Quick hitters from Arizona’s training-camp practice Friday morning on campus:
* The Wildcats worked in full pads but practiced for only about 90 minutes at Kindall/Sancet. Coach Rich Rodriguez cut the session short so the players and staff would have time to get ready for teammate Zach Hemmila’s funeral this afternoon.
* After the funeral, the team will bus to Fort Huachuca. The Cats will practice there twice Saturday. “The whole week’s been hard,” Rodriguez said. “I would expect it to be so. I think I’ve got a pretty tough, resilient group of men. They’re working. They know that we’ve got to push through this both mentally and physically.”
* Freshman quarterback Khalil Tate practiced after having to work on the side during the team’s morning workout Wednesday. Tate appeared to be moving freely in drills during the portion of practice open to the media.
* A few players remained in yellow jerseys and were limited to working on the side: receiver Tony Ellison, guard Christian Boettcher and safety Gavin Robertson.
* Senior cornerback DaVonte' Neal is a "totally different player" since the start of spring ball, position coach Donté Williams said. Neal moved from receiver to corner last season. I’ll have more on that transition sometime next week.
* Linebacker Jake Matthews, who missed the end of last season because of a Lisfranc sprain, said his left foot never will be the same. However, he's practicing fully and fighting through it to help the team. Expect Matthews to be part of the linebacker rotation if healthy.
* Matthews on practicing while also mourning Hemmila: "It’s definitely tough. But he loved to play football. So when you’re out there on that field, you have to think, he would do anything to be back here and play. We know that he wants us to keep going and play for him. That’s what all of us are kind of going towards. We still have to play. Our opponents, they’ll feel bad for us, but they won’t let up. We still have to go on."
* Rodriguez has high expectations for sophomore safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who's bigger, stronger and more experienced than in 2015, when he showed a lot of promise as a part-time player. Flannigan-Fowles also has room for growth, Rodriguez said.
