New Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez put together a coaching staff filled with familiar faces from his stops at West Virginia and Michigan, but that meant that West Coast recruiting ties were scarce.
The result: His first recruiting class at Arizona had seven players from the Eastern Time Zone and only six were from the Pacific Time Zone.
"We were all over the country," Rodriguez said. "It's a byproduct of the situation of our first year."
He and his staff worked previous relationships while working to further establish ground in UA's traditional recruiting areas, such as California and Texas. The Wildcats did reasonably well within the state, though -- often a weakness for former coach Mike Stoops -- signing six players from the Phoenix area.
All in all, the class was rated near the bottom in the Pac-12, finishing 45th nationally on both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Arizona lost about seven committed players after Stoops was fired at midseason, but Rodriguez retained 10.
Among those he added were Scout.com four-star linebacker Dakota Conwell, three-star athlete Bryan Harper (who turned down Oregon and UCLA) and three-star receiver Trey Griffey, the son of Ken Griffey Jr.
Rodriguez expects future recruiting classes to be more centralized in the West.
"If we have great ties, we're going to follow up on it," Rodriguez said. "But we don't want to chase ghosts across three times zones on a 'maybe' or an 'if.'"
TOP OF THE CLASS
-- after a senior season in which he made 22 sacks. Kelley, who also had 19 sacks as a junior, could fill a huge need as a pass rusher, as Arizona came up with only 10 sacks last season. He and DE Dylan Cozens from Scottsdale, Ariz., will each get a chance to make an early impact.
-- QB Javelle Allen (Prosper High, Prosper, Texas) -- Allen was a late-emerging QB prospect who was a bit under the radar in the recruiting world, according to Rodriguez. He passed for 2,321 yards as a senior and ran for 1,497 yards, making him the right athletic fit for the read-option offense. He and signee Josh Kern will get a chance to be the backup to senior Matt Scott in 2012.
-- LB Dakota Conwell (Upper St. Clair High, Pittsburgh) -- He is one of the best athletes in the class, projecting the kind of rangy outside linebackers that is great for the attacking 3-3-5 scheme of coordinator Jeff Casteel. Conwell showed his athleticism last season by playing quarterback and rushing for 35 touchdowns.
NOTES, QUOTES
-- Arizona has broken ground on a $72 million facilities project in the north end of Arizona Stadium. A new four-story building will serve as the football plant, with coaches offices, locker rooms, a weight room, training room ... all the usual bells and whistles that will bring UA up to code in the Pac-12. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2013.
-- It was with a great sense of relief that coach Rich Rodriguez was able to bring in Jeff Casteel, his defensive coordinator for most of his tenure at West Virginia. Casteel stayed with the Mountaineers when Rodriguez and nearly all of his staff left for Michigan after the 2007 season. Without Casteel running the 3-3-5 defense, Rodriguez never found good defensive footing at Michigan, with his units getting progressively worse prior to his firing after the 2010 season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Can we recruit nationally at the University of Arizona? I would like to think so. But are we at the point where we can beat some of the guys who traditionally recruit nationally? Probably not. Not right at this point. We won't have this many players from this many states, this many time zones, in the future." -- Rich Rodriguez on the lower number of West Coast players in his first recruiting class.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PRACTICE PRIORITIES: Coach Rich Rodriguez says this spring (practice runs March 5-April 14) will be
different than most because his staff has so much evaluating of
personnel to do. That will be the first priority; afterward, the coaches
can see how to best fit the players into new schemes on both sides of
the ball. The offense is going from a passing spread to the read-option,
while the defense will morph from a 4-3 to the unusual 3-3-5. No one doubts
that the learning curve will be steep. The front six on
defense figures to be the area most up in the air.
KEY LOSSES: The quarterback position has been gutted, with Nick Foles off to the NFL and fifth-year senior Bryson Beirne completing his eligibility. Two other quarterbacks -- Daxx Garman and Tom Savage -- transferred. That leaves senior Matt Scott as the only scholarship quarterback heading into spring practice. Big-play WR Juron Criner will be missed, as will reliable pass catchers David Douglas, David Roberts and Gino Crump. Arizona added three receivers in its class, as well as some other "athletes" who could end up there. The loss of CB Trevin Wade will be made up for by the return of CB Jonathan McKnight from an ACL injury.
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012
-- QB Matt Scott -- The senior is coming off a redshirt season, and his timing couldn't be better. Scott, who has started five games at Arizona, is athletic and ran the read-option offense in high school, so he will hit the ground running, so to speak, as the Cats transition to Rich Rodriguez's offensive attack. Scott showed improved passing skills in 2010 and should be a true dual-threat quarterback.
-- RB Ka'Deem Carey -- As a true freshman in 2011, Carey worked his way into a time-share with senior Keola Antolin. Carey rushed 91 times for 425 yards and six touchdowns, also catching 15 passes for 203 yards and two scores. He should have a much bigger role in 2012 -- and be able to handle it.
-- WR Dan Buckner -- The Texas transfer was slowed by injuries in 2011, finishing with 42 catches for 606 yards and two touchdowns. He is the team's top returning receiver, and with a full season of health, he should help make up for the loss of departed big-play receiver Juron Criner.
-- DT Justin Washington -- Can the junior return to his freshman all-America form? He wasn't at full strength early in last season because of what coaches called a summer stomach ailment; he missed two games in October after minor knee surgery; and he missed the final three games because of another knee problem. Playing time along the new three-man front is up for grabs, but Washington is one of the most athletic options.
PLAYER NOTES
-- QB Daxx Garman, who redshirted as a freshman last season, transferred to Oklahoma State.
-- PK John Bonano, who took over placekicking duties at midseason, had been listed as a senior, but the former walk-on has one more year of eligibility remaining. He stabilized the position by hitting 8 of 12 field goals and all 24 PAT attempts.
-- S Adam Hall, who suffered an ACL injury last spring, returned to play in one game -- against Oregon State on Oct. 8. He aggravated the injury in that game and didn't play again. He should qualify for a medical redshirt. Hall should be one of the team's top defensive playmakers and hardest hitters in 2012.
--Starting LB Jake Fischer suffered a torn ACL last spring and took his redshirt season. He will be a junior in 2012.
-- RB Greg Nwoko suffered a torn ACL last spring and did not play in his junior season.
-- Starting CB Jonathan McKnight suffered a torn ACL in practice on Aug. 24 and missed the season. He looked like Arizona's best cornerback through fall camp.
-- DT Willie Mobley, who had been slated for a backup role in 2011, tore an ACL in May while playing pickup basketball. He missed the season. He will compete inside as a senior.
-- OG Shane Zink, who started three games last season as an injury replacement, suffered a foot injury at USC on Oct. 1 and missed the rest of the season.
