Notes and takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ post-practice media availability Tuesday morning as ASU week continues:
* UA coach Rich Rodriguez on how sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate handled an off night at Oregon: "I think every game is a learning experience. I’ve said it for several weeks: Hey, he’s still a work in progress in a lot of respects." For all his exploits, Tate has only seven career starts.
* I asked Rodriguez why Tate had so few rushing attempts (four) in the second half. Rodriguez said it was partially because of “how they were playing us, keeping a guy wide and keeping a guy on him." Also, he said execution could have been better "across the board."
* Safety Dane Cruikshank on his TD-negating taunting penalty vs. Oregon: "Things kind of got out of control. Stupid mistake I made. It should have never happened. It’ll never happen again."
* Senior left tackle Layth Friekh has submitted paperwork seeking a fifth year of eligibility. It’s unclear what the outcome will be. Also, Friekh's father, who lives and works in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has been in Arizona since the Wildcats’ Senior Night and will be at the Territorial Cup game Saturday.
* D-line update No. 1: Luca Bruno (concussion) did not have cleats as he walked to the locker room and didn’t look like someone who would be playing football anytime soon.
* D-line update No. 2: Kurtis Brown, who’s missed the past three games, was in full pads. My guess: He’ll be back.
* D-line update No. 3: Parker Zellers appeared to have participated in practice. He missed last week because of a violation of team rules.
* D-line update No. 4: Justin Belknap still has a huge brace on his left leg. I wouldn’t count on him being available.
* D-line update No. 5: Marcus Griffin, who worked his way into the rotation the past two weeks, sported a walking boot on his left foot as he left the locker room.
* Could tight end Trevor Wood, who played defensive end earlier in his career, be a candidate to switch sides Saturday? "He might be," Rodriguez said. I’ll have more on Wood later today.
* Rodriguez on Chuck Cecil's epic, 100-plus-yard pick-six vs. ASU: "You see it almost every week when you’re here. What an iconic play. Maybe the most recognizable one in our football history." Cecil is in his first year as a defensive analyst for the UA. We’ll have more on him later this week.
* Rodriguez praised all of his analysts, including Cecil, B.J. Denker, Mike DiAngelo and Glenn Parker, who has been helping out. They "have done a terrific job behind the scenes in helping our program,” Rodriguez said. “We’re very fortunate to have them."
* Rodriguez on the Arizona State defense: "Their linebackers are active. They’ve got good players. If you look at what they did to Utah and Washington defensively, it was really impressive."
* Rodriguez said the Sun Devils don’t blitz as much under first-year coordinator Phil Bennett but still will bring pressure. "They may blitz us every snap," Rodriguez said. "We’ll wait and see."
* Rodriguez said there's a different intensity level at practice this week, and he believes the new guys can sense that as well. He said the team was mad Sunday after its poor performance at Oregon but quickly moved on to ASU.
* Jay Dobyns was among 20 or so former Wildcats watching practice today.
