Arizona football just wrapped up its second week of training camp with a Saturday night practice under the lights at Arizona Stadium.
Both sides of the ball have been able to make plays, but there is always room for improvement, especially with just under two weeks left in camp.
Here is what head coach Brent Brennan said following the workout that signified the midpoint of preseason training camp:
Opening statement: “I love being in Arizona Stadium. Obviously, this is the first time we’ve been able to get in here, this training camp so far. I think it’s important for our players to just be on the surface they play on. I think it’s important for them to feel the atmosphere, or just feel the environment, the lights, all of it, just what the turf is like. So it was a great night. It’s one of those things we’re talking about a lot, you know, with our campaign in the fall, “Own the Night,” and with just as many night games as we play here at the U of A just finding ways to get us in here at night time, to get us a chance to feel what its like, and being at the place where we’re going to play games. I’m excited watching the guys run around, the excitement. Night time practices always have great energy. So that was a lot of fun. I know we’ve got a big week ahead. We got a lot of work to do still, and we’re looking forward to next weekend on the 16th, when we have the Meet the Team event, where it’s going to be a great opportunity for everybody in Tucson to meet our players and be around them and and get get a feel for what they’re all about. I think that’ll be awesome. Then Sunday night, the 17th, we have an open practice. So I’m looking forward to all of it. We’re nine days in. I like where we’re at. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re moving forward.”
On Kris Hutson’s performance so far in camp: “I think our expectations for Kris are really high. He’s a young man who’s played a lot of football, so he kind of matches high level talent with a lot of experience and then you see he plays with a lot of confidence out there. I think that’s one of those things that’s a lot of fun. He’s a really technically sound receiver. I mean, he is technically fantastic. Just me as a receiver guy, I’m always trying to pick on little things with him. He’s really, really clean that way, and so it’s fun. It’s fun to see him make the plays. I think you know him and Noah are building some good chemistry, and I’m excited to see the things he’s going to do this fall.”
On if there is a set number for how many receivers might play in a game: “There’s not, in honesty, that that kind of gets settled over the course of the game. Back when that was my world, I had games where I rolled nine guys, and I had games where I rolled four. It just depends on what kind of, really, what kind of effort and production you’re getting out of whoever you have out there. It has been fun to watch because a lot of those guys have made a lot of plays over the course of this training camp so far. I’m excited because we still have a lot of practice stuff, so there’s still a lot of time for that competition to continue to get more intense and continue to increase. I’m excited to see what it looks like when everyone is feeling that, knowing that we’re getting closer and closer for game day.”
On Gio Richardson’s performance so far in camp: “He’s really smart, and so he’s an incredibly good student here at the U of A already, and sometimes that’s one of those things that is a hurdle for freshmen. It’s just there’s so much more volume, there’s so much more inventory of plays and concepts, and the defenses are different, and there’s more disguise. Sometimes they struggle learning all those things and putting them all together. He’s so diligent with this process, I feel like he’s really improving. He’s accelerating this process as we get deeper and deeper and because he’s doing that, he’s playing better. He’s getting more reps, and he’s making the most of those reps. That’s one of the cool things we tell every player that, I tell every player that if we give you two reps, those two reps need to say that you should get four. You need to prove it. You want to be on the first team, prove it. You’re going to get a chance. Let’s see what you got, and so far Gio has done a nice job of taking advantage of the reps he’s given.”
On how important the spring time was for Richardson’s recovery from a foot injury: “I think it was important. I really believe in our training room. I believe in the doctors and the medical people that work with our team. They do a great job, but there’s also a part of it that’s on the player, right? Like, how serious is he going to be about attacking his rehab, attacking that process? Some guys get frustrated and they kind of go through it that way, but Gio wasn’t like that. Just like the moment he walked in the door, he was dead serious about how fast can I get healthy, but then how fast can I learn what we’re doing? So I think him being here was really beneficial for him.”
On Richardson’s development since his injury in high school: “Gio had the injury at the end of his high school career, so he was unavailable in spring practice. It’s been great to see him really push and get healthy and start to find ways to get into the mix this fall. My favorite thing about Gio, he’s a tough kid, and you saw that in high school. He played both ways, obviously, on a really good high school football team. He’s competitive, he’s all out, and then he’s got real speed. He plays with a nice confidence, a nice swagger out there. He’s young, but he does not look like a young player running around out there with the offense.”
On some of the offensive struggles: “I think that’s day to day. Sometimes it even flips in practice, like it did today. I think that’s what happens when you’re going against a good defense or when you’re going against a good offense, because there’s been days where the offense made plays on the defense. So I think that part of it is, as you go through training camp, you never want it to be lopsided, because if it’s too lopsided, then that means you either can’t stop the offense or you can’t move the football. I think it’s good. I think it’s been really, really healthy, the competition in the practice environment so far.”
On Noah Fifita’s growth in pocket movement and footwork: “Well, if you watch like in practice, like Coach Doege is coaching them all the time, right? So even when you’re in a special teams period, Coach Doege has them off on some other part of the field, working on something technical for quarterback play. I think the fact that he has such a healthy relationship with not just Noah, with all of those quarterbacks, also makes those guys want to dive into that technical work that they believe is going to make them a better player. So I think that the player-coach relationship is really powerful and really important, and the more trust there is, the more development, the more gains I think players make. So I think you know you’re seeing Noah play with a lot of confidence, and the truth is most quarterbacks, it doesn’t matter what your stature is, don’t see the ball completed. They don’t. They’re on their back, most of them. So the fact that Noah’s finding those throwing lanes, and he’s always been really unique in anticipation and playing with confidence and finding throwing lanes. I think what we’re doing schematically fits in really well. His ability to get the ball out of his hand quickly and make good decisions and fast decisions is really good. You see him playing with that confidence and stepping up in the bucket and still delivering accurate throws. It’s exciting.”
On how to go about splitting reps at quarterback: “That’s a fair question. The truth is that Noah is our starter, and we’re still in the infancy of a new scheme. He needs as many reps with the guys that’s going to be playing in the game as is possible. When there’s certain pieces moving out of those groups, it’s not a whole set line change. It’s not six new wide outs. There’s still guys who are kind of like currently at the front of the line, going with Noah, and then also with B Locke. The awesome part is that B Locke is playing well. He’s done a fantastic job. As we go through camp, some guys get picked up, and some of that stuff goes on, like sometimes those things get a little thinner and it gets a little harder in some spots than the other. I think B Locke is handling it great, and I think he’s and I think he’s really a valuable member of this football team.”
On Malachi Bailey’s growth from spring to fall: “You gotta ask him. That’s a good question. I mean, I think for a lot of those guys, a lot of the transfer portal guys, that thing happens fast. I think there’s a little bit of just kind of shell shock, totally new environment, totally different. Where he’s from, he’s away from family, he’s kind of on the other side of the country. How can they anticipate that, they’ve never experienced it before, right? That’s something for him, getting used to new teammates, getting used to new schemes, getting used to a new university, a new city, a new apartment, a new room, like there’s all those things. There’s so much new so I think really, it’s been fun to see him settle in and really start to make some plays in the practice environment over the last couple of days.”
On the overall defensive performance so far in camp: “I just love how hard we’re playing. I think that’s one of the things that Coach (Danny) Gonzales and the defensive staff have really been demanding of and then I think the players are really leaning into it. Like, you see how they take the field, how they leave the field, you see how they’re getting to the football. I think when we talk about ‘Redline,’ I think they are really, really diving into it and really making that part of who they are, and so it’s fun to see.”
On the defensive back position battle: “I think it’s been fun to watch it. I’m really excited about it. I think Michael Dansby has had a good week of practice. He’s really showing up a lot, but it’s a lot of fun. You know, Aiden, J Cole, Dansby, MGK, that’s a super competitive room, and I think because of it all of them are kind of elevating their game, which is fun, just fun to see. Then in that safety room, that’s also a fun group. Obviously, there’s some guys who have a lot of history and have made a lot of plays, but then you also see some young guys kind of showing up in the mix there with Coleman Patmon and Jack Luttrell. I know he played a bunch for us last year, but he’s still a young player, so it’s been fun to see those guys get in the mix to start producing stuff.”
On how to decide if someone is going to redshirt or play more than four games: “Honestly, if they can help us win, they’re going to play. To me, there’s no balance there. The only way there’s a balance is if you don’t think they’re good enough to help us win every week. If they’re good enough to help us win every game they’re going to play.”
On how to handle keeping recruits from transferring: “I would think there’s a worry for every player to leave every team in America every single day, you know? Especially when we’re still carrying two transfer portals. I also think that over time, Coach Viney developed a great relationship with Swayde and his family. We all did. We spent a lot of time with them, and I think Swayde really felt comfortable here, and I think he really is excited about going to school here and playing football here. I think that’s one of those things that’s always complicated, because of the way the musical chairs of college football is right now. I don’t think it’s always great when guys are moving so much, because the question you asked about Malachi Bailey earlier, right? Like, there is a cost to starting over, and every time someone starts over, it’s like I mentioned the question earlier, right? It’s a new city, it’s a new apartment, it’s new friends, it’s a new team, it’s a new scheme, it’s a new coach, new head coach. It’s a new offensive coordinator. There’s so much new, that transition could be really complicated for a young person. I think Swayde is exactly where he should be, and I think he’s going to be a great player for us.”
On the upward trend of some of the Texas recruits in camp: “They’ve been great. Swayde has been dinged up a little bit but he’ll be back with us quickly. It’s been fun to see Coleman start to get some opportunities, because he’s making the most of them. I think Wesley, you know you guys were out there for the scrimmage the other night, did a great job running the football. So it’s kind of fun to see anytime a freshman gets an opportunity and takes advantage of it, but that’s exciting, because you’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s why we recruited you. That’s what we saw.’ That being said, we all know that no freshman is anywhere near what that thing is going to look like in 2, 3, 4, years, right? That’s not even close. I think if we recruit the right guys, kind of along the lines we’ll talk about. When I met with you guys, when we started training camp, do they love football? Do they want to be here, and are they tough? If we do a good job of evaluating those things and bringing in players to answer yes to those questions. We’re going to like what it was like on the field.”
On Tetairoa McMillan and Randy Robbins being inducted into the ring of honor: “I think it’s an incredible honor, and I think it’s well deserved. T-Mac has been just one of those guys that was always a great representative of the University of Arizona. Got to watch him play a little bit last night, which was fun, made a couple catches in his first preseason game. Just anytime you know, him coming back here, being around, he was around in the spring or in the late spring and early summer. He loves this place, and this place is special to him. I think when you look at the Ring of Honor, there’s not a lot of whiteouts in there, right? There’s not a lot of wide receivers on the Ring of Honor. I think it’s pretty special. It speaks to the caliber of person he is. Then Randy’s amazing, because when I was a GA, Randy was on staff here. So Randy is our running back, running backs coach for coach Tomey’s last year here. So I’m excited for him too. Obviously an awesome player, but also just an outstanding human being. So two great people going up in the Ring of Honor for the Wildcats.”
