutt (RS JR)
Incoming (6): Joshua Brown, Tony Fields, Anthony Pandy, Jose Ramirez, Colin Schooler, Kylan Wilborn
Is it enough? Yes and no. Yes in terms of sheer quantity. No in terms of plug-and-play possibilities.
Unless they’re able to add graduate transfers (which is unlikely), the Wildcats will be young at linebacker no matter how signing day shakes out. They lost their top five tacklers among linebackers from last season. Miller, who plays the hybrid “Stud” position, is the most experienced returnee but has struggled to stay healthy. Rutt is a former walk-on who flashed some playmaking ability in limited duty.
Other than those two … any linebacker listed above who steps on the field next season will be playing his first snap of college football. That’s sub-optimal — although, if the prospects pan out, it could result in an overall talent upgrade. When that translates into tangible production is the question.
QUARTERBACK
On roster (2): Brandon Dawkins (RS JR), Khalil Tate (SO)
Incoming (1): Rhett Rodriguez
Is it enough? No. As things currently stand, Arizona is one short of Rich Rodriguez’s ideal number.
At one point this offseason, it appeared the UA would have five quarterbacks on its ’17 roster. But veteran Anu Solomon transferred, and high school prospect Braxton Burmeister flipped to Oregon.
So unless Arizona springs a signing-day surprise – always a possibility – it will enter next season with Dawkins and Tate dueling for the starting job, with Catalina Foothills’ RhettRod joining the mix as an emergency backup. (Sabino’s Drew Dixon played QB in high school but is projected at wide receiver.)
Last season proved that you never can have enough viable quarterbacks, especially in a system that calls upon them to run. Injuries to Solomon and Dawkins forced the coaches to play Tate, whom they had intended to redshirt. Five quarterbacks played for Arizona in all, including converted tight end Matt Morin.
Dawkins and Tate are aggressive runners, so the odds of them making it through the season uninjured aren’t favorable. All parties involved will have to figure out a way to manage what again has the makings of a precarious QB situation.
RUNNING BACK
On roster (3): Zach Green (RS SR), J.J. Taylor (RS FR), Nick Wilson (SR)
Incoming (1): Nathan Tilford
Is it enough? No. Like quarterback, Arizona is one player shy of the optimum number here.
We know this because, like quarterback, injuries decimated the tailback corps last season. Taylor and Wilson suffered season-ending injuries. Additionally, talented sophomore Orlando Bradford was kicked out of the program.
That left the UA with Green and a pair of converted wide receivers: Tyrell Johnson and Samajie Grant. Johnson eventually got hurt too. Grant permanently moved to running back for the final five games and performed well. He’s now training for the NFL draft.
The Wildcats could get by with four backs, especially if Tilford is as good as advertised; he’s considered the top-ranked and most college-ready of Arizona’s 2017 recruits. But the returnees have much to prove from a durability standpoint.
Wilson has been plagued by injuries the past two seasons; he had only 14 carries after Week 2 last year. Taylor replaced Wilson and looked like a future all-conference performer before suffering a broken ankle; at 5-6, 170, Taylor isn’t cut out for 20-25 carries per game. Green broke out in the season finale with 126 yards on 14 carries, but the latter tied his career high.
DEFENSIVE LINE
On roster (9): Jack Banda (RS SR), Luca Bruno (RS SR), Darrell Cloy Jr. (RS SO), Jalen Cochran (RS FR), Finton Connolly (RS SO), Marcus Griffin (RS JR), Justin Holt (RS FR), Francisco Nelson (RS FR), Parker Zellers (RS SR)
Incoming (4): Kurtis Brown, Jalen Harris, My-King Johnson, Sione Taufahema
Is it enough? This one is less clear. Arizona certainly seems to have enough bodies — and the returnees listed above don’t include Justin Belknap and Larry Tharpe Jr., two veterans who played significant roles last season as walk-ons.
The bigger issue is whether the UA has enough big bodies. The Wildcats were undersized up front last season, and that deficiency hurt them in the second halves of games. They lost their only 300-plus-pound lineman, Aiulua Fanene, but gained one in JC transfer Taufahema, who already has enrolled. Holt also is listed at 300-plus pounds.
The only other defensive tackle in this class is Brown, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. Like Holt last year, Brown is more likely than not to redshirt. (Arizona could land a second defensive tackle, Los Angeles’ Chris Green, whose college destination is TBD.)
The other newcomers are “edge” players who could be candidates for the Stud position. The same goes for Cochran and Nelson, two promising prospects who spent their freshman seasons redshirting and adding bulk.
CORNERBACK
On roster (5): Lorenzo Burns (RS FR), Dane Cruikshank (RS SR), Sammy Morrison (RS SO), Antonio Parks (RS FR), Jace Whittaker (JR)
Incoming (2): Malik Hausman, Tony Wallace
Is it enough? No. The Wildcats use three safeties in their five-man defensive backfield, but they still need more cornerbacks than their current and projected allotments
The top group looks promising: returning starters Cruikshank and Whittaker, backed up by Burns (who was headed for a sizable role last year before getting hurt) and either Morrison (also coming back from injury) or Parks.
Cruikshank, Whittaker and the departed DaVonte’ Neal played the vast majority of the cornerback snaps, as this particular position remained relatively injury-free. But that’s not something Arizona can count on annually.
Among Arizona’s seven projected scholarship corners, three have no college experience (Parks, Hausman, Wallace) and three are coming off injuries (Burns, Morrison, Hausman). The UA thought it had an instant-impact addition in Greg Johnson, but the Wildcats’ top-ranked recruit de-committed in December. Legit four-star prospects are not easily replaced.
