Arizona wrapped up the third of five weeks of spring practice on Saturday night, holding an open practice under the lights inside Arizona Stadium. Fans got to see both individual and team drills featuring both returning players (some) and newcomers (many).
“We had a great group there,” UA coach Brent Brennan said afterward. “We had fans, we had a bunch of recruits. It was just an awesome environment. It was fun to change it up a little bit and give our guys a little bit, just a little different feel for the practice environment. It was great to be in the stadium at nighttime, and just the energy and the players and what they brought to the practice environment.”
The Wildcats have six more spring workouts, culminating with the Spring Showcase on April 19. With less than half of spring ball to go, here’s what Brennan had to say about the progress his team has made to this point:
On the overall outlook: “I think we’re making great progress in our effort to constantly be living the red line. We’ve talked so much about that, really establishing what kind of effort we’re going to play with, and what level we want our execution to be, and just how intent we can be with our accountability to one another, just the consistency of that, and we’re building on that. I love the momentum we’ve got with this football team. It’s been really exciting. It’s been a lot of fun, and we got work to do. We got a lot of work to do, but I love where this team’s at.”
On the offensive progress with the new scheme: “I think it’s been fun. I think you heard me say it before when you’re in spring practice, if it’s too lopsided one way or the other, that normally doesn’t bode well for the fall. But the exciting thing that we’re seeing right now is just the players are competing so hard on both sides of the ball. Obviously, there’s a lot to learn, right? So just that process of the guys diving into the details of their assignments, and everybody doing everything they can to execute at a high level.
“The offense, you’ve seen them making some real progress the last three practices. And I think that’s something that’s really exciting. There’s been moments in those earlier practices, but obviously everything is so new, and there’s also a lot of new pieces. It’s not just a new scheme, it’s 34 new players on the roster. I love what Coach Doege is doing, the energy, the kind of the aggressiveness of the scheme, and just how the players are leaning into that. That’s been a lot of fun.
“And watching what Coach Gonzales and the defensive staff are doing, it’s really good. So we’re really trading punches. The offense is taking turns putting together good series and good drives and sustaining and then there’s also lots of good defensive plays being made out there with just people in the backfield.”
On the receivers getting used to the different routes: “I think there is some new stuff that is a little bit different. But then route trees are route trees. Andt here’s not a ton of brand new routes that we’ve never heard of being run right now conceptually, or how you package it all together, how you formation it, or whether you play fast, or whether you play slow, those are all the things that kind of our nuanced offense. I think our guys have done a good job. And I think that receiver group is a bunch of fast learners, and you’re starting to see them make plays in practice with some consistency. That’s giving Noah (Fifita) some comfort too.”
On Noah Fifita’s comfort level with the new offense: “ Last week in practice, I was standing up with Noah after one of the team periods, and we tend to talk a little bit in between periods. And I’m just like, how’d it go? And he’s like, ‘I love this offense,’ so I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
On the offensive line: “I think we’re still playing a bunch of people there, which is really what you want to do in spring practice. You want everyone to get a chance to show what they can do. I mean, that’s what spring ball is all about. We’re cycling a bunch of guys through that offensive front, and there’s moments where it looks brilliant, and there’s moments where it looks messy, and we’re trying to minimize those messy moments, but they’re coming along nice.”
On the proposal to have joint spring practices with other schools: “I think it’s a really interesting idea. I know there’s a high level of success with the NFL teams that do that. They really think it’s a valuable thing. So I’d be interested incontin uing the conversation and seeing if that’s something that people kind of move in that direction. I think the biggest question would be can we do that and get good work without it turning into something that we don’t want to be a part of. Sometimes you see that on Hard Knocks, where all sudden there’s a football practice, and then it’s a 40-on-40 fight, and you’re like, no one’s getting better at football right now. But I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s an interesting idea. I think what some of the people have talked about is is progressive, and I think that’d be fun. If that’s the way that we go with college football, then let’s go.”
On the kicking and punting games: “The kicking and punting so far in camp, that is always a work in progress. I thought Michael (Salgado-Medina) hit the ball well today, when we did the field goals in practice, and some of that stuff. I think where we’re at with the punt game, that thing continues to evolve. Obviously, Michael did it for us a year ago. (The punters have) been going back and forth in that battle, and I think we haven’t decided yet exactly where we’re at with the punter situation. As we progress through spring, I’ll probably have a better answer for you.”
On if he expects any players on the roster to enter the portal after spring ball: “That’s a great question, and I have no idea. The portal is part of it. I hope that our players stay. I think we have something really special going. I think they feel it. I think they believe it. But you just never know. Because you don’t know who is reaching out to them on behind the scenes, on, DMing them. So our biggest thing is that we try and make sure that we over communicate with our players, that those channels of communication are extremely open, and that they know where they stand with us, and we know where we stand with them. I think that’s the healthiest way we can attack it.”