Brent Brennan: Arizona Wildcats 'in a great spot' with season opener less than two weeks away

Arizona is at the situational part of its fall training camp or, as UA head coach Brent Brennan calls it, “the mechanics of football.”

With the season opener against New Mexico at Arizona Stadium less than two weeks away, the Wildcats have implemented more two-minute offense, third-down situations and substitutions on offense, defense and special teams. The Wildcats are also tinkering with the newly-added coach-to-player communication in helmets and in-game adjustments with Microsoft Windows tablets.

“It’s hard to simulate what those things feel like on game day, so we’re trying to get in the flow of that,” Brennan said. “We’re going to do a little bit more of that as we get closer to New Mexico.”

Brennan recently discussed how life is working with sideline tablets, notable visitors coming through the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, and where the Wildcats stand entering the season. Here’s what Brennan said:

How has it been adjusting to the tablets?

A: “It’s new for us, too, so how do we get reps doing that? We built that into the practice plan. I thought it was good. ... I think it has a chance for some of those adjustments to happen a little bit faster, because you have an exact picture of what you saw. Sometimes the game happens pretty fast and you’re like, ‘No, this is what happened,’ and then you look at the film and go, ‘Oh, it’s not exactly what I thought it was.’ Now you have a chance to evaluate that the next series. I think there’s some value in that, especially in communication with the coaches upstairs and what they see. I think it’s going to be good.”

San Jose State transfer defensive end and Phoenix-area native Tre Smith appears to be a natural leader for the defense. How has he impacted the team?

A: “Tre Smith is a really special person. We’ve obviously known him for a long time, because he played for us at San Jose. He was one of those guys at San Jose State where I could literally set my watch at the time he walked into the building every day. The last three years at San Jose, he was one of those guys you saw in the building every single day out of the year no matter what. That’s how committed he is and how much it means to him. He’s been a great addition to the team, and the guys on the team here have done a great job welcoming him to the family.”

How has it been having a significant amount of NFL scouts come through training camp to inquire about players?

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A: “The cool thing is I’ve had so many of those guys say to me how much they’ve enjoyed their visit here, where they felt like the information they were getting from (general manager Gaizka Crowley) or the trainers or the strength staff — Coach (Cullen Carroll) and his staff — or from our coaches, the communication, the access. Everything we’re trying to do is give our players the best chance to play on the next level. I think it’s important when those guys come here, that it’s a good experience for them. Everyone I just mentioned is doing a great job at that. I’ve had two (NFL scouts) tell me it’s the best visit they’ve ever had.”

How come the team isn’t holding a showcase for students at the end of training camp?

A: “I think you’ve seen more and more of that go away over time. Our students aren’t here yet, so it’s not as big of a deal. That first week of school, we have a game, so they’ll see the real thing. When you get into those situations, the closer you get to the start of the season, the more you hesitate to play live football. I know lots of schools that don’t do anything live in the month of August. We’ve been able to get some good live work and some good situational football, which is what we were able to do (Saturday night). I feel good where we’re at. I think it’s a fine line. ‘Are we getting enough tackling?’ ... You’re also saying to yourself, ‘Well, we have a couple of really special players, do we want to play the season without them?’ It’s a really fine line in terms of getting them game ready and also putting them at risk.”

How about an open practice for fans to attend?

A: “Well we’ve done that the first few months, then as it goes, for me, I’m always trying to figure out one of our main standards for the team, which is protect the program. When we do that, if there’s a lot of information getting out there from the practice environment that’s not going to serve us, I have to make determinations on how to corral that, so that would be why. But we’ve had a big group of donors at every practice so far this training camp, and that’s been positive. Early on in camp, we’ve had a lot of fans. People have had a lot of access to our program. I feel pretty good about that.”

Former Washington and Boise State head coach Chris Petersen has spent some time with your program since you were hired, including last week. How was it having a coach of his caliber be around the team?

A: “Coach Petersen is one of the best coaches in the history of college football. Any time you can have somebody like that around your program, you’re really fortunate. I’m really grateful he and I have had over the years. There’s been lots of head coaches that have helped me on my journey as a head coach. Guys I could call when something comes up or, ‘How did you handle this? How did you guys practice this? What was your coaching points on whatever it is.’ Having resources like that, for me over the years, it’s been lots of people: David Shaw, Dick Tomey or Chip Kelly. That’s one cool thing about football: coaches actually try to help each other. There’s no proprietary secrets. They actually share, and I think that’s really good. I value my friendship with Coach Petersen.”

At this point of training camp, is Arizona where you want it to be?

A: “I think we’re in a great spot. I really do. I think we have work to do and I’m glad we have two weeks of practice left. This stretch right here was a tough stretch. We had six practices in seven days. That’s the grinder part of camp, and I thought our players did a great job. They showed up for camp and are in great condition and good shape. I think Coach Carroll and his staff did a great job preparing them for that. Then our coaches are coaching the heck out of them and spending every hour of the day trying to do whatever we can to improve our football team.”