Signing day is over. Spring football is less than a week away. Time for another round of Arizona Wildcats football news and views:
News: Arizona’s 2016 signing class is greeted with mixed reviews.
Views: The three main recruiting websites – Rivals, Scout and 247Sports – ranked the Wildcats’ class between 44th (Scout) and 52nd (247Sports) nationally. That’s not bad. They ranked it ninth (Scout, 247Sports) or 10th (Rivals) in the Pac-12. That’s not good. The truth is, none of us really knows. I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a recruiting expert. I’ve watched most of the players’ highlight videos, but you can only tell so much from them because they’re limited to the players’ best plays. The coaches aren’t going to say anything bad about the players they’ve been courting for months – and in some cases, years. So I take the approach Bill Barnwell and Robert Mays took on the late, great “Grantland NFL Podcast.” I ask this question: Does it make sense? And the way Arizona put together this class generally made sense. The Wildcats needed to get bigger and more athletic on defense, and almost two-thirds of the newcomers play on that side of the ball. They needed a big receiver and found one in 6-foot-6 Shawn Poindexter. I see only one potential hole in this class, which brings us to item No. 2 …
News: Arizona’s 2016 signing class includes only two defensive linemen.
Views: This part doesn’t make sense. I realize this is an inexact process, and unless you’re one of a very select few, you can’t get everyone you want. But ideally you’d like to bring in 3-5 linemen on each side of the ball every year, and Arizona fell short on the defensive front. If JJ Allen and Justin Holt turn out to be great players, no one will remember they were the only defensive linemen in this class; quality always trumps quantity. But if, as is my concern, defensive line becomes the Achilles’ heel of the UA defense, we’ll look back at February 2016 and wonder why the position wasn’t addressed more thoroughly. I believe the additions Arizona has made this offseason – both in personnel and coaching – will lead to improvement in two key areas: pass defense and pass rush. But run defense remains a lingering concern. No matter how much length and athleticism you have on the edges, you still need sturdy men in the middle. The primary source for the ’16 Wildcats will have to be the pre-existing roster.
News: The Arizona Board of Regents approves multiyear contracts for two Wildcats assistants.
Views: The beneficiaries are new defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and longtime staffer Calvin Magee, whose three titles include co-offensive coordinator. This is an unprecedented – and necessary – move for Arizona, where all assistant coaches previously worked on a year-to-year basis. If you want to be “the best program in America” – Rich Rodriguez’s stated goal – you have to compete in every facet on as level a playing field as possible. Giving two assistant coaches two-year contracts doesn’t level the playing field, but it’s a significant step in the right direction. Whether multiyear contracts became the norm – and whether they become available to assistant coaches below the coordinator level – remains to be seen. There’s no doubt it would benefit Rodriguez to have that club in his bag when he’s recruiting coaches (and even players). As of this writing, Rodriguez still had one opening to fill. Which brings us to our fourth and final item …
News: Arizona still hasn’t hired a defensive line coach.
Views: Rodriguez said Wednesday that he would hire one “probably very soon.” Considering that spring practice is scheduled to start Friday, the sooner the better. Our Greg Hansen is among those reporting/speculating that current staffer Vince Amey will be promoted from “analyst” to DL coach. Rodriguez went that route with new safeties coach Jahmile Addae. One key difference: Addae had previous on-field coaching experience in college; Amey doesn’t. Not that that would preclude him from doing a good job. Now, if this were Rodriguez’s plan all along, he’d have no reason to wait this long. Which has led to speculation that Amey is Arizona’s fallback option. Rumor has it that Rodriguez has been trying to lure Joe Saleave’a back to Arizona and that Rodriguez has yet to succeed, causing the delay. Considering that Saleave’a recently received a contract extension at Washington State – and wasn’t retained when Rodriguez became Arizona’s coach – it’s undoubtedly a tough sell. Then again, how hard can it be to persuade someone to leave Pullman?
