Rich Rodriguez has a spacious, plush office in the UA’s new Lowell-Stevens Football Facility.
It has floor-to-ceiling windows and offers one of the best views in Tucson, overlooking the Santa Catalina Mountains.
When it comes to his football team, it may be the only place where the second-year coach feels comfortable these days.
Rodriguez has a year of experience with the Wildcats under his belt and knows his surroundings and personnel better than he did this time last year.
But, oddly enough, the UA’s boss felt more at ease with his team entering last season than he does now, with the opener against NAU just five days away.
The main reason: Rodriguez had a quarterback he trusted and knew could to handle his offense. This season, after a year of evaluating the QB position and Arizona’s 21 other spots, Rodriguez has a better handle on his talent but also knows what he has. He’s aware a QB with Matt Scott’s ability isn’t walking into Arizona Stadium anytime soon.
“You’d think the first year you would have more questions, because I hadn’t had a game with them,” Rodriguez said. “I had that bit, where I think I know what we got, but we’ve never had a game with them. (But) this year, there’s as much uncertainty or more because of some of the key positions like quarterback. I knew Matt Scott was going to be a player from the first practice last year. This year, I think we have some guys with some talent, but there are certainly some concerns there because Matt was so good.
“We have more knowns, too, as far as what our guys can and can not do, but that’s not always comforting that we have more knowns.”
But, ready or not, Rodriguez and the Wildcats will embark on their 2013 season Friday against the Lumberjacks. In all, the UA will play six home games and six away games and won’t leave the state for its final four games.
Offense
Something else Rodriguez learned this fall camp is that his offense runs smoother with a quarterback with four years’ experience at the helm than it does with an All-America running back but no set quarterback.
Ka’Deem Carey led the nation in rushing last season with 1,929 yards and was a consensus first-team All-America pick. He broke a school record for single-game rushing yards with 366 against Colorado and found the end zone 24 times last season.
So Rodriguez knows what he has in him.
But, he’s not sure what he has at quarterback and is even less sure about the talent at wide receiver.
The result was a lot of frustration and unhappiness throughout fall camp.
Rodriguez’s unhappiness with the offense is “definitely not something we want to have,” senior running back Daniel Jenkins said. “Coach is telling us to do something over and over again, and we’re not getting it right. It’s going to take more on our part. They’ve been running this offense for 25 years. They know exactly what they’re doing.
“It’s going to be up to us to execute and … get in the film room and start paying more attention to detail.”
Up front, the UA returns four linemen with extended game experience. Tackles Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele each started all 13 games last season and helped pave the way for an offense that averaged 526.2 yards per game and 38.2 points per game.
Right guard Chris Putton started 10 games and left guard Cayman Bundage, a sophomore, made one start and played in 11 games total.
“I feel good about our starters, though I’m not sure how much depth we have up there,” Rodriguez said.
The coach has said he plans on using the tight end position more this year with Terrence Miller and converted quarterback Josh Kern.
Defense
Under first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, the UA ranked 118th out of 120 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 499 yards per game last season. Only Baylor and Louisiana Tech were worse.
“We’re all embarrassed about how last season went,” senior linebacker Jake Fischer said. “These guys — and I know they have a sense of pride — but if you go out and you’re OK with what happened last year, you shouldn’t be on the team.
“I think we’re going to be one of the better, if not the best, defenses in the Pac-12 this year.”
The UA returns its nine leading tacklers from 2012, including Fischer and fellow linebacker Marquis Flowers.
All five starters in the secondary are back, including playmaker Tra’Mayne Bondurant, who had 11½ tackles for loss and a pair of interceptions. The team also returns its two starting cornerbacks Shaquille Richardson and Jonathan McKnight and safeties Jared Tevis and Jourdon Grandon.
Ask Fischer, and he’ll tell you the biggest change in this year’s defense is having a deeper unit.
“What happened was people started getting injured and key players were out, so drives started to get longer, and we started to play more plays,” Fischer said. “Fatigue set in and more people got injured, and we didn’t have a lot of depth. So, we had freshmen or walk-ons — guys who weren’t ready — who had to come in and play.
“We have built up depth for this year and have guys back, and we’re more familiar under Coach Casteel’s system, so I think we’ll be fine.”
