Arizona Football 2013

[jw7]

Cats are now bowl eligible,

Tough, tough, schedule ahead. 4 games left. Need to beat Wash St. And hopefully take one or both from UCLA or ASU. (I hate to say it but I think ASU is better than the cats this year). No chance against Oregon.

An 8 win season would be great for the cats and Rich Rod.

 

[TJ]

Nail-biter today in Berkley against the 1-8 Golden Bears. Methinks we were looking ahead to UCLA. Then again, both Denker and Ka'Deem were playing hurt, so the offense was somewhat limited.

Speaking of Denker, I'm pleasantly surprised with his production over the past few games. Goes to show how gifted RichRod is as a coach. He can take virtually anyone at QB, hide their weaknesses and focus on their strengths. In BJ's case, he has a terrible arm, but can run like the wind. So now he leads the team in rushing TDs and has the most rushing TDs for a QB in UofA history. The possibilities are endless next season when Brewer, Dawkins, and Solomon are battling for the starting spot, along with a significantly more talented crew of WRs coming into the fold.

 

[ProdigalSun]

Speaking of Denker, I'm pleasantly surprised with his production over the past few games. Goes to show how gifted RichRod is as a coach. He can take virtually anyone at QB, hide their weaknesses and focus on their strengths. .

Yep...hopefully when we get a legit duel threat QB in there this team will take the next step

 

[TJ]

Yep...hopefully when we get a legit duel threat QB in there this team will take the next step

My money is on Brewer as the starter next season, who is anything but a DT-QB, but can sling it better than anyone on the roster according to reports from practices.

Either way, one of Brewer, Solomon, Allen, Dawkins, Ishman, etc. ought to rise to the top.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Just beat UCLA next week, I know Arizona can do it!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Yep...hopefully when we get a legit duel threat QB in there this team will take the next step

There's no true dual threat in the Mariota/Manziel arena but we have plenty of guys that can sling it with good enough wheels to keep defenses honest. Think Taylor Kelly but with bigger arms (although not as accurate). Not a typical fast and shifty runner but a good enough athlete to burn people with his legs when they have to account for his passing.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

And yeah, when I first saw BJ Denker I thought we'd be fortunate to win 5 games even with the light schedule. The fact that we're probably going to have two winning seasons with last seasons defensive depth chart and this years QB depth chart is pretty impressive.

 

[TJ]

Tough game. Too many turnovers, the worst being the KDC fumble at the goal line. Didn't need to go airborne there.

Also, I give a ton of credit to Jim Mora jr. Takes balls to use defensive players on offense, but when you're short handed, you gotta put your best athletes in. Say what you want about a LB ripping apart the defense, which struggles to tackle either way, but Myles Jack is a stud.

 

[Gaddabout]

Brewer is athletic enough to run the option and keep defenses honest. He's not a traditional pocket passer.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Tough game. Too many turnovers, the worst being the KDC fumble at the goal line. Didn't need to go airborne there.

Also, I give a ton of credit to Jim Mora jr. Takes balls to use defensive players on offense, but when you're short handed, you gotta put your best athletes in. Say what you want about a LB ripping apart the defense, which struggles to tackle either way, but Myles Jack is a stud.

Great game, too bad U of A didn't pull it out. I agree on Jack. I just watched the highlights, but man that guy looks like a load to tackle. ASU is going to have its hands full in a couple of weeks, that's for sure.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

It was more upsetting watching us go 0-2 against Brett Hundley, a UofA legacy who the genius Mike Stoops didn't think was good enough to offer a scholarship to as a QB. UA would be a top 15 team this year with him.

 

[Absolute Zero]

It was more upsetting watching us go 0-2 against Brett Hundley, a UofA legacy who the genius Mike Stoops didn't think was good enough to offer a scholarship to as a QB. UA would be a top 15 team this year with him.

So did Hundley get offers from other big schools other than UCLA? I'm wondering how Arizona whiffed on that or who they thought was better. Kind of surprising also since Hundley's dad went to U of A I understand.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

So did Hundley get offers from other big schools other than UCLA? I'm wondering how Arizona whiffed on that or who they thought was better. Kind of surprising also since Hundley's dad went to U of A I understand.

Arizona ended up offering him but it was way, way late in the process and it was mostly due to them taking PR hits over it. He had offers from pretty much everyone in the country during his junior year.

 

[TJ]

So did Hundley get offers from other big schools other than UCLA? I'm wondering how Arizona whiffed on that or who they thought was better. Kind of surprising also since Hundley's dad went to U of A I understand.

Stoops was too focused on recruiting Daxx Garman, who ended up transferring to OK State anyway. The Hundley situation appropriately highlights Stoops's recruiting prowess as being lackluster.

Watching the game, I could only wonder, "what if..."

 

[TJ]

Austin Hill cleared to practice, with a slight chance of coming back by the Oregon game.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...austin-hill-cleared-to-test-knee-in-practice/

I'm not a fan of rushing a player back after major knee surgery, but I'm no a doctor nor am I Austin Hill, so ill just hope for the best. If Hill can regain some of his magic from 2012, it'll open up the offense more.

 

[TJ]

Well...Denker has turned back into a pumpkin, and now the TC is a must-win or our bowl game is in jeopardy. Kid is making poor decisions and compromising the offense.

Glad it's basketball season, and our 2014 FB class promises to bring new life into this team.

 

[HooverDam]

Sure hope you all pull a miracle, Kadeem Carey runs for 300 and you upset Oregon. Do that & if ASU can win out the Devils host Stanford for the P12 title.


Also I wouldn't worry about not going bowling. Even if you flame out and finish 6-6 you'll go somewhere due to how many bowls there are now.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Sure hope you all pull a miracle, Kadeem Carey runs for 300 and you upset Oregon. Do that & if ASU can win out the Devils host Stanford for the P12 title.


Also I wouldn't worry about not going bowling. Even if you flame out and finish 6-6 you'll go somewhere due to how many bowls there are now.

Yeah but we're going to get absolutely massacred. It's really, really difficult to beat good football teams when your QB is BJ Denker even with Kadeem. He just doesn't have the tools (and the playcalling is terrible).

 

[Lefty]

Sure hope you all pull a miracle, Kadeem Carey runs for 300 and you upset Oregon. Do that & if ASU can win out the Devils host Stanford for the P12 title.


Also I wouldn't worry about not going bowling. Even if you flame out and finish 6-6 you'll go somewhere due to how many bowls there are now.

The miracle will be if the Cats don't give up a combined 100 points against Oregon and ASU. I like the direction RichRod has this team heading. He is recruiting his players and it will take time to overcome Stoops' last couple of mediocre recruiting classes. Patience is the name of the game. Next year we should see better results but these next two games are going to be tough to watch.

 

[TJ]

Yeah but we're going to get absolutely massacred. It's really, really difficult to beat good football teams when your QB is BJ Denker even with Kadeem. He just doesn't have the tools (and the playcalling is terrible).

Right on Denker, but I don't think the play calling has been terrible. Miller dropping a TD before halftime, Jake Smith doing his best Zendejas impersonation, and BJ making boneheaded decision after boneheaded decision restricted what RichRod could do. The Wazzou game was one of those where you could say the coach doesn't kick, throw, or catch the ball. Execution was much, much worse than the game plan.

As RichRod said in his presser, we simply don't have the talent to make up for mistakes. Once we get a real QB behind center and more size in the front 7, this team will be much easier to watch.

 

[HooverDam]

How bad are UAs backup QBs? just atrocious? It would seem the better long term move would've been to start an underclassman, especially with UAs easy starting schedule. Whats the point of starting a very below average Senior QB if he can only get you to 6-7 wins? Would a younger guy have done that much worse?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

How bad are UAs backup QBs? just atrocious? It would seem the better long term move would've been to start an underclassman, especially with UAs easy starting schedule. Whats the point of starting a very below average Senior QB if he can only get you to 6-7 wins? Would a younger guy have done that much worse?

Well yeah the ones that are eligible are not good. When RR took over the only QB left on the roster was Matt Scott so he had to start basically from scratch. The Chaparral/UT transfer would have 100% without a doubt started this year if he was eligible even after a week of practice. There were thoughts about the other four star true frosh out of his RS or not at all but RR is approaching it from a long haul perspective. We haven't really recruited JUCO kids (often to a fault) and are only playing true freshman who log snaps. I think in retrospect (especially since he's going to always be compared to Graham who has gone heavily into the JUCO ranks) he might have taken the steps to turn things around quicker but Byrne is on board for the long haul and at the end of the day it's his endorsement that matters.

 

[TJ]

IMO, had Anu Solomon not missed spring ball, he'd be starting. When he got to Tucson in the summer, he looked lost.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

IMO, had Anu Solomon not missed spring ball, he'd be starting. When he got to Tucson in the summer, he looked lost.

I agree but it's on Rodriguez that he didn't recruit or land a December graduate QB. He saw enough of Denker last year to know he couldn't hack it, should not have been a tough sell to tell a couple kids they would likely start right away. Yes, overall a bit of bad luck but also recruiting failures. When you're making $2 million a season nobody wants to hear excuses.

 

[TJ]

I agree but it's on Rodriguez that he didn't recruit or land a December graduate QB. He saw enough of Denker last year to know he couldn't hack it, should not have been a tough sell to tell a couple kids they would likely start right away. Yes, overall a bit of bad luck but also recruiting failures. When you're making $2 million a season nobody wants to hear excuses.

I think the equivalent to the "December Graduate" was Jesse Scroggins; however, he's been hurt as much as Kevin Kolb since Spring, and from what I've heard, has had behavioral issues. In summary, with Solomon and Scroggins not ready, it was up to RichRod to pick the least ****ty QB.

I think RichRod gets a mulligan for 2013, but with Brewer, Solomon, and one of the deepest WR corps in the PAC in 2014, he literally has no excuses for coaching a .500 team.