Anu Solomon (middle) leads a potent Arizona offense. (Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports)
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Pac-12 RANK: 4
2014 RECORD: 10-4 OVERALL Pac-12: 7-2 (1st, South)
STADIUM: Arizona Stadium (56,037)
LOCATION: Tucson, Ariz.
COACH: Rich Rodriguez — At Arizona: 26-14, 3 years; overall: 146-98-2, 21 years
OFFENSIVE COORDINATORS: Calvin Magee, Rod Smith
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Jeff Casteel
LAST LEAGUE TITLE: 1993, Pac-10 co-champs
LAST TIME DIDN’T GO BOWLING: 2011
RETURNING STARTERS: 14, 6 offense, 6 defense, kicker, punter
PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Anu Solomon, RB Nick Wilson, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Samajie Grant, DE Reggie Gilbert, LB Scooby Wright, S Will Parks, CB Cam Denson
PRIMARY STRENGTHS: Arizona can deploy Wright all over the defensive front, and he was devastating as a third-down pass-rusher last season. The receiving corps should be among the best in the nation and will get a further jolt from incoming freshmen. The spring provided solid answers to the loss of four-year starters at OT — Cal transfer Freddie Tagaloa on the left side, versatile Lene Maiava on the right.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Rodriguez hasn’t had enough depth in his first three seasons, but he’ll have to dig deeper to survive a grinder of a schedule — 12 games in 12 weeks. The secondary loses tough-guy safety Jared Tevis and playmaker Tra’Mayne Bondurant, who had a hand in 10 turnovers last season. Depth at running back and quarterback is a concern.
OFFENSE
Arizona has a trio of skill position players that rank among the best in the country.
Quarterback Anu Solomon is coming off a mostly successful debut, leading the nation’s freshmen with 3,793 passing yards. While his season ended badly — he took a sack in the final seconds with no timeouts left and Arizona perched near the goal line in a Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State — he generally received high marks for decision-making and his cool-cat command.
He’s not the traditional Rich Rodriguez athlete at quarterback, but Solomon is working on being at least something of a threat in the zone-read offense to keep defenses honest.
Nick Wilson emerged as the primary running back as a true freshman, rushing for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns, showing many of the same read-and-react skills of his predecessor, All-American Ka’Deem Carey. Wilson’s top-end speed is a tick faster than Carey’s, too.
Rodriguez has a deep collection of receivers in various shapes and sizes. None is better than 6-3 junior Cayleb Jones, a former five-star recruit who started his career at Texas. Jones (73 catches, 1,019 yards, nine TDs) is a threat on the outside, while little guys Samajie Grant and Nate Phillips, both juniors, could post 50 catches with ease.
DEFENSE
Junior linebacker Scooby Wright is coming off one of the greatest defensive seasons in school history — 163 tackles, 29 for loss, 14 sacks, six forced fumbles, multiple national awards — but he needs more help.
Arizona hasn’t been able to generate much pass rush from its three-man front, although the return of defensive end Reggie Gilbert — granted a medical redshirt after last season — solidifies the line. Parker Zellers was something of a revelation last season as a 247-pound redshirt freshman walk-on at nose tackle. Coaches love his competitiveness and instincts.
Multiple mix-and-match candidates can line up with the high-motor Wright at linebacker. Derrick Turituri (6-1, 265) is a big-body answer and is coming off a good spring.
Senior safety Will Parks becomes the leader of a rebuilding secondary. Proven depth is lacking at cornerback, but sophomore Cam Denson, moving into a starting role, has loads of potential. And the conversion of receiver Davonte’ Neal to cornerback was a positive spring experiment.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Casey Skowron had an eventful junior season, making 20 of 28 field-goal attempts, including a 47-yard game-winner against Washington that came a month after he missed a 36-yarder that would have beaten USC.
Senior Drew Riggleman, adding consistency to his big leg, averaged 46.1 yards per punt last season.
OVERVIEW
Arizona doesn’t have the five-star talent of USC and UCLA, but it does all the not-in-the-box-score things well: Plays hard, plays fast, wears down the opponents, never stops believing.
All that helped the Wildcats be 6-2 in games decided by one possession and win the South last season. A repeat is a lot to ask, but it’s easy to see that this rising program will keep knocking on the door.
TOP NEWCOMER
LT Freddie Tagaloa: The transfer from Cal had to sit out last season, but he immediately stepped into the starting lineup this spring, replacing four-year starter Mickey Baucus. Rich Rodriguez jokes that he wants the physically imposing Tagaloa (6-8, 316) to be the first guy off the bus on road trips.
