RichRod succeeding, but support lagging
Rich Rodriguez concluded his fourth spring training camp at Arizona by walking into the stands with a live microphone and singing “Happy Birthday” to a random fan.
He laughingly told another fan to “stand close to me so I can punch you in the chest if you screw up.”
And then he whispered a play-call into a headset that sounded like “Rip Hip Local Snail.”
Touchdown.
It’s unfortunate that only about 1,000 fans remained in Arizona Stadium at the conclusion of Friday’s spring game, and that an estimated 5,000 attended at all. (ASU’s Friday night spring game drew a similarly small crowd at Sun Devil Stadium.)
Spring football in the Pac-12 has never been a big event until, in recent years, Oregon’s bandwagon fans showed up at Autzen Stadium on days it didn’t rain.
Nevertheless, RichRod has certainly changed the perception of UA football in Tucson. It’s fun now. It’s wildly unpredictable. And it is a success.
Unless you are part of RichRod’s coaching staff, there wasn’t much to learn from spring practice and the spring game. Quarterback Anu Solomon wasn’t challenged; redshirt freshman Brandon Dawkins doesn’t appear to have the passing accuracy (yet) to succeed in the Pac-12. With the exception of a terrific group of receivers, Arizona still lacks depth all over the field. But it is improving.
RichRod’s most telling comment from spring drills was probably a coach-speak issue about toughness.
“When we got here we had a lot of guys that liked football but I don’t know how many loved it,” he said after practice last week. “We had a few, but now we have more that love it. People gravitate to the company they’re around. We’re getting more and more guys that truly love the game and put the work in.”
The UA athletic department had several employees hold up “Ticket Information” signs near the main entry gate, A2, on Friday night. Under RichRod, the school’s football team continues to progress. But fan support continues to be a work in progress.
