Eric SorensonArizona football is no longer a Cat-astrophe.
Pardon the pun.
Fourth-year head coach Rich Rodriguez has the Wildcats playing harder, faster and better in the ultra-competitive Pac-12 South. The fruits of Coach Rod’s labor included a South Championship and spot in Fiesta Bowl this past season.
With fall camp set to begin in the coming weeks the bar has been raised with a bullseye square on the backs of the red and blue.
“There’s no sneaking up on anyone this year,” FOX football analyst Charles Davis told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Thursday morning. “This year people will actually circle Arizona and I think they’re up to the challenge.”
A core of key returning offensive skill players including ever-improving quarterback Anu Solomon, breakout sophomore running back Nick Wilson and talented wide receiver Cayleb Jones will help keep Coach Rod’s spread scheme humming if an overhauled offensive line can provide protection.
Defensively UA will lean on junior linebacker Scooby Wright who certainly caught the attention of Davis and other national analysts who got an up-close and personal look at every opposing offensive coordinators worst nightmare.
“He played at a level last year that not very many college football players have played for an entire season,” he explained. “That’s how great a season I think I believe he had. I think it was truly one for the ages.”
If Arizona wants mirror their 2014 success they’ll have to do it without the benefit on a single bye week. Navigating the long grind of a season in a power conference, one Davis called “a monster,” is what Rodriguez is accustomed to. He believes his team will be up for the challenge over the next five months.
Davis tends to agree.
“I think they have a chance to just keep getting better and better,” he said of the ‘Cats. “I think they’re up for the challenge.”
We’ll find out soon enough.
