Arizona completed the training camp portion of practice Saturday β which means the UA is roughly halfway through its prep work for the Sept. 3 opener against BYU.
Hereβs where the Wildcats stand at this point β better than they were two weeks ago, but not quite where they need to be.
Such was the assessment of UA coach Rich Rodriguez, who clearly was perturbed about something after practice and took a few minutes to cool down before addressing reporters.
The Wildcats scrimmaged Saturday, running about 100 plays with βliveβ tackling (except for the red-jerseyed quarterbacks). As is typical of these affairs, the scrimmage, which was closed to the media, featured a mix of positive and negative plays.
The good stuff, according to Rodriguez: interceptions by the secondary, the overall rushing attack and βpretty efficientβ play by the quarterbacks.
The not-so-good: penalties on defense, missed tackles, dropped passes and pass-protection breakdowns by the second-team offensive line.
Players said afterward that all of the issues were correctable. Tackling might be the most problematic.
The Wildcats did more hitting Saturday than in any previous camp practice. Teams across all levels of football just donβt tackle as much as they used to for safety reasons. When you donβt β or canβt β practice something, it makes it that much harder to become proficient at it.
βThatβs the big question,β Rodriguez said earlier in camp. βWeβre working on tackling every day that weβre in pads. But itβs different than going live. Youβve got to do enough to make sure theyβre ready to go without beating yourself up. Thatβs the fine line every coach is trying to find.β
Rodriguez said Arizonaβs tackling was βvery poorβ last season and βwasnβt very goodβ Saturday.
Quarterback update
The quarterback competition between incumbent Anu Solomon and challenger Brandon Dawkins will continue over the next two weeks β and perhaps beyond.
Asked whether he would alter his plan of splitting the first-team reps with Week 1 approaching, Rodriguez said: βNot with those two. Weβre going to rep them both the same, probably throughout the season.β
Although some teams have named their starting quarterbacks β including 2016 UA opponents Hawaii and USC β Rodriguez has said he wonβt reveal his choice publicly until just before kickoff.
That doesnβt seem to bother the players most affected by that decision.
βAs receivers, we work with both quarterbacks,β receiver Trey Griffey said. βWeβre comfortable with both quarterbacks.β
Dawkins said he appreciated the fact that Rodriguez has βstayed true to his word. Heβs kept it an open competition.β
Quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said he knows Arizona has βtwo good onesβ in Solomon and Dawkins. But even the veterans have work to do before BYU.
βAre we ready to play? Not yet,β Smith said. βBut weβre getting there. Weβre making strides.β
One area where Smith would like to see improvement: pace of play. He told the quarterbacks and offensive linemen after practice that their tempo has to be better. The faster the Wildcats can get to the line of scrimmage, the more time the quarterbacks have to survey the defense.
Rodriguez said the offense actually slowed down at times during camp to give the defense, which is learning a new scheme, sufficient time to make its calls and get lined up.
Extra points
- Tailback Orlando Bradford did not participate in the scrimmage because of what Rodriguez described as βa little bruiseβ He did not specify which body part was bruised. Rodriguez said Bradford would be back in 1-2 days.
He spent the open portion of practice riding an elliptical machine. Defensive lineman Calvin Allen and offensive linemen Alex Kosinski and Keenan Walker did not practice because of injuries.
- Rodriguez talked a bit about preparing for BYU. He said itβs hard to know what the Cougars will do with an entirely new coaching staff.
βWeβre going to try to prepare for everything, I guess,β Rodriguez said. The UA will start implementing its Week 1 game plan Tuesday and really dive into it Wednesday.
- Former Arizona coach Dick Tomey attended practice and talked with Rodriguez afterward.
- Rodriguez said all players on the UA roster are in good academic standing. Fall-semester classes begin Monday.
- Rodriguez on redshirt freshman Nathan Eldridge, Arizonaβs would-be starting center:
βHeβs a tough guy, and heβs going to keep getting better every practice.β Rodriguez said Eldridge had some high snaps toward the end of the scrimmage.
- Rodriguez said some walk-ons have received scholarships, but he didnβt want to make an announcement because there arenβt enough for all the deserving candidates.
- Dozens of parents and family members watched practice from the west stands at Kindall/Sancet.