You didn’t have to be a football expert to see that the Arizona Wildcats’ pass protection was out of sync at times last season. All too often, rushers would come free to disrupt plays. Something was getting lost in translation between the linemen and the quarterbacks.
It was understandable to some degree. Arizona shuffled through five quarterbacks because of injuries and other factors, and the primary starter, Brandon Dawkins, was also a first-time starter.
So was center Nathan Eldridge, who was thrust into the lineup as a redshirt freshman after the sudden death last August of projected starter Zach Hemmila.
Eldridge — who’s in charge of communicating vital information to the rest of the linemen — improved as the season progressed. The line had its best game in the finale, paving the way for a school-record 511 rushing yards in a 56-35 victory over Arizona State.
Far from satisfied, Eldridge organized film-watching sessions during the offseason with his fellow linemen, position coach Jim Michalczik … and Dawkins. The center and the quarterback wanted to ensure they were on the same page of the playbook.
“I would make sure he knows what we’re doing,” Eldridge said after Tuesday’s practice. “So both have an understanding of what each other’s job is.”
Dawkins also needs to recognize where blitzes are coming from and how the line will react to them. He’s in the process of learning the verbiage the linemen use to make those last-second adjustments.
The idea behind the film sessions was to gain a better understanding of “where I’m going to be protected,” Dawkins said, and “where somebody’s going to come free, if that’s gonna happen.”
Dawkins and Eldridge should be better equipped to handle those situations in their second year as starters. (Dawkins hasn’t been named the starting quarterback, but he remains the front-runner.)
Michalczik said Eldridge’s understanding of the game has advanced considerably since last season.
“It’s a night-and-day difference,” Michalczik said. “He was physically ready; his body was ready to play last year. He got thrown in there before he was mentally ready to go. Every week during the season last year, he mentally matured a ton. Now he’s at that point from the start.”
Dawkins believes experience is the best teacher. As such, Eldridge should be in a better place after everything he experienced a year ago.
“With everything that happened last year, he had to really ante up,” Dawkins said. “Having a whole season under his belt, I feel like he’s the leader of the O-line.”
A new ‘opportunity’ for ex-Spartan Lukusa
Given the reasons he cited for leaving Michigan State, it’s fair to question new UA lineman Thiyo Lukusa’s dedication to football. Lukusa, who just transferred to Arizona, quit the team early this year, telling the Detroit Free Press: “I really haven’t been in love with football since I was in high school.”
Loving the sport and all it entails is a prerequisite for playing for UA coach Rich Rodriguez. So he was skeptical as well.
“That was the major question for us,” Rodriguez said. “You’ve got to want it, you’ve got to love the game.”
Rodriguez believes Lukusa will be able to prove that by enduring what’s in store for him this season.
Lukusa, who played in eight games for the Spartans as a freshman, will be a walk-on at Arizona for at least this semester. Since he isn’t eligible to play this year, Lukusa will work on the scout team.
“I think by walking on and proving himself and being on the scout team all year, that’ll show it,” Rodriguez said. “That’s his opportunity.”
Lukusa is enrolled at Arizona but has not begun practicing. He attended a dinner for the linemen at Michalczik’s house Sunday evening and chatted with him as the two walked from the practice field to the locker room Tuesday morning.
Lukusa initially was going to play at Arizona Western College this year before deciding to attend the UA instead.
“Things just kind of came together,” Michalczik said. “He was looking for a good fit and figured he had it here.”
Extra points
- Eldridge said he has been battling through some soreness in his knees but pronounced himself fit for the season.
- Rodriguez on Dawkins, who threw two interceptions in Saturday’s scrimmage: “I’m going to keep putting pressure on him, because I think he can be really, really good.”
- After watching film of the scrimmage, Rodriguez came away impressed with the defense. He said the offense didn’t make as many mistakes as he initially thought.
- With training camp over, Arizona has expanded its roster from 105 to 120. Veteran additions include safety Anthony Mariscal, defensive end Francisco Nelson and quarterback Zach Werlinger.
- The Wildcats did scout-team work for Northern Arizona for 20-25 minutes and will ramp that up over the next week-plus. The opener is a week from Saturday.
- Rodriguez said impressive freshman Gary Brightwell’s “primary position” is now slot receiver. He also will be utilized at running back at times and will play extensively on special teams.
- Arizona hosted a crew from Pac-12 Networks, including on-air personalities Mike Yam and Yogi Roth.
- Arizona ranks 116th out of 128 FBS programs in what ESPN is calling its “Fan Happiness Index.” The ranking is based on several factors, including the state of the program, performance in rivalry games, coaching stability, recruiting trends, revenue growth and Twitter buzz. Kansas (122nd) is the only Power 5 conference school below Arizona.
