A look at Arizona’s depth chart with Jemarl Baker

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On the eve of their first exhibition, the Arizona Wildcats made a late addition to their 2019-20 roster, learning that Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. is eligible to play this season.

We took a look at what the 6-foot-4 guard can add to the Wildcats, and here is my best stab what their depth looks like now that he’s in the fold. Feel free to tell me why I am wrong in the comment section below.

PG: Nico Mannion/Jemarl Baker Jr.

SG: Max Hazzard/Devonaire Doutrive

SF: Josh Green/Dylan Smith

PF: Zeke Nnaji/Stone Gettings

C: Chase Jeter/Ira Lee/Christian Koloko

Quick thoughts

• Mannion, Green and Jeter are shoe-ins to start assuming they are healthy. Remember, Jeter missed the Red-Blue Game with a strained groin. The other two spots are a lot more fluid. Lee, Gettings or Nnaji could all start at the 4, while Hazzard, Doutrive and Baker are all capable of starting at the 2.
• That said, the backup point guard spot is the most concerning part of the depth chart. All of Arizona’s non-Mannion guards profile more as 2s than 1s. That could cause Arizona’s offense to get stagnant any time Mannion leaves the court.
• Perimeter defense is a big concern as well. The Wildcats do not have one proven high-caliber defender on the wing. Green and Smith are the best candidates, but the former hasn’t played a college game yet while the latter hasn’t provided enough offense to justify his defense.
• The frontcourt has all the pieces you need: Shooting, shot-blocking, depth, athleticism, and interior scoring. It’s just a matter of finding pairings that are the most effective. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gettings or Lee start instead of Nnaji to begin the season since Sean Miller tends to ride with experienced players early in the season.

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Arizona soccer blanked by Cal in Berkeley despite favorable shot differential

Photo by Ryan Kelapire

Abi Kim and Angelina Anderson haunted the Wildcats on Halloween.

Kim created two goals and Anderson made a career-high 10 saves as the Golden Bears staved off Arizona 3-0 on Thursday afternoon in Berkeley. (Cal’s soccer field doesn’t have lights, so kickoff was at 1 p.m. local time.)

Kim’s second-half tallies helped the Bears pull away in a game that was much more competitive than the score indicates.

Arizona outshot Cal 19-7, putting Anderson under duress all match. The three-time Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week was up to the task, making several diving saves on the day.

The Wildcats fall to 10-5-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the Pac-12. Cal improves to 12-3-3 and 4-2-3, respectively.

Arizona was on the front foot in the first half, sending six shots on goal and one off the post.

Jada Talley was especially potent. She made a couple promising runs on the right flank and fired a shot from the left side that Anderson dove to knock away.

Talley and Brooke Wilson had four shots apiece. Jill Aguilera had three. Hannah Clifford had two, including one that clanged off the post in the 34th minute.

“They’re playing a system that’s challenging,” Cal coach Neil McGuire said on Pac-12 Network. “A 3-4-3 against a 4-3-3, they have turned us kind of into a 4-5-1. We’ve got to hold the ball longer, switch the point of attack and get at their backline.”

Yet, it was Cal who grabbed the lead in the 21st minute. A corner kick was deflected toward the top of the box. Antoine Denae pounced on it and ripped a shot past Arizona goalkeeper Hope Hisey.

It was one of just four shots the Bears mustered in the first 45 minutes. Arizona center back Samantha Falasco made a terrific one-v-one tackle in the 11th minute to thwart a promising run by Kim.

“I thought it was a good first half, it was unfortunate we gave up that goal on the corner, but those things can happen,” Arizona coach Tony Amato said on Pac-12 Network. “We created a lot of chances.”

10' - Falasco has some serious guts

Arizona 0, CAL 0 pic.twitter.com/7jUvN4goIF

— Arizona Soccer (@ArizonaSoccer) October 31, 2019

Kim made another run early in the 52nd minute and that time to she was able to beat Falasco and Hallie Pearson before slotting a shot inside the near post.

Kim forced the issue again in the 63rd minute, dashing ahead to collect a ball that was flicked ahead by a midfielder. Kim was in lockstep with Pearson and the pressure led to an own goal.

How fast? Too fast! ⚡️@abi_kim17 ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/y8ewZB8eNp

— Cal Women's Soccer (@CalWSoc) October 31, 2019

Kendyll Humphreys replaced Hisey in net in the 79th minute, her first appearance Sept. 21 vs. TCU.

No such changes were necessary for Cal. Anderson stopped five shots in the second half to preserve the shutout.

Perfect ! @angieandersonnn pic.twitter.com/EBBpclaJ1h

— Cal Women's Soccer (@CalWSoc) October 31, 2019

Arizona heads to Palo Alto on Sunday to battle No. 2 Stanford. The Cardinal (16-1, 8-0) have won 10 in a row and boast a 28-2 goal differential in conference play.

The Wildcats entered the week 28th in RPI, so a loss to 33rd-ranked Cal will likely knock them down a spot or two. A loss to Stanford could actually move them up since the Cardinal are No. 1 in RPI, a metric that takes opponent winning percentage into account.

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What Jemarl Baker adds to Arizona now that he’s eligible to play in 2019-20

Photo courtesy Arizona Athletics

The Arizona Wildcats received some big news Thursday when the NCAA ruled that Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. is eligible to play immediately instead of having to sit out a season.

Here is what Baker can bring to the Wildcats in 2019-20.

3-point shooting

The Wildcats are coming off their worst 3-point shooting season ever under Sean Miller, so major improvement is needed in that area if they want to get where they want to go.

Fortunately, that is Baker’s bread and butter.

His 3-point percentage at Kentucky (31.0) wasn’t good, but it was also in a very small sample size, as he only hoisted 42 triples in 2018-19.

Baker should benefit from having a more consistent role and better health. The former top-100 recruit missed his true freshman season with a meniscus injury and dealt with swelling last season.

“There were a few points where I was healthy, but my body wasn’t always right,” he said at media day. “But my body is right now and I’m just not looking back.”

Adding Nico Mannion and Max Hazzard are other moves Arizona made to bolster its 3-point shooting, but Baker thinks he is a better marksman than both of them.

“Oh, I would say I’m first,” he said. “But we do have a lot of good shooters, though. I’m confident in myself, but we have a lot of great shooters. We have Max, Dylan (Smith) can shoot it really, Nico can shoot, we have a lot of people that can shoot. We also have big men that can shoot.”

Other forms of scoring

Baker had a limited role at Kentucky, one that essentially relegated him to being a spot-up shooter. Only 19 of his 61 field goal attempts were taken inside the arc. He made seven of them.

An expanded role should allow him to unlock the rest of his game, which, according to UA forward and former travel teammate Ira Lee, is pretty expansive.

“That guy is a bucket,” Lee said. “I call him Old Man Buckets, but that’s my partner in crime. We used to do some damage in high school and to have him here now is exciting, plus he’s my roommate too. A lot of people don’t know that. He’s my roommate. He’s one of my best friends. So it’s great to have him. He can do it all. He can score at all three levels, man. Floaters, mid-range step backs, 3s, especially 3s. You’ll see. He’s a pure shooter.”

While confident in his shooting, Baker described his game as “all-around.”

“I feel like I can do everything,” he said. “And although I feel like I can do everything, I’m just going to do whatever Coach Miller wants me to do.”

Depth—and maybe even a backup point guard

With Brandon Williams out for the season and Jordan Brown out due to NCAA transfer rules, the Wildcats would have entered 2019-20 with 10 scholarship players had Baker not been cleared to play. That would have left them in potentially dire shape any time injuries, suspensions, fatigue, and/or foul trouble popped up.

The most notable dearth of depth was in the backcourt. But with Baker now in the mix, Arizona has a deep rotation that also consists of Mannion, Hazzard, Smith and Devonaire Doutrive, who Miller said might be Arizona’s most improved player. Josh Green’s name could be included here too, but he figures to spend more time at the 3.

One of Arizona’s most pressing issues is finding an adequate backup for Mannion at point guard—that would have been Williams’ role—but Baker should be able to help out there too.

‘Right now in practice I’ve been playing the 1 and the 2 and I like both,” he said in late September. “Just whatever Coach Miller wants me to play, I’ll be ready for.”

Baker’s 247Sports recruiting profile described him as a “quickly improving shooting guard who will be able to play some point guard at the next level.”

“His best attribute is his shooting ability,” it reads. “He can really knock down shots off catch and pull from both midrange and 3. He’s more prone to score with his jumper than attacking the basket, but he will find the open lane to the rim if it’s there. He’s more two than one but his handle has improved some and he’s a good passer. He’s a hard worker who has made strides over the last couple of years. He projects as a productive Pac-12 player.”

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Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. eligible to play for Arizona in 2019-20

Photo courtesy Arizona Athletics

Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. has been granted a waiver by the NCAA and will be eligible to play for the Arizona Wildcats in 2019-20 instead of having to sit out a year.

Baker averaged 2.3 points per game in 28 contests at Kentucky last season. He will provide shooting and scoring on the wing, and could possibly start at the 2, helping Arizona make up for the loss of Brandon Williams, who is out for the year after undergoing knee surgery.

We are excited to have Jemarl Baker eligible to play this season. We would like to thank the NCAA for their consideration of Jemarl’s unique situation, and we appreciate the University of Kentucky’s support throughout this process. #BearDown

— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) October 31, 2019

This story will be updated.

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Arizona hosting 5-star forward Ziaire Williams on official visit this weekend

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

When the Arizona Wildcats unofficially open the 2019-20 season Friday vs. Chico State, they will have an important visitor in the stands.

Five-star forward Ziaire Williams is officially visiting the Wildcats this weekend, per Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.

Source to @Stockrisers: Arizona will host five-star senior Ziaire Williams for an official visit this weekend. He’s also in the process of booking an official visit date to Oregon.

— Jake (@jakeweingarten) October 31, 2019

The 6-foot-7 Williams is the No. 5 player in the 2020 class and No. 1 small forward, per 247Sports composite rankings. He attends Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, California.

Williams’ seven finalists are Arizona, Duke, Stanford, USC, Oregon, UCLA and North Carolina, so it bodes for the UA that it received one of five possible official visits.

“Significant physical upside with plenty of room to gain strength,” reads Williams’ 247Sports scouring report. “Athletic wing with good size and decent length. Easily should be able to play both big three and small-ball four at college level. Smooth stroke with ability to hit threes off the catch and pull. More of a one- and two-dribble pull-up shooter than slasher, but has quick first step and good touch around basket. Has multi-positional defensive upside. Adding strength and improving ball skills/aggressiveness will take game to the next level. Easy high major talent with significant NBA upside.”

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Ex-Arizona baseball star Bobby Dalbec talks Team USA, MLB future and life in Red Sox minors

Photo by Zachary Roy/Getty Images

Dalbec was in town over the weekend with Team USA

A little more than three years removed from playing in the deciding game of the College World Series for the Arizona Wildcats, Bobby Dalbec returned to Tucson and Hi Corbett Field last Saturday night when his alma mater hosted Team USA in an exhibition to begin Arizona’s fall season.

Dalbec, who UA coach Jay Johnson referred to after the game as “the most important player of all time” in terms of his coaching career, went 1 for 4 with a single and a walk in his team’s 9-7 victory, and while it probably wasn’t the homecoming the Boston Red Sox prospect had been dreaming of, it’s obvious that things are still on the up and up for the talented corner infielder.

Since he left Arizona at the end of his junior year in 2016, the 24-year-old Dalbec has quickly ascended up the levels of the Red Sox farm system. He earned an invitation to Team USA after hitting an impressive .256/.301/.478 (BA, OBP, Slugging) once he was called up to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox during the 2019 season.

Incredibly, the timing of his invitation to the national team means that the former Wildcat is now well and truly in contention for a place at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics next year.

Next month, Team USA sets off for Mexico for a chance to qualify for next summer’s games.

“He’s going to be a major part of what we do,” Team USA manager Scott Brosius said Saturday.

We caught up with Dalbec at Hi Corbett after his return to Tucson and talked to him about coming back to play his former school, representing his country, what his future has in store and more.

Arizona Desert Swarm: Take us through the process of getting selected for this US Olympic Qualifying Team?

Bobby Dalbec: “It was really simple. With about two or three weeks left in the season I got a call from Paul Seiler (the Executive Director and CEO of USA Baseball) and he said, ‘I want you to come out and play the corners (first and third base) for Team USA to qualify for the Olympics’. After that it was an easy decision for me.”

If this team does qualify, will you automatically be included on the Olympic roster?

“No. They’d like to keep as many guys as possible from this team, I think, but you can’t be on a 40-man roster and play in the big stuff for this like the Olympics. All of us are non 40-man roster guys but if I’m not on (a) 40-man roster during that time then yeah I’d love to come play. If I am on a 40-man then, though, you know they’ll find somebody.”

What’s it feel like to represent your country in something like an Olympic qualifier?

“So far it’s been this great experience. I’ve played with the college national team before, but we didn’t get to go out of country. We’re going to Mexico on Tuesday and then the top two teams out of there go to Tokyo. It’s definitely special and been a lot of fun.”

What changes in your swing lead to a breakout 2019?

“Even though the last couple seasons have been pretty good, I was a lot more consistent this year commanding the strike zone as a hitter. Even after the season I went to Boston and worked with some of the guys up there and cleaned some stuff up. Just continuing to work was really the biggest thing.”

What do you feel like you need to take your career to the next level and get that big league call up?

“You know I feel pretty ready honestly, and I feel good especially with some of the tweaks I’ve made and some of the things I’ve been working on. I think they know I’m close, if not ready, but you know that’s not really up to me. I just have to keep getting better and just do my thing.”

What are your expectations for 2020?

“Obviously I’d like to make my debut, but you know I just want to keep getting better, that’s the way you have to look at it. You really can’t really look into the future too much. You just have to keep grinding every day and get a little bit better.”

Emotions coming back to Hi Corbett?

“It was weird, man. I’ve been back here quite a bit, but not playing against them or really playing in general. Just to kind of get my work in, but tonight was definitely a different feeling. It was cool, very special you know, first time playing here against them. Definitely weird though. That clubhouse over there is a little bit nicer than the visiting one.”

Have you checked out the Terry Francona Hitting Center?

“Yeah, I was actually here at the ceremony the day it opened and it’s an awesome facility. It’s pretty cool to see that Terry donated to do that.”

What did you learn during your time at Arizona?

“The biggest thing was just learning to buy into something. I think Jay (Johnson) is really good at getting people to buy in as a team. You can see tonight how they’re always getting more work in and they’re all out there getting after it from the first pitch. That’s what Jay does. He kind of brings almost that hockey mentality to a baseball team.”

Favorite memory from your time at Arizona?

“I think obviously the College World Series was fun, but I think the day that we were honoring Josh (Knight), the kid that was around the team battling cancer and he passed away. His whole family was out here this one day against UCLA and we walked it off for him. It was a fun team win for him, especially with a lot of his family members and people supporting him and his family there.”

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Oregon State expert previews the Arizona game and makes a prediction

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The Arizona Wildcats return home after a dreadful two-game California trip for a Homecoming tilt against the Oregon State Beavers.

OSU (3-4, 2-3 Pac-12) is coming off a bye, but prior to that it won at Cal for its second straight conference road victory.

To help better understand the Beavers, we reached out to Travis Johannes of SB Nation sister site Building the Dam for some insight. Here’s our Q&A.

It says a lot about how down a program has been when three wins (two in the Pac-12) is considered progress. Is this improvement just the result of variance or does Jonathan Smith have things moving in the right direction?

There is definitely some positive momentum with the program in my opinion. This team has been competitive in almost every game except Utah (maybe Oklahoma State, depending on your definition of competitive). That being said we saw the same thing in Year 2 of Gary Andersen (Beavs went 4-8 with three Pac-12 wins) so we will definitely have to see if they can keep this up.

So as long as Jake Luton can stay healthy he looks like a pretty darn good. What’s been most effective about his play?

The fact that he has only one turnover this season is extremely underrated. He has also improved his mobility from years before. He is by no means Khalil Tate, but he is no longer a statue in the pocket.

Oregon State has some tremendous skill players. How does the offense make sure they all get their touches?

Honestly it’s only really two guys right now. Isaiah Hodgins (no receiver has stepped up as the No. 2 in Trevon Bradford’s place) and RB ArtavisPierce (until Jermar Jefferson returns). That being said it has been very effective. Both Bradford and Jefferson could play this week so we will see how they manage the offense.

Defense still remains a big issue for OSU, something Arizona fans are well-versed in, but there has to be some bright spots. Who should the Wildcats be most concerned about?

Hamiclar Rashed Jr. hasbeen an absolute beast for the defense this year. He will likely be spending some time in the Wildcat backfield on Saturday

Is there any reason why the Beavers have fared so much better on the road than at home?

It’s a weird thing to be honest. Until last year's win at Colorado the Beavs hadn't won a road game since Mike Riley was the man in charge. I have no idea why the team fares better on the road right now, but I hope it continues this weekend.

Prediction time. Who takes this rare day game in Tucson, and is the over a lock?

I’m obviously biased, but I’m gonna say the Beavs pull out a squeaker. This feels like the over is an easy bet, but for some reason I think the teams surprise a bit and maybe some defense shows up and we get a lower score than expected.

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How Samantha Falasco went from last-minute addition to Arizona’s star center back

Photo courtesy Kelani Falasco

Arizona soccer commemorated its seniors last Friday at Agustin Kitchen in downtown Tucson. The celebration featured a montage that recapped some of the fond memories the class has created.

One picture flashed back to the time they visited the UA together as high-school recruits.

Samantha Falasco found it amusing.

“I wasn’t there,” she said. “So it’s just really funny to see the relationships I’ve built and everything that has come about.”

The Newport Beach, California native was a late addition to Arizona’s 2016 recruiting class. Falasco was originally committed to Maryland, but a coaching change in November of her senior year of high school forced her to reopen her recruitment just a few months before signing day.

Panic set in.

“I really thought my life was over,” she said. “I had no idea what to do. I was just talking to other schools, wondering what my options were.”

That she landed at Arizona was pure coincidence. Doing regular recruiting duties, UA associate head coach Paul Nagy dialed up Slammers FC director Ziad Khoury to see if the club had any noteworthy defenders rising through its ranks.

Khoury mentioned Falasco, and Nagy relayed her name to Arizona head coach Tony Amato, who jumped into the mix.

”[Khoury] told me you have to really consider this player because she’s going to start and play for four years,” Amato said. “And he was adamant. He had no doubts.”

Falasco’s father advised her to call the Arizona staff, and the next thing she knew she was on a flight to Tucson to visit the UA.

On the flight home, she knew she would be back.

“It’s what I always envisioned (in a college),” Falasco said. “Everything is right here. I don’t need to go anywhere else, and the whole community is all about college athletics and I just thought that was so special.”

The center back joined the Wildcats a few months later and immediately earned a starting role as a freshman. She has rarely come off the field since.

As Khoury predicted, Falasco has been a four-year starter at Arizona, anchoring one of the best backlines in the Pac-12. Her senior class recently became the first in program history to win 10 or more games in three straight seasons.

“She has been consistent and solid from day one,” Amato said.

Along with being a stabling force in the back, Falasco is a scoring threat on set pieces. She has notched eight goals throughout her career, including some very memorable ones.

Falasco’s header accounted for the game-winner at Arizona State in 2016. The following year, she knocked in game-winning goals against Texas Tech and Oregon, along with the equalizer in the NCAA Tournament win over TCU.

“Sam is the definition of a mature center back,” said junior forward Jada Talley. “She knows our plays, she knows where people are supposed to be, tells people where they’re supposed to be. That’s Sam. I feel safe with her back there.”

Falasco is easy-going off the field but an intense figure on it. Or “mean” as she playfully describes it. That plus her no-one-will-get-past-me mentality is central to her identity as a defender.

“She’s one of the best defenders I’ve honestly ever played with and I think she’s amazing and will never give up,” said junior forward Jill Aguilera. “She’ll put her body on the line no matter what. She could be crawling off the field but she’ll still be blocking the ball and not letting the ball go in the goal, and I think that’s something to applaud her for. A lot of people don’t recognize her. You see week after week Defensive Player of the Week in the Pac-12 and she’s always one of the names who got honorable mention. We as a team definitely recognize her for that even if the Pac-12 doesn’t.”

Falasco is sad that her college career is winding down, but is also appreciative that she has made it this far.

Had it been up to her, she would have quit soccer when she was 11. Fortunately, her parents pushed her to stick with it. Their persistence irked her at the time, but she is grateful for it now.

”I just didn’t feel that this was for me,” Falasco said.

The game had crushed her confidence. Falasco was always one of the best, most athletic players on the field, but suddenly she was a step slower than her 11-year-old counterparts.

Heavier, too. To the point she’d get asked if she was pregnant.

“I wasn’t the healthiest eater, but it was never to a point where I’m like, OK, I’m the issue. I’m eating bad,” Falasco said. “I just didn’t feel like my normal self. I just remember I was always looking at myself like, what’s going on with me? And then I would always have really bad stomach pain.”

Doctors discovered that Falasco had a hernia. She was sent for an ultrasound, which revealed something much more serious—an eight-pound ovarian tumor.

“I bawled,” Falasco said. “I was so scared, so sad. I didn’t understand what it meant.”

In a weird way, the diagnosis was a relief too. She finally knew why she had been in a funk. Falasco underwent emergency surgery and returned to the soccer field a few weeks later with a new appreciation for the game.

”I just realized from there that this is what I want to do, that this is what I love to do,” she said.

Falasco took up the sport when she was 4. She was overly energetic as a toddler and her parents saw soccer as a way to tire her out.

It turned out to be one of the many activities that have stoked her competitive fire. Falasco grew up with five siblings and was always sparring with them in something, whether it was board games or video games.

“On Christmas, we always got Rock Band so we’d always add in a new instrument every year,” she said. “We’d always play that and make it a competition. Like oh, I can get 100 percent or something like that. So it was always like different small, little things, but it was fun.”

Yet, none of those things empowered Falasco the way soccer has.

“I’ll get in tackles and the girls will fall over and I’m still standing up,” she said. “I just think that’s the coolest thing ever. I feel so strong.”

It’s the same kind of rush forwards get when they score goals, though defensive plays don’t garner the same attention. Hence how Falasco flew under the radar during her club career and why Arizona didn’t recruit her until it was almost too late.

“She’s not someone who always jumps off the page in terms of stats or recognition in the [Pac-12], and I don’t think it was much different for her in club,” Amato said. “She’s always really good back there and consistent, and her coach knew that because he worked with her every day and that’s how it’s played out for her here.”

Falasco can only say her Arizona career has exceeded her expectations because she hardly had any. She thought her life was over when her commitment to Maryland fell through, but really her best years were just getting started.

“It was such a last-minute decision and I didn’t realize what it was going to be like,” she said. “But I’ve made the most amazing friends who have just been with me through everything that I’ve experienced so far, and I think that’s just so special. I’ve gotten an experience here that not many people get to have, and I think that creates the best four years ever.”

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Nico Mannion, Josh Green projected as first-round picks in SI’s 2020 NBA mock draft

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Wildcats should soak in every moment of the Nico Mannion-Josh Green era because it’s probably not going to last very long.

Sports Illustrated released its first 2020 NBA Mock Draft on Wednesday and both are projected to be first-round picks.

SI’s Jeremy Woo projects Mannion will be selected 11th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Green will picked 24th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here is a portion of Woo’s analysis for Mannion:

While Mannion has grown to 6’3” and his body has begun to fill out, scouts have understandable questions about how well his game translates athletically at the highest level. His upside is somewhat capped by the fact he’ll never be a physically dominant playmaker. But his savvy and change of speeds has gotten him to this point, and as long as his jump shooting continues to progress well, Mannion should be able to carve out a pro career of some substance. There’s an it factor to his game that has always popped.

Here’s part of what Woo has to say about Green:

He’s a well-rounded wing and elite run-jump athlete who could be a useful glue guy at the next level. The Australian native will likely have to make his money on defense, where his length and physicality could make a difference, and where he’s shown a commitment to being a stopper in the past. To maximize his potential on the other end, his offense needs to improve in all facets, including cleaning up a somewhat basic handle and demonstrating consistency as a jump shooter. Green has a decent feel and should be able to finish plays, but if he can’t generate offense for himself or others, some of his upside will be capped.

The other Wildcat who could get drafted in 2020 is fellow freshman Zeke Nnaji, who has been impressing in practice, recently winning the gold jersey. At 6-foot-11 with good mobility and a diverse skill set, he is a nice fit for this pace-and-space era of basketball.

But he will have to prove himself this season because he does not enter college with the same kind of pedigree as Mannion and Green, who were McDonald’s All-Americans.

Arizona, by the way, is not the only Pac-12 school to have two players projected to be first-rounders. Washington freshman Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart are projected to be picked 10th and 14th, respectively.

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First look at the Oregon State Beavers

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

An afternoon kickoff for Homecoming is a real treat

The losing streak continues but the Arizona Wildcats look to put that to a grinding halt as they host the Oregon State Beavers for Homecoming. And what a time for the Wildcats to return home for what should be a “get-right game”.

Saturday’s kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

Here’s a quick look at the Beavers.

2019 Record: 3-4 (2-2 Pac-12)

Key Games:

• Week 2 loss at Hawaii (31-28)
• Week 5 loss vs. Stanford (31-28)
• Week 6 win at UCLA (48-31)
• Week 9 win at Cal (21-17)

Key Offensive Players: Jake Luton (QB), Artavis Pierce (RB), Isaiah Hodgins (WR), Blake Brandel (LT)

Key Defensive Players: Avery Roberts (LB), Hamilcar Rashed Jr. (LB), Shawn Wilson (S), Jaydon Grant (CB)

Senior quarterback Jake Luton has been having a career year. Through the first seven games, he has recorded 1,602 passing yards while completing 59 percent of his passes and maintains a 16-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Luton’s backfield counterpart, Artavis Pierce, is also having an impressive season to date. He has logged 709 total yards and has found the end zone six times. Also, at running back is Jermar Jefferson, who has been productive when healthy.

Jefferson is questionable to play in this matchup, but if he does he will make for a one-two punch with Pierce.

Isaiah Hodgins is the name to watch within the receiving corp. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound receiver has accounted for 38 and 44 percent of the teams’ total catches and total receiving yards, respectively. He also has 10 of the Beavers’ 18 receiving touchdowns.

Defensively speaking, OSU has really struggled. The Beavers rank 95th in total defense, allowing 426.9 yards per game, and they check in at 99th in scoring defense in allowing 31.6 points per game.

With that being said, they do have a few nice pieces. Linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr. is third in the nation in sacks per game (1.29), logging nine in seven games. He and fellow linebacker Avery Roberts lead the team in tackles with 43 apiece.

The names to know in the secondary are safety Shawn Wilson and cornerbacks Jaydon Grant and Nahshon Wright.

Wilson one of the senior leaders of the team. He leads the secondary in tackles with 29. The return of safety David Morris may eat into some of the playing time for Wilson but watch for the balance between those two.

Sophomores Grant and Wright have been key contributors to the defense this season. They have combined for 43 tackles, two interceptions and a sack.

Oregon State has certainly improved from last year. In spite of its current 3-4 record it has been much more competitive in these games than what we saw last year.

However, the Beavers still face a tall task in stealing a victory on Homecoming weekend in Tucson. Yes, the Wildcats haven’t looked great over the last three weeks but they should still be able to take care of business in this one.

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What Arizona players said about Marcel Yates’ firing, Chuck Cecil’s promotion to defensive coordinator

Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

A select number of Arizona Wildcats players were available to the media Tuesday for the first time since defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and linebackers coach John Rushing were fired and replaced by analysts Chuck Cecil and Hank Hobson, respectively,

Here is what they had to say about the move. More can be read about it here.

Junior safety Jarrius Wallace on Yates’ firing: “Shocking at first. Not expecting that but it’s kind of understanding that it’s a part of the business and those type of things happen...and we have the rest of the season to focus on.”

Wallace on Cecil’s message to the team: “The message he gave us was we can’t control will happen and let’s go and try to win these last few games.”

Wallace on the changes he expects Cecil to make: “I don’t think nothing will change defensively. The big change is that we just need to win. Play better, play with more chemistry and make things better.”

Wallace on Cecil’s legacy: “When he first got the job (as an analyst), I got to find out who he was and I watched his highlight tape. He was a good football player and everyone knows that he went to the league. So it’s good to have that person come on staff with that experience, and plus he played here so it’s kind of cool.”

Wallace on his relationship with Cecil: “I talked to him a lot. I always used to go ask him questions about other ways I can do things as a defensive player that will help me. He used to be standing on the sidelines or coming around and I see him in the facility, so I asked him questions and we’ll talk. He’ll ask me personal questions, like he got to know me, asked what my nickname was and things like that.

Senior cornerback Jace Whittaker on Yate’s firing: “Nobody saw it coming. It’s hard when you develop a relationship with somebody like that, you have respect for somebody like that who taught you so much about the game. But you understand it’s a business aspect and it’s what’s best for the team.”

Whittaker on if the players feel responsible for Yates losing his job: “No, it’s a business. You have a job to do. If I don’t perform the way I’m supposed to, I get replaced. It’s a nasty nature of the business. ... I believe what Coach Sumlin did was for the best of the team. And it was in the best interest of the team, to protect the team. That’s the number one rule. Protect the team at all costs. Was the performance its best? No. Could we have done better? Yes. Is it on the coaches? Not 100 percent. It’s on the players, and a lot of it goes hand in hand.”

Whittaker on Cecil’s message: “Four games left. Fight. It’s football, still. Things change here in our facility, but things don’t change outside in between those lines. The team is coming into our home field and we still gotta play football.”

Whittaker on Cecil: “It’s something about his his aura. And the energy he brings every single day. I mean, he’s a legend everywhere you look around campus, his name in the space is on it. So that’s somebody to look up to.

“I ask him questions all the time. His door is always open. He’s always giving you tips on how to get better, so the transition process isn’t too difficult when you’ve had somebody here who you trust. And now he’s in the position to lead the defense. It’s kind of nice.”

Whittaker on what kind of questions he asks Cecil: “Being a leader. Two years ago, he told me I needed to get on special teams.”

Whittaker on how the team can stay focused amid the coaching changes: “Try not to follow you on Twitter. You go through the routine you’ve set up at the beginning of the season The routing is watch film, you watch film, you watch film, you practice, you watch film, you watch film, and it’s staying on track. You control the things you can control. It’s that simple.”

Junior safety Scottie Young Jr. on Yates’ firing: “It was shocking to me because he recruited me, he recruited a lot of guys here. It was shocking, but we just gotta get ready for Oregon State this week.”

Young on if he has talked to Yates since his firing: “I have not. I know his phone is probably been getting blown up a lot since Sunday, but no I’m just trying to focus on the game this week. I plan on reaching out to him as soon as possible.”

Young on how he heard the news: ”I found out through Colin (Schooler). Colin had told me and then it kind of spread like wildfire after that.”

Young on if the players feel responsible: “For sure. I mean, as Coach Sumlin explained in his meeting, we’ve given up 141 points in the last three games, so obviously we’re on the field. It’s never good. I talked to the players after the game against Stanford and giving up 41 points, that ain’t gonna win us nothing. So it’s not always on the coaches. Sometimes you got to take responsibility as a player too.”

Young on Cecil’s message: “He just told us he didn’t really plan on changing anything. Obviously with four games left you can’t really change nothing. Just keep everything simple. I mean, just keep on playing hard and let’s just get ready for these next few games.”

Young on what he wants to see from the defense moving forward: “Consistency. I mean, a few weeks ago I came up here and told you guys that I believe that we can be a dominant defense. I mean, we put it up there on film. And I still believe that to this day. I mean, we just gotta be consistent in what we do. Execute, that’s the biggest thing.”

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Arizona players ‘shocked’ by Marcel Yates’ firing, but know a change was necessary

Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sunday is normally a day of rest for the Arizona Wildcats, a chance to recover from Saturday’s game and get prepared to start up again on Monday.

But this past Sunday was a little different for Arizona, particularly for those on the defensive side of the ball when they learned coordinator Marcel Yates and linebackers coach John Rushing had been fired. In their place were a pair of analysts, Chuck Cecil and Hank Hobson, former UA players who had been with the program for the past few seasons.

“It was shocking,” junior safety Scottie Young Jr. said of the news. “Coach Yates, he recruited me, he recruited a lot of guys here.”

Young said he heard about the firings from fellow junior linebacker Colin Schooler, and then after that the news “kind of spread like wildfire.” Coach Kevin Sumlin said he spoke with a few players on Sunday about the changes, but it wasn’t until Monday afternoon’s team meeting that the entire roster got a formal explanation and were addressed by their new coaches.

“Nobody saw it coming,” senior cornerback Jace Whittaker said. “It’s hard when you develop a relationship with somebody like that, you have respect for somebody like that who taught you so much about the game. But you understand it’s a business aspect and it’s what’s best for the team.”

Yates and Rushing were let go in the wake of Arizona’s 41-31 loss at Stanford, its third straight defeat during which it allowed 133 points. The Wildcats are giving up 35 points per game, last in the Pac-12, and only four FBS teams have allowed more opponents to score 30 in a game than the six times Arizona has.

“Could we have done better? Yes,” Whittaker said. “Is it on the coaches? Not 100 percent. It’s on the players, and a lot of it goes hand in hand.”

Young said he’s yet to reach out to his former coach, but will soon. For the meantime, though, he’s trying to focus on the immediate, namely Saturday’s Homecoming game against Oregon State.

“We’ve got to block out the outside noise,” Young said.

Added junior safety Jarrius Wallace: “I’m just worrying about winning the next football game.”

Cecil, a consensus All-American and Pac-10 defensive player of the year in 1987, had been serving as a senior defensive analyst since 2017. That meant he had some involvement in the gameplan each week, which Whittaker said can only help make the changeover go smoothly.

“The transition process isn’t too difficult when you have someone who’s been here who you can trust,” Whittaker said, noting that in the past Cecil has suggested things he could change about his game. “He didn’t hold back on telling me what I could do better. Two years ago he told me I needed to get on special teams.”

There’s also great respect for Cecil, thanks to his place in Arizona football history as a player as well as his enthusiasm as a coach.

“He’s an exciting person, he’s fun to be around,” Young said. “Everybody knows him, everybody respects him. He’s very passionate. He brings a certain type of fire.”

Said Whittaker: “It’s something about his aura and the energy he brings every single day. He’s a legend, everywhere you look around campus, his name and his face is on it.”

On Monday, Sumlin indicated that no wholesale changes are expected to accompany the coaching ones, particularly of the schematic variety. Mostly, he just expects Cecil’s unit to play with more energy.

The players seem to feel the same way.

“I don’t think nothing will change defensively,” Wallace said. “The big change is that we just need to win. Play better, play with more chemistry and make things better.”

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Ex-Arizona kicker Nick Folk signs with Patriots

Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images

The Arizona Wildcats don’t have many active players in the NFL, but their small number just increased by one.

The New England Patriots have signed former UA kicker Nick Folk, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

The #Patriots are signing free agent K Nick Folk, source said. Most recently, he held the AAF record for longest field goal at 55 yards. He’s also played for the #Bucs, #Jets and #Cowboys.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2019

Folk, 34, last appeared in an NFL game in 2017 when he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He entered the league with the Dallas Cowboys, who took him in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, playing three seasons for Dallas, then spent 2010-16 with the New York Jets.

For his career, Folk has made 80.3 percent of his field goals and 98.8 percent of his extra points.

With Arizona from 2003-06, Folk made 30 field goals (including 15 as a senior) and was 79 of 81 on extra points.

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Arizona soccer notebook: On a big leap in RPI, Talley’s Pac-12 honor, Cal and Stanford, and Cavarra’s luck

Jada Talley | Photo by Ryan Kelapire

Arizona soccer jumped nine spots, from 37th to 28th, in the RPI rankings this week after sweeping the Oregon schools at home. That means if the season ended today the Wildcats would likely host the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

They did not, however, receive any votes in the latest coaches poll, a recurring theme this season.

“Even though we’re not super high in the RPI, we’re not ranked anymore, I just feel like we’re not a team to take lightly,” forward Jada Talley said Sunday. “You can look at our stats, look at our scores, look at our film, we come to play every time we come out.”

That is certainly true for Talley. The junior notched four goals and two assists against the Oregon schools, leading her to be named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.

Talley is the first UA player to receive a conference honor this season. She is averaging two points per game since the start of conference play, tied for second-most in the Pac-12.

“She’s on a roll, she’s a beast,” said midfielder Kelcey Cavarra. “I count on her so much, and whatever she’s doing, she’s got to keep doing it for us because we have big games [this] week.”

The Wildcats are set to travel to the Bay Area to face Cal (11-3-3, 3-2-3) and No. 2 Stanford (15-1, 8-0) on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. It is arguably the toughest road trip in the conference.

Arizona is 3-0-2 in its last five against the Golden Bears, who are 33rd in RPI and have more than doubled their win total from last season.

“I think we’re pretty confident,” said senior defender Samantha Falasco. “We usually have a pretty good result against Cal since I’ve been here, and I know what our team is capable of, so I’m not worried in any way. And obviously the results at Stanford aren’t the best, but I still think we play very well as a team.”

Arizona is 2-23 all-time against Stanford, including 13 straight losses, but nobody has a good track record against the Cardinal.

Especially this season.

Led by Pac-12 goals and assists leader Catarina Macario, Stanford has won 10 straight and has not conceded a goal in seven straight.

The good news is the Cardinal are No. 1 in RPI, so the Wildcats’ postseason hopes won’t take a hit no matter what transpires in Palo Alto.

“Stereotypically, they’re Stanford, they’re the best,” Falasco said. “But it’s just like we have nothing to lose and we might as well just give it all we got.”

Cavarra’s senior season “a tease”

Cavarra described her senior season, individually, as “torture” and “a tease.” With three games left in the regular season, she only has one goal to her name—the game-winner at Washington State—but should have many, many more.

The defensive midfielder has repeatedly been the victim of bad luck this season. She’s seen several goals waved off by the linesman, including one vs. Oregon, and Sunday against Oregon State had two shots knocked away at the goal line.

But her team won and that’s all she cares about in her last go-around.

“If it’s not my goal, I’m glad other people are scoring and putting the ball in the back of the net,” Cavarra said. “As long as we’re winning, my individual stats don’t really matter. It’d be nice to have them, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter.”

.@kelceylc3 missed out on yet another goal Sunday when Oregon State’s keeper made a diving save.

She joked that this season has been “a tease.”

But... “as long we’re winning my individual stats don’t matter.” pic.twitter.com/bObXQrmfSy

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) October 27, 2019

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Arizona women’s basketball notebook: On cracking the Top 25, McDonald’s Pac-12 honor, Pellington playing for Canada, and more

Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s been a busy week for Arizona women’s basketball. As they get ready to face Eastern New Mexico in their only exhibition game of the season, they have been reacting to preseason honors and Olympic dreams.

Aari McDonald named to preseason All-Pac-12 team by the media

While Arizona power forward Cate Reese was seeing her name on the preseason Katrina McClain Award watch list on Oct. 24, teammate Aari McDonald was being named one of the top five players in the conference.

The Pac-12 announced that McDonald was one of the honorees on the preseason All-Pac-12 team as voted on by members of the media who cover the sport.

Here is the preseason All-Pac-12 team selected by media covering the league!

Read here: https://t.co/S3e6OE5arC#Pac12WBB | #BackThePac pic.twitter.com/rfxvnuYAxh

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 24, 2019

This wasn’t the first preseason accolade for McDonald. On Tuesday, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that she was one of 20 shooting guards to make the preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list.

McDonald joined Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere, and Oregon State’s Mikayla Pivec on the preseason All-Pac-12 team. Ionescu was the only unanimous selection on the team.

The media agrees with the coaches

The conference also announced the media’s preseason rankings on Thursday. Just as the coaches predicted at the beginning of the month, the press placed Arizona at No. 6 in the league. Once again, Oregon was overwhelmingly chosen to win the league, while one voter gave the nod to Stanford.

The media and coaches polls were almost identical except for one change at the bottom of the league. While the coaches expect California to finish next-to-last in the conference, the press placed them tenth, flipping Washington State to No. 11.

.@OregonWBB tabbed the favorite to win the 2019-20 #Pac12WBB title by media covering the league!

Read here: https://t.co/2VrIBmv1Ju#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/HMjWQAShCb

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 24, 2019

espnW ranks Arizona in their top 25

It’s not just media members in the Pac-12 communities that are taking notice, either. On Monday, espnW released their preseason Top 25. Arizona came in at No. 19.

While it’s not the AP poll or the national coaches poll, it’s still a big deal for a program that last made one of those national polls in 2004. The poll is voted on by Charlie Creme, Michelle Voepel, and Graham Hays, all of whom cover women’s college basketball for ESPN.

Wildcat fans may also take satisfaction in the fact that ESPN’s team didn’t rank their rivals up north. Although ASU is ranked above Arizona in both the Pac-12 cocahes and media polls, the other Pac-12 teams who landed on the list are No. 1 Oregon, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon State, and No. 12 UCLA.

Also of interest to Arizona fans is No. 15 Texas. The Wildcats will travel to Austin to face the Longhorns in November.

Shaina Pellington named to Team Canada again

Former Oklahoma guard Shaina Pellington is sitting out this year due to NCAA transfer rules. That doesn’t mean that she’s not working on basketball goals, though.

Arizona coach Adia Barnes has talked about how important Pellington is in practice because she has what so many lack: the ability to keep up with McDonald—at least sometimes.

Those skills aren’t just helping Pellington in Tucson. They’re also serving her well back in her native Canada.

Pellington was one of 16 players named to the Canadian national team that will compete in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Americas Tournament. That tournament will be held in Edmonton, Alberta between Nov. 14-17.

The tournament is part of the qualifying rounds that will form the field for the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo. Pellington is one of only four amateur athletes to make the squad.

Facing the crowd

On Sunday, the Wildcats played in front of their fans for the first time since cutting down the nets as postseason WNIT champions last season. Almost 2,000 people turned out to see the new Wildcats face Eastern New Mexico in their only exhibition game of the season.

Barnes related the support back to that WNIT run.

“Winning the WNIT, it gave us momentum, confidence,” Barnes said after watching her team defeat ENMU 85-38. “(It) helped, I think, in the community with fans. I mean, there’s never usually 2,000 fans at exhibition games.”

The program made more reserved season tickets available this year after fans demanded them. They had already sold almost 2,600 season tickets at the end of September and were aiming for 3,000.

“We were talking about 1,000 the first year,” Barnes said at that time. “We’ve already sold all the courtside seats. We’ve already reserved and opened up three more sections.”

The regular season gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 5 when Arizona hosts North Dakota. That game will start at 6:30 p.m. MST and is available on Arizona Live Stream.

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Arizona drops from most bowl projections after Stanford loss

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

A once promising season is likely to end below .500, according to experts

It was only a few weeks ago that a 4-1 Arizona Wildcats team was in seven out of eight major bowl projections. Add three straight losses and a tough finishing schedule, and now the Wildcats are down to two of eight.

Here are bowl projections from the country’s experts after Week 9:

• 247Sports’ Brad Crawford: No bowl
• CBS’ Jerry Palm: No bowl
• CollegeFootballNews: No bowl
• ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: No bowl
• ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: No bowl
• SB Nation/Banner Society’s Jason Kirk: No bowl
• Sporting News’ Bill Bender: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl vs. Pitt (played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN)
• Stadium’s Brett McMurphy: Belk Bowl vs. Louisville (played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC)

Having only two of eight experts projecting Arizona to make a bowl is disconcerting, but it’s made worse by the fact that both bowl slots would only be open if the SEC didn’t fill all of its bowl slots.

Arizona absolutely has to win this weekend against Oregon State during homecoming. After a bye, they’ll then have to win either at Oregon, vs. Utah, or at Arizona State. ASU jumps out as the most likely win there, but it’s still in Tempe and the Sun Devils are still probably the better team.

After the Stanford loss, I’m thinking Arizona has about a 15% chance to make a bowl this season, and I believe that’s mildly generous. We’ll see if the new QB platoon system or having Chuck Cecil coaching the defense will improve those odds.

What do you think?

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Arizona football unveils Dick Tomey-themed hype video, Desert Swarm throwbacks for Homecoming game vs. Oregon State

The Arizona Wildcats may have lost three straight games, and their bowl hopes are getting smaller by the week, but there’s still a lot to be excited about for Saturday’s game against the Oregon State Beavers.

For one, it’s Homecoming. It’s a day game, the first at home since last year’s Territorial Cup, and Arizona is set to wear special throwback jerseys honoring the Desert Swarm era.

And it will mark the debut of new defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil, elevated from an analyst role on Sunday after Kevin Sumlin fired Marcel Yates along with linebackers coach John Rushing (with former Arizona LB Hank Hobson taking over his job).

Now here’s another reason to get excited about Saturday’s game: a Dick Tomey-inspired hype video courtesy of Arizona’s athletic department.

This week we honor those who came before us.
Wildcats for Life. Bear Down Arizona!
️ #BuildingTheA | #BackTheA | #OneArizona pic.twitter.com/zzUOKQQlmw

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) October 29, 2019

The 88-second video is narrated by ex-Arizona great Tedy Bruschi, one of dozens of Tomey-era players featured wearing the old-school blue jerseys the Wildcats will don against the Beavers. And based on the video, Arizona is also bringing back the red-and-blue stripe on its white helmet.

Tomey, who passed away earlier this year, has had the practice field next to the Davis Sports Center named in his honor. Based on this video, further remembrances of Arizona’s all-time winningest coach are likely on Saturday.

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Arizona football drops Dick Tomey-themed hype video ahead of Homecoming game vs. Oregon State

The Arizona Wildcats may have lost three straight games, and their bowl hopes are getting smaller by the week, but there’s still a lot to be excited about for Saturday’s game against the Oregon State Beavers.

For one, it’s Homecoming. It’s a day game, the first at home since last year’s Territorial Cup, and Arizona is set to wear special throwback jerseys honoring the Desert Swarm era.

And it will mark the debut of new defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil, elevated from an analyst role on Sunday after Kevin Sumlin fired Marcel Yates along with linerbackers coach John Rushing (with former Arizona LB Hank Hobson taking over his job).

Now here’s another reason to get excited about Saturday’s game: a Dick Tomey-inspired hype video courtesy of Arizona’s athletic department.

This week we honor those who came before us.
Wildcats for Life. Bear Down Arizona!
️ #BuildingTheA | #BackTheA | #OneArizona pic.twitter.com/zzUOKQQlmw

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) October 29, 2019

The 88-second video is narrated by ex-Arizona great Tedy Bruschi, one of dozens of Tomey-era players featured wearing the old-school blue jerseys the Wildcats will don against the Beavers. And based on the video, Arizona is also bringing back the red-and-blue stripe on its white helmet.

Tomey, who passed away earlier this year, has had the practice field next to the Davis Sports Center named in his honor. Based on this video, further remembrances of Arizona’s all-time winningest coach are likely on Saturday.

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Arizona to continue rotating Khalil Tate and Grant Gunnell in two-quarterback system

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

There are a lot of moving parts in the Arizona Wildcats’ football program right now.

Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and linebackers coach John Rushing were fired after Saturday’s 41-31 loss to Stanford, and on the other side of the ball the Wildcats are still sorting out their quarterback situation.

Arizona used both senior Khalil Tate and freshman Grant Gunnell against the Cardinal, a 1-2 punch that head coach Kevin Sumlin was impressed by—and wants to see more of.

“We feel comfortable with both those guys,” he said. “We’ll work through it during the week, and I think more than anything else our team feels comfortable with both of them because they’ve seen both of them operate in pressure situations and then on the road or in different areas.

“So that’s going to continue and I kind of like it. I kind of like the competition. They’re two different guys and I think in the first half, they showed that they were two different people. (Khalil) took it and ran for 60-some yards, the other guy was 5 for 5 on his drive in an RPO system. I think it also creates some issues for people to prepare.”

But not his players. Sumlin said it was always the plan for Gunnell to enter in the third series of the game, though Tate said Saturday he knew “it was a probability” and that he “wasn’t sure how exactly it was going to work out.”

Tate went 8 for 10 for 117 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters, along with the aforementioned long TD run.

Gunnell started 5 for 5 for 50 yards, looking calm and collected in the pocket while delivering accurate throws.

Then the wheels fell of a bit in a second half in which the Wildcats could only muster 10 points. Tate, who fired 10 straight incompletions at one point, finished 17 for 33 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions plus 107 rushing yards.

Gunnell, who only played one series in the second half, finished 7 for 7 for 68 yards and a touchdown. His biggest mistake was taking a sack to push the Wildcats out of field goal range early in the fourth quarter.

It is fair to wonder how the QB rotation affected the rhythm of the offense, so Sumlin said the way Arizona will use its signal-callers is “something we’re going to continue to investigate.”

“But obviously both of those guys are capable of being successful and how we manage that, everybody is gonna second guess,” he said. “But there’s a lot of people that (play two quarterbacks) at every level, and I think the important thing is, although we did not win the game, I thought that both of them, because of the change of pace and because you take pressure off of a guy, were extremely effective, particularly in the first half.”

When asked if he wished he would have gotten Gunnell into the mix earlier in the season, Sumlin was clear that he didn’t think the freshman was ready for the role he has now.

“Grant’s a lot different player [now] than he was Week 1,” Sumlin said. “That’s just being honest.”

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Kevin Sumlin explains why Arizona fired defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, promoted Chuck Cecil

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

When Kevin Sumlin was hired by the Arizona Wildcats last year he brought with him an almost entirely new coaching staff. The most notable exception was defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, who despite two subpar years on the job was retained.

Also kept on from the Rich Rodriguez era was Chuck Cecil, a former UA star who served as a senior defensive analyst.

Now Cecil is Arizona’s interim defensive coordinator following Sumlin’s decision Sunday to fire Yates and linebackers coach John Rushing. In addition to Cecil’s promotion, analyst Hank Hobson, another former UA player, was elevated to a full-time position to handle the linebackers.

Why make the move, and why do it now? On Monday, Sumlin went into great detail on the decision to shuffle his defensive staff with four games left in the 2019 season.

“My job is to give our team the best chance to win,” he said. “As I evaluate where we are, our players have not quit. Our players are playing hard and I owe it to them to try and get the best situation that I can give our players this week. We want to win every game.”

Sumlin cited the 133 points allowed by Arizona’s defense in the past three games, all losses, including last Saturday’s 41-31 loss at Stanford, as a big reason for the change. For the season the Wildcats are allowing 35 points per game, last in the Pac-12, and they’re second-to-last in total defense.

“What we want to do is give our players and our fans a chance to win this season and to get to postseason play,” Sumlin said. “That’s why the decision was made and the decision was about.”

Arizona is 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12 heading into Saturday’s Homecoming game against Oregon State. The Wildcats must win two of their final four games to be bowl-eligible, though after a bye Nov. 9 they play back-to-back games against Top 10 schools (Oregon and Utah) before finishing with the Territorial Cup at 5-3 ASU.

While Sumlin didn’t bring Yates to Arizona, they did know each other well. When Sumlin was at Texas A&M he hired Yates as a secondary coach in 2012, with Yates leaving before the 2014 season to become Boise State’s defensive coordinator.

“It’s always difficult when you have to have that conversation with another man,” Sumlin said. “As much time as you spend together, particularly in this business, which is not an 8-to-5 job. It’s business for big boys, grown men.”

As far as Cecil goes, Sumlin and he hadn’t crossed paths as coaches but he was well aware of Cecil’s lineage as both a UA star—he played for the Wildcats from 1984-87, going from a walk-on to a consensus All-American and Pac-10 defensive player of the year as a senior—and as a coach in the NFL. Cecil was part of Jeff Fisher’s staffs with the Tennessee Titans from 2003-10 and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams from 2012-16.

“Here’s a guy who has been a defensive coordinator at the highest level,” Sumlin said. “Been an assistant coach, played for years. He’s got some knowledge in certain situations. Just for us right now, I think that he and Hank give us an opportunity to go in a different direction, not dramatically. Not a wholesale change, but just from an energy (standpoint) and as a spark plug. They’ve been in the (defensive) room, they know the issues.

“More than anything else, he understands the verbage, so you don’t have to have a full-scale change (to) the communication piece.”

This is the first time in Sumlin’s 12 years as a head coach that he’s made an in-season staff change, though he’s experienced the situation from the other side. In 2002 at Texas A&M he was promoted from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator after four games.

“As I told Chuck yesterday, I’ve been through this,” Sumlin said. “Coach (R.C.) Slocum called me in and said ‘be ready to run the offense tomorrow.’”

Ironically, the coordinator Sumlin took over for was Dino Babers, the current Syracuse head coach who prior to joining A&M had been on Arizona’s staff from 1995-2000.

Sumlin said he spoke Sunday to a handful of players about the change—“they’re ready to roll,” he said—but Monday afternoon was going to be the first time for the entire team to be briefed. It will also be the first chance for Cecil to address his defense as a whole.

No reason was given for Rushing’s firing, though that move might have been more about getting Hobson into a greater role than anything else. Hobson played 46 games as a reserve linebacker for Arizona from 2011-14 before taking on a graduate assistant position in 2015.

“He’s loyal, he’s been here,” Sumlin said of Hobson. “He was a good player here, he’s seen a lot of different things. A younger guy that has energy, communicating with the players he’s done a good job with that. He’s probably as excited as anybody to wake up on Sunday morning and be a full-time Division I football coach, (to do so) that quickly is a big deal. He’s been there and done it here, cares about this university a great deal. He’s going to work his tail off.”

Making the staff changes now presumably enables Cecil and Hobson to be more involved in recruiting. The early signing period is less than two months away, and with Arizona having a bye next week the new coaches can get out on the road during that time off.

Sumlin, though, says recruiting didn’t play any role in the timing. He followed that up with a veiled recruiting pitch for prospects that Yates and Rushing may have been the primary contact for.

“The recruiting is not going to change for me, just because I’m extremely involved in it,” Sumlin said. “I’m going to make the phone calls, the text messages … and be at these games. The constant should be the head coach, and that relationship with the head coach becomes the most important.”

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