The Arizona Wildcats officially added 23 players to their football program this week. But in a way, they gained even more than that.
UA coach Rich Rodriguez always seeks players who can play multiple positions. Not only do versatile athletes provide backup plans in case of injuries (see receiver-turned-tailback Samajie Grant) but they afford the coaching staff greater formational flexibility.
Rodriguez praised new running back Gary Brightwell for his ability to line up in the backfield or in the slot. Rodriguez didn’t rule out the possibility of Sabino’s Drew Dixon being a receiver/quarterback.
But even more significant than that was the addition of multiple defenders who can do multiple things.
Jalen Harris, My-King Johnson and Anthony Pandy are among the newcomers who fit that description. Mesa’s Harris and Tempe’s Johnson are listed as defensive ends, but Rodriguez described them as versatile athletes.
“They’re kind of a hybrid rush end/drop backer,” he said.
And as he noted, Arizona has a position — the “stud” — that’s “tailor-made for that.”
Pandy is listed as an inside linebacker but also served as a defensive end for Narbonne High in Harbor City, California.
“We had to get guys who could rush the passer,” Rodriguez said.
Arizona specifically targeted linebackers who could rush on third down.
“That kind of gives us two players for one,” Rodriguez said. “We got linebackers that can play both. We got a lot more athletic.”
Arizona’s need for more pass-rush production cannot be overstated.
Despite blitzing more frequently under new defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, the Wildcats had only 22 sacks last season — continuing a downward trend from the Scooby Wright-led heyday of 2014.
Arizona averaged 2.71 sacks per game in ‘14, spearheaded by Wright, who was exactly the type of multidimensional threat Arizona sought in this year’s recruiting class. That average fell to 2.08 in 2015, when Wright missed most of the season, and to 1.83 last year, when he was in the NFL.
Pass-rush pressure leads to turnovers, as the Wildcats’ takeaway totals illustrate. Arizona had 26 takeaways in 14 games in 2014, or 1.86 per game. The UA had 16 in 13 games in ’15 (1.23) and 14 in 12 games last year (1.17).
In one particularly disconcerting dry spell, Arizona forced only one turnover in a five-game stretch — an interception against Stanford. The interceptor, cornerback Dane Cruikshank, immediately fumbled the ball back to the Cardinal.
The Wildcats had only four takeaways in their nine losses, which included an eight-game Pac-12 losing streak. They had 10 in their three wins.
The hope is that the defensive newcomers — along with similarly skilled redshirt freshmen Jalen Cochran and Francisco Nelson — can help turn that around.
“You’ve gotta have some dudes up front, a lot of dudes up front,” Rodriguez said. “The whole front seven on defense, we struggled. Some of it was injuries, some of it was guys who weren’t quite ready to play yet. The whole athleticism of our defense, particularly the front seven, is changing in the next year and a half.”
Expert opinions on Arizona
Grades and opinions vary on the quality of Arizona’s recruiting class, and the truth is, no one will know for sure for several seasons.
But the Star sought initial impressions from four analysts who follow West Coast and Pac-12 recruiting closely. Here’s what they had to say:
Brandon Huffman, national director of recruiting for Scout.com: Arizona’s class started out strong, but some late defections put a damper on what should have been a banner class for Rich Rodriguez. Losing four players to Oregon, including Braxton Burmeister and then Cody Shear at the end, slowed down momentum that had built.
On the bright side, they held on to a couple of targets that other programs wanted, Tony Wallace (USC) and Jalen Harris (Notre Dame) most notably. And they landed some of the best high school linebackers in the Southland (Southern California) in Anthony Pandy and Colin Schooler.
Erik McKinney, Pac-12 recruiting reporter for ESPN.com: In the immediate aftermath, this class is more about the pieces missing than the pieces signed. With Greg Johnson, Braxton Burmeister, Darrian McNeal, Austin Faoliu and the other decommitments, it’s easier to talk more about the misses than the hits because those are important positions and a couple very good/great players headed elsewhere in the conference.
But there are some very good players in the class, and I really like the emphasis on defense. There are at least 10 guys being added to the front seven, with a few of them capable of playing very early, especially with playing time available at linebacker. The defensive backfield gets another infusion of talent as well. And even with the talk of all the misses, Tony Wallace and Jalen Harris were huge recruiting wins.
Greg Biggins, national recruiting analyst for Fox Sports and Scout: It wasn’t a highly ranked class, but I actually like a lot of the players they brought in. The linebacker group is very strong, and for me, Anthony Pandy and Colin Schooler are talented enough to play for any team in the Pac-12. Nathan Tilford and Brian Casteel could be immediate-impact guys, and holding on to Jalen Harris and Tony Wallace was huge as well.
Yogi Roth, analyst for Pac-12 Networks: I like it. I think they got longer, more athletic. With all of the injuries last year, and an expected healthy roster, their additions will be felt and should make this team much improved from a year ago.
Big picture, I think this class is the one recruited off the South title (in 2014) as the staff changes impacted them a year ago. They had the time (this cycle) to create and cultivate those relationships.”
