Michael Wiley took a pitch to the left, and defenders lurked between him and the end zone. He wasn’t going to let them stop him from crossing the goal line.
The Arizona running back charged forward and fell forward. Touchdown.
The Wildcats weren’t in full pads on Day 3 of training camp. To-the-ground tackling was not permitted. Still, the play illustrated the progress Wiley had made during the offseason — and how Tyler Owens and the UA strength staff helped him achieve his goals.
“They changed me,” Wiley said. “They just got my body right. I was banged up in the spring. They helped me a lot.
“‘TO’ brought that ’Bama mindset.”
Owens is in his first season as Arizona’s director of strength and conditioning. He came to Tucson from Alabama. Jedd Fisch was hopeful that Owens’ championship pedigree would rub off on the Wildcats.
Owens has delivered thus far. He has received universal praise from players and coaches, some of it unprompted. For instance, when asked how the offensive line has improved since spring, Brennan Carroll, Arizona’s offensive coordinator and O-line coach, said this:
“It’s really a cool opportunity to talk about what Coach Tyler Owens has done for our group. They’ve done a great job with their body composition. They’ve lost the bad weight, and they’ve added good weight. We can’t ask any more than that. They’re stronger, they’re more explosive, they’re faster.”
Almost every Wildcat who has spoken to the media over the past week has repeated some version of that sentiment. Some examples ...
Tailback Drake Anderson: “I’m feeling faster and more explosive.”
Linebacker Anthony Pandy: “I’m only getting stronger, faster and more explosive.”
Pandy’s position coach, defensive coordinator Don Brown, said Pandy had a “really good spring but an unbelievable summer.”
What changed? Pandy’s body.
The 6-foot-1-inch senior entered training camp weighing 232 pounds. He was listed at 222 on the spring roster and played most of last season at 215.
“Big difference,” he said.
How so exactly?
“I’m just a lot more cut,” Pandy said. “I had strength before, but now I have a lot more power and explosiveness.
“‘TO’ is getting us right. He’s doing a great job. The whole staff.”
Fisch recently referenced “before and after” pictures of receiver Tayvian Cunningham, who has been one of the top performers in camp. He weighed 174 pounds in spring; now he’s at 183.
“It’s amazing how much stronger he’s gotten,” Fisch said.
Receiver Tayvian Cunningham is among the players who have benefited from the Wildcats' new strength and conditioning program. "It's amazing how much stronger he's gotten," coach Jedd Fisch said.
Anderson’s weight is up 10 pounds from spring; he checked in for camp at 194. Wiley’s weight is up five pounds, to 207. He was slowed by hamstring issues during spring ball. They haven’t resurfaced during training camp.
Wiley played well in 2020, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. But he wanted to make more yards after contact.
“Just finishing runs, falling forward, that’s the main thing,” Wiley said. “One of the running backs that I (admire) from the league, Ezekiel Elliott, he always practices finishing forward, running through contact ... breaking arm tackles.”
The work the players have put in under Owens and the strength staff — who get more time with them during the summer than Fisch and his assistants do — can pay off in less noticeable ways.
Offensive lineman David Watson is listed at 290 pounds, down three pounds from spring. But the Amphitheater High School product looks nimble and is showing no signs of the back problems that slowed him earlier in his UA career.
Watson is entering his fourth season at Arizona but has yet to appear in a game. He has moved up to the second team and appears to have a spot in the top eight. Carroll mainly credited the work Watson has done with the strength staff.
Carroll has had multiple conversations with center Josh McCauley about his durability. McCauley missed time late in the 2019 season and early in ’20 because of knee injuries. He might not have been fully healthy at any point last season.
“The solution that we found is, he needs to dedicate himself to the weight room,” Carroll said of McCauley, whose listed weight is up 16 pounds since spring, from 294 to 310. “With Coach Owens and what he’s done with him, he’s been really healthy for the last couple months. It’s just that attention to detail.
“Strength is injury prevention. Your build up your body, build up your conditioning, that’ll protect (you against) some of those nicks and things that kind of linger. This is probably as good as he’s felt in a while.”
Split squad
Practice looked and felt different Monday night. About a third of the squad wasn’t in attendance, and significant time was devoted to fundamental work.
Fisch and his staff decided to split the team into two groups. They worked with younger players in the morning and veterans in the evening.
“It’s a great opportunity for the young guys to get more specific coaching,” Carroll said. “It’s a new format, something I’m not used to.
“I really liked it, though. We had a blast with it. The guys got some great training. It was a cool little experiment.”
By breaking up the team, coaches could get more hands-on time and players could get more reps. Jordan McCloud, who’s playing catchup in the quarterback battle after arriving on campus in June, was among the players who worked with the morning group.
“Sometimes as you get going you take it for granted some of the things these guys might not know,” linebackers and special teams coach Keith Dudzinski said. “It was a chance for us to really install, teach, go back to basics.
“They were like our varsity for the day. Get to coach them hard, see what they can do, put them in pressure situations and see how they reacted.”
Extra points
Carroll stressed patience regarding the QB competition. “This is like day one-and-a-half in pads,” he said Monday. “We’re just getting started.”
Cunningham had another strong session and is getting plenty of targets with Jamarye Joiner (foot) out. Boobie Curry also was limited to early individual drills.
Defensive ends JB Brown and Eddie Siaumau-Sanitoa got banged up during practice. Siaumau-Sanitoa has flashed since moving from linebacker to end just before the start of camp.
Wiley had the best blocking session among the backs in one-on-ones with the linebackers. Jalen John appears to need work in that area. Malik Reed showed the best burst and quickness among the linebackers.
Pandy displayed a slick spin move during one-on-ones, only to have Stevie Rocker Jr. adjust and stop him. Pandy drew a holding penalty on Wiley during 11-on-11.
Tight end Stacey Marshall made a nice catch on a low, hard throw from Gunner Cruz during 7-on-7 work.
Defensive end Jalen Harris had a tremendous sequence during 11-on-11 drills that seemed to be devoted exclusively to the run game. Harris made three stops at or behind the line of scrimmage in a five-play span.
Safety Gunner Maldonado is coming on. After making an interception Sunday night, he broke up a pass in the end zone from Cruz to Jalen Johnson.
The Wildcats practiced in shoulder pads for the second straight night. They were scheduled to have the day off Tuesday. They will work in full pads for the first time Wednesday evening.
