TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Arizona Wildcats

ARIZONA—They’re still playing football at Arizona, aren’t they? Yes indeed, although some fans could be excused for losing track of the Wildcat gridders, who have been off of the national radar longer than Arsenio Hall and are still looking for their first bowl bid of the new millennium. But even those familiar with UA football might not recognize the product 4th-year HC Mike Stoops plans to put on the field in Tucson this fall.

Simply, the Wildcats are going high-tech offensively, importing new o.c. Sonny Dykes from Texas Tech with a directive to make UA’s attack look as much like recent Red Raider versions as possible. Get ready for Lubbock-style football in Tucson, with the new-look Cat “Air Raid” operating out of the spread, with plenty of screens, slants, and lobs to receivers at the back of the endzone, with a dash of delays and draws from the new 1-back sets to keep defenses honest. A radical departure indeed from the many recent sleep-inducing Arizona offenses (such as ‘06) that have been struggling to score points since the early days of the Clinton administration.

Stoops has gone to the spread not as much out of design as of necessity, as the new style also seems the best bet to keep jr. QB Willie Tuitama (left) healthy and in the lineup. He didn’t do much of either last season, taking as many direct hits as Leon Spinks and suffering the consequences with a pair of concussions and a calf injury that kept him out of all or part of five games. But the slow developing 5-step drops that got him in trouble (as illustrated by photo at right from last October's 20-3 loss vs. Southern Cal) are a thing of the past in the new spread, in which Tuitama will work from a shotgun, make quick reads of the defense, and let it fly before pass rushers can take aim, a sort of QB health insurance that kept Dykes’ Texas Tech pilots mostly upright the past few years. (To wit: Red Raider QBs were sacked only 19 times in 656 attempts LY; Cat QBs went down 32 times in only 356 throws.) It will also be adjustment time for UA wideouts, now required to make quick reads of defenses themselves. Veteran WRs Mike Thomas & Anthony Johnson should have no trouble adapting, although the learning curve could be steeper for some of the younger wideouts. Ironically, the spread will likely produce better rushing numbers than ‘06, when the Cats were reduced to gaining inches per carry through midseason, then saw top RB Chris Henry leave early for the NFL. Bowling-ball sized Chris Jennings, however, was good enough to start a few games over Henry, and could emerge as a classic spread “downhill” runner. And spring work was encouraging for a vet OL learning its own new terminology and blocking schemes.

Just in case the “O” takes a while to evolve, a seasoned “D” should keep UA within earshot. Ten starters return from a stingy ‘06 unit that features lots of sr. leadership, including honors candidates on the DL (DE Louis Holmes), at LB (OLB Spencer Larson), and 2ndary (CB Antoine Cason, shown at left). Although the platoon can expect to see more time on the field, a byproduct of the many quick-strike drives and 3-and-outs associated with the spread.

Summary...The Cats are the real x-factor in the Pac-10, as the prospects of a juiced-up offense to go along with an established defense suggests UA’s 9-year bowl drought could come to an end. For Stoops’ sake, it had better, because the natives are getting restless to cheer for something besides Lute Olson’s Cat hoopsters.

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