Every Monday throughout the season, we’ll take a look back at the Arizona Wildcats’ previous game after re-watching the TV broadcast and present five key takeaways. Here are the five from the UA’s season-opening 62-24 victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday night:
1. Debating Dawkins
Of course, we start with the quarterback play. The topic generated considerable debate on Twitter after the game: Do the Wildcats need to become more proficient through the air to win, or is their ground dominant enough to get to six-plus wins? I’m in the former camp. Arizona is going to have to pull some upsets to become bowl-eligible, and a one-dimensional offense won’t cut it. Like most of you, I was hoping to see more progress from Brandon Dawkins against the Lumberjacks. Two main observations on that front: (1) The absence of intermediate passes. Everything was either short or long. Dawkins didn’t throw a single pass over the middle in the 15- to 20-yard range. I don’t know if that was a product of the game plan or whether he simply elected to go with other options; the TV copy shows only so much. And (2) Dawkins’ footwork. Much has been made about his release. I’d focus more on his feet. He still seems too upright when throwing deep. Whether that’s causing those passes to be inaccurate is unclear.
2. Secondary issues
Can the move of Dane Cruikshank to safety be deemed a success and a cause for concern? Let me explain: I thought Cruikshank looked confident and comfortable in his new role. He played physically and aggressively. It appears to be his best position. Marcel Yates made the decision in part to get Lorenzo Burns on the field. It’s safe to say Burns had a rough go in his first career start at cornerback. Like Cruikshank last year – and others in this game – Burns had a difficult time locating the ball. For whatever reason, he and other UA corners aren’t picking up the cues from the receivers they’re covering in a timely manner. Time and again, they simply wouldn’t turn in time to play the pass. Burns did break up a ball in the end zone in the second half, and he looked more comfortable as the game went along. The hope is that he’ll continue to improve as he gets used to the speed of college football. Veteran Sammy Morrison, who missed all of last year because of injuries, looked rusty at times. With Cruikshank at safety, those two have to perform.
3. Tony, Tony, Tony
I didn’t write much about Tony Ellison in the offseason for a couple of reasons: (1) He didn’t crack the starting lineup in three-wide sets; and (2) we had heard about Ellison’s exploits in practice before, and he hadn’t followed it up with production in games. That changed Saturday night. Ellison was by far Arizona’s most productive receiver, even though he didn’t start. (Ellison, at least for now, is the No. 4 guy, replacing the tight end when Arizona goes four-wide.) He impressed in ways beyond the numbers, too. Ellison had to make an adjustment on his 43-yard catch-and-run because the ball was thrown low. Not only did he reel it in, but he quickly eluded a defender before getting vertical. Ellison’s 15-yard grab in the third quarter – the Wildcats’ lone second-half completion in two attempts – also required him to torque his body; it was a back-shoulder throw to the sideline, and Ellison handled it smoothly. He also was the first man downfield on Jake Glatting’s line-drive rugby punt in the second quarter. Quite a night.
4. Rookie report
Wait, have we come this far without talking about freshmen? Impossible! Let’s rectify that. Defensive end Kyle Wilborn really flashed. The sack-fumble was obvious; I counted three additional quarterback pressures. That’s the good news. The bad: He failed to set the edge on at least two occasions. (He wasn’t the only one guilty of that, by the way.) That’s equally important and hopefully something he’ll get better at as he gets older and stronger. Linebacker Tony Fields II improved as the game progressed. He looked a little hesitant at times early, one example being Cory Young’s 58-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Later, we saw the unbridled aggression we had heard so much about. Fields has all the tools to be a standout if he continues to put in the work. Safety Scottie Young Jr. didn’t jump off the screen, and that’s probably a good thing. If he had made any egregious errors in deep coverage, it would’ve been noticeable. He did a very nice job of plastering his receiver on Case Cookus’ pass into the end zone on the opening drive. Thirteen true freshmen played in all. They all should benefit from the experience.
5. This time it’s personnel
Every week I’ll provide some notes on individual players, so here goes … I didn’t think Khalil Tate’s running was as reckless as Rich Rodriguez suggested. On the play that he got hurt, Tate simply got tackled from the side and landed hard on the ground. … Just about every receiver on the roster played except Cam Denson. Hmmm. … Tight end Trevor Wood limped off in the third quarter and didn’t return. That’s a situation worth monitoring. … Guard Christian Boettcher, whom I’ve been critical of in the past, really seems to have improved. He’ll always be relatively undersized, but he can get by if he positions his body correctly. … Cody Creason played well as the No. 2 right tackle and appears to be the first choice at left tackle if Layth Friekh were to go down. … Larry Tharpe Jr. played ahead of Jack Banda at defensive end. Tharpe didn’t record any stats, but he hustled all over the field. … Brandon Rutt and Jacob Colacion are going to have to play better to keep their spots in the LB rotation. Rutt got caught guessing too much, and Colacion had difficulty shedding blocks. … Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles read the quarterback and played the ball like an NFL safety on his two interceptions.
