Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez offered some frank assessments of his team when spring practice concluded last week. They included this take on the Wildcatsβ offensive and defensive lines β the oft-overlooked but essential guts of any football team:
βWeβve got a couple D-linemen we know about. Weβve got a couple O-linemen we know about.β
At other positions β quarterback, tight end, maybe running back β βa coupleβ might be enough. Along the lines, itβs not even close.
So as the long offseason of recruiting and self-assessment commences for Rodriguez and his staff, they continue to seek linemen they can trust on both sides of the ball.
The foundational pieces on defense are senior Sani Fuimaono and redshirt junior Parker Zellers.
βThose are my guys right now,β first-year defensive line coach Vincent Amey said about halfway through spring drills. βI need a few more guys to step up. Iβm pushing them and working them to get to that point.β
Fuimaono has 18 career starts dating to 2011. (He missed the 2012 and β13 seasons while serving an LDS mission.) Zellers started six games in 2014, none last season. He enjoyed a revival during spring, receiving widespread praise from coaches and teammates.
Zellers is an unlikely nose-tackle candidate at 6 feet 1 inch, 247 pounds. But he personifies the defensive lineβs underdog mentality, coming off a season in which the line β and the defense as a whole β got pushed around.
βYouβve got to have heart,β Zellers said. βI tell myself, βNobody can block me. No one can handle me.β A lot of it is just your mindset.
βAnd, of course, everyone knows low man wins. Without that, Iβd be getting driven 5, 10 yards off the ball.β
Fuimaono, whoβs listed at 6-1, 294, and redshirt freshman Justin Belknap flanked Zellers to form the first unit during Arizonaβs open scrimmage.
Zellers says Belknap reminds him of himself. Belknap also plays with a high motor β and is likewise undersized at 6-2, 242. Itβs a concern.
Arizona has some bigger bodies in reserve, including redshirt sophomore Marcus Griffin (6-0, 300), redshirt junior Calvin Allen (6-6, 281) and redshirt freshman Finton Connolly (6-5, 280). Only Allen has any substantial playing experience: Heβs seen time in 18 games.
Redshirt junior Luca Bruno (6-4, 300) started 11 games last year, but missed the end of the season and all of spring because of a foot injury.
Heβll have a great shot to start if healthy. Junior-college transfer JJ Allen (6-4, 250) also has a chance to contribute immediately. Rodriguez wants a rotation that goes seven to eight deep. There arenβt a ton of alternatives.
Despite Rodriguez tempering his initial optimism about the offensive lineβs depth, that group appears to have more viable options.
The anchor is right guard Jacob Alsadek, a redshirt junior who has started the past two seasons. After relying mainly on size and strength initially, Alsadek (6-7, 318) now has a greater grasp of offensive and defensive concepts.
βHeβs working hard to improve his game to take it up another notch,β offensive line coach Jim Michalczik said. βHeβs a guy whoβs gotten by by being big and by being competitive, and just fighting his butt off to get the job done. Heβs working to take the next step of becoming a good lineman β to be able to use technique, leverage.β
Layth Friekh is experiencing similar growth. The junior took over as the left tackle midway through last season, and seems to be ensconced at that spot. Gerhard de Beer, the converted track-and-field thrower from South Africa, took most of the reps at right tackle before missing the end of spring because of an undisclosed injury. Although relatively inexperienced, de Beer has a huge upside.
The other positions are a little less certain. Senior Zach Hemmila took most of the first-team reps at center, but is being pushed by redshirt sophomore Levi Walton and redshirt freshman Nathan Eldridge. Whoever wins the job will be Arizonaβs third starting center in as many years.
Redshirt sophomore Christian Boettcher worked at left guard in spring. He has the ability to play center, and could serve as a swingman if senior Freddie Tagaloa is able to return from knee surgery.
Of all the βifsβ in the trenches for Arizona, Tagaloaβs health might be the biggest. Unfortunately, itβs far from the only one.
