Arizona Wildcats preview
By Bruce Marshall
The Gold Sheet
Okay...now what?
Life moves on in Tucson, where the Arizona football team is off a visit to a bowl game for the first time in the new millennium. The Wildcats made the most of their rare postseason sojourn, beating BYU 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl, the school's first postseason appearance since toppling Nebraska 23-20 in the 1998 Holiday Bowl. That was enough to grant another stay of execution for intense HC Mike Stoops, who, after four losing seasons on the UA sidelines, was generally acknowledged to have needed that bowl visit to keep his job. Mission accomplished.
But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of college football, Stoops can ill afford to slip too much from last year's perch. Once in the soup with boosters and administrators, it's going to take more than one Las Vegas Bowl to move safely from that bubbling broth. Regional observers suggest that Stoops is still well-advised to avoid another slip beneath .500, or the desert vultures could quickly begin to circle once more.
Keeping Stoops on the safe side of .500 might not be easy for this fall's Wildcat team that will be going to battle without QB Willie Tuitama for the first time in four years (was it just us, or did Tuitama seem to date back to Barry Goldwater's days in the US Senate?). Tuitama finally mastered o.c. Sonny Dykes' Texas Tech-influenced spread last year, hitting 65% of his passes while tossing 23 TD passes (and only 8 picks). Tuitama indeed leaves big shoes to fill. Soph Matt Scott, known as a better runner than passer, made a tenuous claim to the starting QB job in spring, though a fellow soph, Michigan State transfer Nick Foles, has the stronger and more accurate arm. Pac-10 scouts believe Stoops might even opt to alternate the two for the first few weeks of the campaign, so stay tuned. For what it's worth, Stoops doesn't seem overly concerned about either despite their lack of experience. "We have playmakers," said Stoops after spring ball. "The quarterbacks just have to manage our offense."
Well, in that case, maybe it doesn't matter who's taking snaps, because plenty of skill position weaponry does return from last year's attack that tallied a prolific 37 ppg. In all, seven starters are back, including slashing jr. RB Nic Grigsby (1153 YR in '08). Another scooter, soph RB Keola Antolin (525), broke off several big runs in Grigsby's absence during the second half of the '08 campaign. Although Tuitama's favorite receiver, WR Mike Thomas, finally graduated, there are plenty of targets, including Delashaun Dean & Terrell Turner, who combined for 96 catches and more than 1200 receiving yards last fall. Moreover, perhaps the nation's best TE, rugged jr. Rob Gronkowski, returns after hauling in 47 catches and 10 TDs in '08. But Stoops and Dykes have some legitimate concerns about their OL, which that was thinned when star LT Eben Britton declared for the NFL Draft after a stellar junior campaign. Along with the graduation of RT James Tretheway, Stoops could be breaking in a brand new pair of OL bookends. The shuffling along the line likely continues into fall camp, especially if the emergence of jr. Conan Amituanai frees up G Matt Diaz to try his luck at one of the tackle spots.
Given the uncertainties regarding the QB situation, the burden in the early going likely rests with a defense that returns seven starters, including everybody up front, plus what the coaching staff believes is as good a LB corps as exists in the Pac-10. A veteran, robust DL returns established run stuffers Earl Mitchell and Donald Horton and pass-rushing DEs Brooks Reed & Ricky Elmore. D.c. Mark Stoops believes the LB corps will be faster than a year ago, while CB Devan Ross & SS Cam Nelson are established playmakers in the 2ndary.
Summary...Mike Stoops might not seem overly concerned about breaking in a new QB, but it took the experienced Willie Tuitama more than a year to get used to the nuances of Sonny Dykes' spread. So to assume the inexperienced Scott or Foles will hit the ground running might be a tad optimistic. Luckily for Stoops, an established core of complementary weapons and a seasoned stop unit full of playmakers should compensate until the QB situation stabilizes. But sooner or later, one of the QBs is going to have to deliver if the Wildcats want to get back to another bowl game...and keep the heat off Stoops. As always, however, pay attention to the Cats when made an underdog, as they're 19-8 vs. the line their last 27 as the "short" under Stoops.