The coaching staff has been on the road recruiting. Signing Day is still a week away. But stuff is happening. Time for another round of Arizona Wildcats football news and views:
News: Athletic Director Greg Byrne – who hired football coach Rich Rodriguez – leaves for Alabama.
Views: This isn’t necessarily a negative development for Rodriguez – but it isn’t a positive one either. In Byrne, Rodriguez had a supporter and advocate. When fans screamed for Rodriguez’s firing during a dreary 3-9 season, Byrne held firm. Now Rodriguez enters a season in which he is perceived to be on the “hot seat.” Will the next athletic director, whoever that might be, be as patient as Byrne was? (For the record, I wasn’t among those advocating Rodriguez’s removal; one bad year does not erase four good ones. A second subpar season – which I would define as anything short of a bowl berth – changes the discussion.) Unless it’s internal candidate Erika Barnes, the next Arizona AD will have relatively little familiarity with Rodriguez. Their visions for the football program – and the way Rodriguez goes about running it on a daily basis – might not be the same. Of course, winning supersedes philosophical differences (unless you’re Kevin Wilson). If Rodriguez wins, he’ll be fine. If not, he’ll be in trouble – no matter who the AD is.
News: Quarterback Braxton Burmeister, among others, backs out of his commitment to Arizona.
Views: As the exodus was proceeding, the consensus seemed to be that “Arizona can’t have nice things.” The truth is, recruits come and go this time of year, and no school is immune. Is losing Burmeister a hit? Of course. But it isn’t as if he’s a sure thing. Some of the people who follow recruiting closer than I believe he could have competed for the starting job right away; another person I trust believes Burmeister is overrated. As with most things, the bad news gets more play than the good. Arizona fought off USC to keep cornerback Tony Wallace (although others apparently remain in the race); flipped defensive end My-King Johnson, who had been committed to UCLA; got a commitment from highly regarded kicker/punter Lucas Havrisik, who will provide badly needed competition at those spots; and Tuesday added another late-rising linebacker, Anthony Pandy. Arizona’s class currently ranks 36th in the nation, per Scout.com, with an average star rating of 2.96. Last year’s class averaged 3.00. The Wildcats are going to get roughly the same caliber of player every year. What really matters is identifying the right ones and developing them.
News: Arizona parts ways with veteran linebacker John Kenny.
Views: The Wildcats are basically starting over at linebacker. Aside from DeAndre’ Miller, every major contributor from last season is gone. Unless Arizona brings in a graduate transfer a la Michael Barton, this could be one of the youngest units in the nation at any position. Unless we’re counting Jalen Cochran and Francisco Nelson as “Studs” (they’re listed as defensive linemen), Arizona returns only four scholarship linebackers: Miller, Brandon Rutt, Jacob Colacion and Kahi Neves. Rutt is a former walk-on. Colacion and Neves redshirted as freshmen last year (as did Cochran and Nelson, by the way). In other words, any and all incoming linebackers have an excellent chance to play meaningful snaps right away. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some combination of Joshua Brown, Colin Schooler and Pandy became starters, or at least rotation regulars. If multiple freshmen end up playing big minutes – which seems inevitable – youthful mistakes are bound to happen. The hope is that they’ll make more impactful plays, offsetting the errors.
News: The 2017 Pac-12 schedule is revealed.
Views: I was surprised at how many of my Twitter followers predicted gloom and doom upon seeing Arizona’s schedule; perhaps they’re scarred from what happened last season. I don’t think the schedule is as rough as last year’s. You could argue that seven of the first eight games are winnable if the Wildcats have their act together. (They have many questions to answer and holes to fill – issues to be addressed another day.) The toughest part of the schedule appears to be November, which features road games against USC, Oregon and Arizona State. I would rather have the hardest part at the end for a couple of reasons: (1) Barring a rash of injuries (which, amazingly, has happened to Arizona two years in a row) your team should be better by November; and (2) a more manageable early schedule increases the likelihood that you’ll have something to play for later. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the Wildcats go 5-3 in their first eight games, with the fifth victory coming in Game 8 vs. Washington State (which would be quite a reversal from last season). Now every November game represents a chance to earn a bowl berth. Last year, Arizona was out of the running by Nov. 5.
