Arizona Wildcats 2018 Football Preview

Arizona Wildcats 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: The Wildcats made a change that was 2 years in coming by firing Rich Rodriguez, not because of on-field issues, but because of various off-field misdeeds by Rodriguez that put the school in position to be sued. Rodriguez may very well be done as a head coach in the business, and good riddance at this point. In comes Kevin Sumlin, who fits the profile of what Arizona likes to do on offense, and who really upgrades their look, despite having been fired by Texas A&M. Sumlin should take Arizona to a higher level in every way, because, at the end of the day, he is set up for success at Arizona, unlike what he faced with the Aggies. It may take some time, but things are about to get energized in Tucson.

Breakdown Offense: Sumlin has a serious weapon at QB in Khalil Tate to work with in 2018. Tate may not be the most pressing passer in the PAC-12, but he is someone who keeps defenses aware of his explosive nature. He passed for 1591 yards and 14 TDs with 9 INTs, numbers that can all improve. He completed 62% of his passes. Where he gets you is on the run, as he rushed for 1411 yards with 12 more scores in just 11 games. He averaged 9.22 yards per carry and 128.27 yards rushing per game. Rhett Rodriguez is the likely backup, but that should hardly matter if Tate stays healthy.
JJ Taylor rushed for 847 yards last fall, and scored 5 times. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry. There is little depth behind him at the position, so that is something that must be found in the fall.
Tony Ellison is back for the Wildcats after leading the team in receiving last fall with a posted line of 37-598-5, and he averaged 16.16 yards per catch. Shun Brown will also start at the opposite Slot position after posting a line of 43-573-6, with an average of 13.33 yards per catch. Cedric Peterson and Tristan Cooper will try to replace the departed Tyrell Johnson and Shawn Poindexter at WR. Brian Casteel and Gary Brightwell will provide some depth.
Bryce Wolma caught 28 passes as a freshman at TE, and returns to start, with Jamie Nunley working behind him.
The starters on the line appear set, even if depth is a major issue right now. Josh McCauley and Cody Creason are the starters at OT, while Michael Eletise and Alex Kosinski appear set at OG. Nathan Eldridge appears to be set at C as well.

Breakdown Defense: Defense was an issue for the Cats in 2017, as they allowed 34.4 points per game on the season. They got ripped for 286 yards passing per game, and also allowed 185.08 yards rushing per game.
Improvement will have to start up front, as Justin Belknap appears set at DE, while Dereck Boles has the edge at NT, and Kurtis Brown is set at the DT spot. Kylan Wilborn will be back at the Hybrid STUD position. He is clearly the leader up front after finishing with 9.5 TFLs last season as a freshman. Flinton Connolly will get plenty of reps in the middle as well after finishing last season with 4.5 TFLs.
The LB corps has one of the better young defenders in the conference back at LB in Colin Schooler at the MIKE spot. He led the team last season with 13.5 TFLs and 95 total tackles. He also finished with 4 sacks, and a pair of picks, one of which went for a pick 6. Tony fields II, also a sophomore this fall, returns to start at WILL after leading the Wildcats with 104 tackles last fall to go with 7.5 TFLs, 5 sacks, and an INT. Tristan Cooper will attempt to replace Brandon Rutt in the lineup, and is projected to start at the SPUR position. Anthony Pandy brings a bit of depth, but depth is an issue otherwise at LB.
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles will be back to lead the secondary at the BANDIT position this fall after finishing with 81 tackles last season. Lorenzo Burns should also be one of the better CBs in the country this fall after finishing with 81 tackles as well. Burns led the Cats with 5 INTs, and had 7 total PBUs. Scottie Young returns at FS after collecting 53 tackles as a freshman, and Jace Whittaker returns at CB as well. Whittaker finished with 3 INTs last fall. Troy Young is the backup at the BANDIT spot, while Samuel Morrison, Tony Wallace, and Malcolm Holland bring backup help at the CB position. Jarrius Wallace is the reserve at FS.

Breakdown Special Teams: Josh Pollack hit 11/15 FG attempts last season, and returns as the starter at PK in 2018. Lucas Havrisik returns as the backup, and hit 3/4 FG attempts as well.
Jake Glatting really struggled at Punter last fall, averaging just 35.9 yards per punt, and competition is being sought in the fall.
Cedric Peterson is expected to be the primary kick return man replacing Tyrell Johnson, while Shun Brown returns at PR after returning two punts for scores last season on an average of 10.65 yards per return. Tony Ellison backs him up.

Final Analysis: In short, if you are looking for a dark horse in the PAC-12 South to come out of nowhere, pay attention to Arizona, as the Wildcats look to be a pretty tough out this fall. The defense, which was severely young last fall, should show some real signs of life, and the offense, led by the dynamic Tate at QB, should really fire up, especially if he can improve on his passing abilities. Kevin Sumlin was a rock solid hire for this program, and I expect bigger things for this program over the next couple of seasons.