'I like where we’re at': Arizona football's defense gears up for season opener against NAU
Scriptwriting in sports is entertaining fodder, but it’s also an unproven myth.
Arizona’s intra-squad scrimmage in 85-degree and overcast weather Saturday night at Arizona Stadium “was all scripted” from start to finish. With two weeks away from the season opener, the “First Look” allowed the Wildcats to work on third-and-long situations, operating offensively backed up in the end zone.
“This night is a really important night we become a really good situational football team. ... Situational, it didn’t matter if we hit a 30-yard pass, we brought the ball back,” said Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch.
Fisch said the Wildcats “practiced the right way, we took care of our teammates” and “we all stayed healthy” during a training camp that started three weeks ago.
Arizona’s scrimmage on Saturday did have one blemish for the Wildcats, and it came in the form of 20 yellow flags for penalties. Twenty of them — 10 on offense, eight on defense and two “in the kicking game.”
Fisch said Arizona’s penalties “were the biggest concern for me” and a “great wake-up call” for the Wildcats. Last season, the Wildcats had the fifth-fewest penalties (65) in the Pac-12 and averaged 5.4 per game.
“All of a sudden, there’s a little bit louder music, you’re in the stadium, you’ve got different situations, you’re not paying attention to the yard markers,” Fisch said. “You don’t realize, ‘Oh, it went from second-and-5 to third-and-10’ ... and you’re not disciplined. ... They know it now. They’ll talk about that, and the leaders in (the locker room) talked about it, and that is not the standard or the expectation. The standard is ... going to be constant. ‘How hard can we go? How much better can we get? What can we do to find a way to become a great football team.’”
Arizona’s rebuilding defense deployed multiple combinations of players on Saturday.
A group that could be a preview of Arizona’s opening-day lineup based on Saturday: Michigan transfer defensive end Taylor Upshaw, UCLA transfer defensive tackle Tyler Manoa, Georgia transfer defensive tackle Bill Norton, rising edge rusher Isaiah Ward, linebacker Jacob Manu, Washington transfer linebacker Daniel Heimuli, cornerback Ephesians Prysock, nickel back Treydan Stukes, safety Gunner Maldonado, safety Dalton Johnson and Cal Poly transfer cornerback Dylan Wyatt, who’s recently ascended as one of the Wildcats’ top defensive backs. Second-year cornerback Tacario Davis is also in the mix to start at cornerback.
Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said the “experienced, very smart” Wyatt, who was referred to him by former USC graduate assistant and current Ole Miss cornerbacks coach Keynodo Hudson, is “like a coach on the field.”
“He’s one of those guys if you tell him (something) in the film room, he’ll get it done on the field; he’s not a rep guy,” Nansen said of Wyatt. “He’s been around a lot of good coaches.”
Ideally, Nansen prefers Arizona’s defensive line rotation to have “eight to nine guys.”
“Like I’ve said, college football now, you’re averaging 85-90 snaps a game. It’s hard,” Nansen said. “Those inside guys, you’re fighting 600 pounds (every snap). ... You gotta rotate these guys and keep them fresh through the fourth quarter.”
The Wildcats periodically sent out four-man platoons and churned out defensive linemen that also included sophomores Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Jacob Kongaika, Russell Davis II, Sterling Lane II, junior college transfer defensive tackle Keanu Mailoto, Indiana transfer defensive tackle Sio Nofoagatoto’a and former Cal edge rusher Orin Patu.
Arizona’s free safety and strong safety positions “are wide open.” The Wildcats blended freshman Genesis Smith, Gunner Maldonado, Isaiah Taylor and Dalton Johnson together in multiple combinations. Junior safety DJ Warnell was sidelined for undisclosed reasons.
The 6-2, 200-pound Smith’s age compared to his veteran counterparts won’t play a factor in who starts in the season opener on Sept. 2 against Northern Arizona, according to Nansen.
“The best guys will play in this program. Don’t matter to me,” Nansen said. “Like I told the guys, if the freshman is the best player, we’re going to play him. Simple as that. Competition brings the best out of people.”
Nansen also added that the “Mike” linebacker between Oregon transfer Justin Flowe and Heimuli is “neck and neck.”
“Best guy is going to play,” he said.
Despite weeks of evaluation, there are plenty of unknowns in Arizona’s defense as the Wildcats head into preparation mode for the season, but it’s “coming along,” said Nansen.
“With these guys, being in the system for a couple years is really helping, so I like where we’re at,” he said.
“Am I pleased? No. There’s a lot of things we need to work on. Too many penalties tonight, that’s not going to help us. ... But one thing I like is that we’re playing with great effort, so I like where we’re at as far as defense.”
Cats add 3-star receiver English
Three-star wide receiver and Scottsdale Saguaro High School standout Deric English signed with the Wildcats as a walk-on.
The 6-4, 210-pound English was a part of the 2023 recruiting cycle and held offers from Louisville, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan State, Florida State and Utah, among others. English suffered multiple severe knee injuries during his high school career. He hasn’t suited up for the Wildcats yet.
“Deric English chose to come and walk on here. He saw this as a great opportunity for him,” Fisch said. “As we know, he had a ton of skill coming out. We know there were a lot of people offering him scholarships and opportunities. This is an opportunity for him to play in his home state. He’s recovering from injury, we realize that.
“We’re going to put him through our rehab program. But when you can get a guy who was as highly-touted coming out and the opportunities he had, we gotta get him healthy, because right now we’re sitting in a situation where he’s coming off a couple (knee injuries).”
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Extra points
Nansen, on Ward, a 6-5, 225-pound redshirt freshman who’s emerging as a potential starter at “Kat,” an edge rusher position previously played by Hunter Echols: “Every day, he’s getting better. ... The challenge is how can you maintain the weight when you’re playing big-time ball with the offensive tackles that are big. That’s going to be challenging for him, but his speed and quickness is going to help him.”
Arizona senior running back Michael Wiley and sophomore Rayshon “Speedy” Luke returned kickoffs. Wiley returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown after fellow running back Jonah Coleman trucked linebacker Brandon Craddock for a critical block.
After the scrimmage, quarterback Jayden de Laura and wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan, Jacob Cowing, Montana Lemonious-Craig and Kevin Green Jr. worked on routes for about 20 minutes.
Cowing had a turnaround catch for a 30-yard touchdown from de Laura in the scrimmage. On a different play, de Laura tossed the ball to running back D.J. Williams, who then turned around to pass back to de Laura before crossing the line of scrimmage for a halfback throwback; de Laura then completed a 33-yard pass to Cowing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona football's defense 'is coming along' as season start looms
