No. 20 Arizona: The Wildcat defense needs to make strides in 2015
Dr. Saturday will unveil its preseason Top 25 team-by-team during the next 25 days. This list is based on returning starters, schedule and prospects. However, we all know that once the games begin, things can change very quickly. Still, we thought we’d give our best guess heading into the 2015 season.
No. 20 Arizona
2014 record: 10-4, 7-2 Pac 12
Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense
2015 Outlook: Rich Rodriguez has become a bit of a miracle worker in Tucson.
In the past three seasons, the Wildcats have won 26 games, the highest number of wins during a three-year period in school history. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 South a year ago, the school’s first outright championship since 1941, and posted double-digit wins for the first time since 1998.
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And all of this came in dramatic fashion with the Wildcats winning six games by seven or fewer points.
However, that luck seemed to run out at the end of the year as the Wildcats suffered a lopsided defeat to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship and a loss to Group of Five opponent Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Wildcats return quarterback Anu Solomon, the first consecutive quarterback starter since Nick Foles in 2010-11, but his offensive line needs to be reworked. Only two starters — left guard Cayman Bundage and right guard Jacob Alsadek — remain. Cal transfer Freddie Tagaloa will start at left tackle and Lene Maiava will hold down the right tackle position. The question will revolve around center where two former walk-ons — Carter Wood and David Catalano — are competing for the job.
Defensively, there are a lot of holes to fill to support All-American linebacker Scooby Wright. The biggest improvement has to come in the secondary, which returns just one starter from a unit that allowed 281.2 yards per game, which ranked 118th in the country.
Overall, the defense ranked 103rd nationally in total defense (451.0 yards per game) and 78th in scoring defense (28.2 points per game). If the Wildcats are going to take the next step and win the overall Pac-12 title, it’s going to have to start with some major improvements on the defensive side.
Player to watch: Scooby Wright, LB
Wright, a two-star recruit turned All-American is the anchor of the Arizona defense. And while the Wildcats overall numbers were less than stellar, Wright’s were phenomenal. He finished 2014 with 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.
He made game-winning plays against Oregon and Arizona State; he was the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, the Chuck Bednarik Award winner and the Lombardi Award winner.
Now, can he do it all again?
Wright’s going to earn a lot more attention from offensive blockers this year especially since he has a lot of unproven talent around him. If other members of the young defense can play at a high level that might give Wright more room to just be “Scoob.”
Wright said he spent his offseason getting stronger and smarter. He spent a lot of time studying film as well as working at all three linebacking positions to give himself the greatest advantage against opposing defenses.
“We’ll try to do some special things because he’s a better athlete than what people maybe have projected,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “But he’s worked hard on his craft. That’s the thing I love about Scooby. … He still has the same chip on his shoulder as he did the day we recruited him.”
Breakout player: Tyrell Johnson, WR
Tyrell Johnson might be small at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, but he is super fast. He finished third in the 100-meter final at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships with a time of 10.41 seconds. It was the first time Arizona has scored in the 100-meter in the Pac-12 Championships since 2011.
So what does Rich Rod do with all this speed? Pretty much whatever he wants.
Johnson had 14 catches last season for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Shockingly, he only had three rushing attempts for 19 yards. Expect those numbers to change this year, especially since Johnson has spent the offseason trying to get stronger to be able to compete against bigger linebackers. Johnson can be a dynamic weapon coming out of the backfield on a sweep or a reverse; he has the perfect size and speed to be a slot receiver, especially with Nate Phillips, the primary slot receiver, recovering from a foot injury. He returned 29 kicks for an average of 23.7 yards and was a few key blocks away from breaking free for a touchdown.
Johnson adds just another dimension to an already scary-good offense, one that will be a lot of fun to watch this fall.
Miss one of our Top 25? No. 21 Tennessee, No. 22 Missouri,No. 23 Stanford,No. 24 Boise State, No. 25 Wisconsin.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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