Quick hitters from the Arizona Wildcats’ weekly news conference Monday afternoon at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility:
* UA coach Rich Rodriguez said freshman tailback J.J. Taylor “more than likely” is out for the season after suffering a broken left ankle against Washington on Saturday night. Rodriguez described Taylor as a “special talent.”
* Rodriguez said all the injuries at running back have forced Arizona to scale back the playbook. I’ll have more on this topic later.
* Rodriguez defended his decision to eschew a two-point conversion at the end of regulation, saying he trusted his team to win in overtime.
* Rodriguez said he didn’t make a big deal out of Trey Griffey’s downfield block on Brandon Dawkins’ 79-yard touchdown run because that’s the way the Wildcats are expected to play all the time.
* Rodriguez said Dawkins wasn’t quite as sharp against Washington as he was against Hawaii but that his running ability provided a “big lift.”
* Rodriguez was impressed with UCLA’s physicality against Stanford. The Bruins were leading the Cardinal until the final minute, when Stanford rallied. Rodriguez is 0-4 against UCLA and conceded that “we’ve not played well against them.”
* Rodriguez said Arizona is using “11” personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) about 60 percent of the time and is happy with the present and future at the tight end position.
* Rodriguez likes how resilient and scrappy the defense has been, but he’s still seeking more three-and-outs. Arizona is last in the Pac-12 in third-down defense.
* Rodriguez said he trusts Nate Phillips “100 percent” as a punt returner despite Phillips’ ill-advised attempt to field a bouncing punt Saturday, resulting in a fumble. “I don’t think you’ll see Nate make that mistake again,” Rodriguez said.
* Rodriguez attributed Shun Brown’s recent production to him being open more than other receivers. Brown has 12 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown in the past two games.
* Rodriguez indicated that receiver Shawn Poindexter got banged up during the game. Poindexter had three catches for 29 yards, all in the first quarter.
* Despite some errant snaps against Washington, Rodriguez said redshirt-freshman center Nathan Eldridge has done a good job in his first time as a starter. The poor snap at the end “did kind of discombobulate the whole play,” Rodriguez said.
