2010 NCAA Football Preview: Arizona
Sometimes it takes a few years to build up a team to where it can be considered a successful, winning program. Not every administration is patient enough to give coaches a chance to take the necessary steps to rebuild a program from scratch. It’s a good thing that the Arizona Wildcats gave Mike Stoops enough time to make something good happen in Tucson.
When Stoops took over the program, it had not been to a bowl game since 2004 and it had already been more than five years since the Wildcats had gone to the postseason (the Holiday Bowl against Nebraska in 1998). It took Stoops four years of toil and work, but things finally came together in his fifth season in 2008 when he led the team to an 8-5 record and its first bowl win in a decade.
The 2009 season ended in a bowl game, just not a win. While ending a season with a loss is disappointing, two successful seasons in a row order on a new trend for Arizona football. With some very talented players returning on offence, the team will not have any issues with scoring, but Stoops will have a challenge to face when it comes to his defence.
Offence
The Wildcats have a lot of experience on offence, but the trick will be in whether they can put it all together without the services of last year’s coordinator, Sonny Dykes (Bill Bedenbaugh and Seth Littrell will be sharing the duties in 2010).
In the backfield, they have a bevy of talent coming back to lead the offensive charge. Quarterback (QB) Nick Foles has proven to be an effective and efficient leader. He is not prone to making many mistakes and completes a fair amount of his passes (64%). When it comes to running the ball, the team tends to use a committee style approach. Last season, five running backs got at least 36 carries with two getting almost 80 and one 114. Keola Antolin received the bulk of the work and did not disappoint with 637 yards and four touchdowns. Nic Grigsby followed up with 567 yards off of 79 carries (with five touchdowns). Sophomore Greg Nwoko looked impressive with 273 yards on 76 carries.
The Wildcats will have the benefit of having a middle of the line coming back that is anchored by all-conference center Colin Baxter. He’ll have Conan Amituanai and Vaughn Dotsy lining up next to him as the guards again. As they give Foles a pocket to step into, he will have talented receivers in Juron Criner and Dexter Ransom looking for the ball.
Defence
With Mark Stoops off to Florida State, the duties of rebuilding the Arizona defence will fall to Tim Kish and Greg Brown. Rebuild is exactly what they will have to do in order to field a competitive team considering only four starters are returning.
Cornerback (CB) Trevin Wade is the only all-conference selection on the squad. He was not expected to be a superstar in 2009, but came out of nowhere to become just that. He stepped up to make 66 tackles to go along with five interceptions. Robert Golden returns at strong safety. Looking to start at the other corner will be senior Mike Turner with Adam Hall, set to play free safety.
On the front for the team returns both ends, seniors Ricky Elmore and Brooks Reed. Elmore was the Pac-10 sack leader in 2009 with 10.5 sacks. Reed had injury issues for much of last season, but did have 8.5 sacks his last full season in 2008. Combined, the two will harass quarterbacks quite well for the Wildcats.
Where the team is likely to hurt is at the linebacker position. Not a single returner comes back to the squad and there is not much to pick from at the moment. The team will be looking for junior college transfer Derek Earls to reproduce the 108 tackle performance he had last year for the Wildcats this year.
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