Quick hitters from the Arizona Wildcats’ media availability after their 11th practice of spring Wednesday morning:
* Arizona will conduct its annual pro day Friday, so a lot of the conversation centered on the Wildcats’ NFL prospects. Although the UA doesn’t have any certain draftees this year, all 32 teams are expected to have representatives on hand.
* UA coach Rich Rodriguez is particularly bullish on Samajie Grant, who played both receiver and running back last season. “I think Samajie Grant’s an NFL guy,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got the athletic ability. He’s got the toughness. More than anything, he’s got a football awareness. He can learn multiple positions in a short period of time.”
* Rodriguez said receiver Trey Griffey, who played in the East-West Shrine Game, brings added value because of his special-teams ability. “He’s a physical guy,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got good size. You can put him on every special team, and he’ll be one of the best guys you have there.”
* Griffey and linebacker Paul Magloire Jr. are Arizona’s highest-rated prospects, with some projecting Magloire as a mid-round pick. Rodriguez described Magloire as a “really good athlete” and praised him for moving from safety to linebacker in midseason in 2015.
* The Wildcats practiced in the morning, and Rodriguez liked the energy level. Most of this spring's workouts have been in the afternoon. Arizona practiced in the morning last season for the first time under Rodriguez.
* Former Arizona All-American Scooby Wright worked out in the UA weight room wearing Cardinals gear. Wright joined the Cardinals late last season.
* No position has changed more since last season than linebacker, and more changes are coming with four more on the way in summer. Rodriguez wants to make sure the scheme is simple enough for them to play right away – but not so simple that opposing offenses can easily decipher it.
* Regarding the overall influx of players on defense in the past two recruiting cycles, Rodriguez said: “I think we’re deeper talent-wise than we’ve been in maybe three or four years.”
* Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates estimated that Arizona played man coverage about 70 percent of the time last year, largely because he felt the need to create more pass-rush pressure with blitzes. He’d like that figure to be closer to 50 percent.
* Linebackers coach Scott Boone said redshirt freshman Jacob Colacion has been a “pleasant surprise.” Unlike last season, Colacion is practicing without a bulky knee brace. He has been working at “Will” linebacker and at times at “Mike” when Brandon Rutt has class conflicts.
* Generating turnovers continues to be a daily point of emphasis in practice, with considerable time spent on specific situations such as third downs in the red zone.
* Rodriguez on whether Arizona will change its approach to recruiting after a rash of de-commitments in the most recent cycle: “There were a variety of reasons for that. I’m studying why that happened. It was really frustrating. We’re still taking the same approach. Every guy that we took early last year we’d still take again. … We’ve got to make sure we’ve got guys that are picking the school for the right reason and not just enjoying the recruiting process because they get their name tweeted out more often.”
