Moredich: Secondary no longer
by John Moredich on Jul. 25, 2006, under SportsArizona defensive backs rated tops in Pac-10
Arizona cornerback Wilrey Fontenot (left), covering Oregon's Demetrius Williams, is one of the Pac-10's best cornerbacks.
It’s not an open and shut-down case, but the University of Arizona can claim the best secondary in the Pac-10, if not the country.
The Wildcats have plenty of evidence on their side with junior cornerbacks Antoine Cason and Wilrey Fontenot headlining the group.
“We are going to be the best combination in the Pac-10,” Cason said. “The key to being that is hard work and dedication.”
UA coach Mike Stoops already has declared strong safety Michael Johnson as a possible early-round NFL draft choice.
Arizona must find a replacement for tackling machine Darrell Brooks at free safety, but Brandon Tatum, Dominic Patrick or Nate Ness could fill in nicely.
Lindy’s preseason football magazine has Arizona’s secondary ranked No. 3 nationally. The Sporting News still needs some convincing. It rates the Wildcat secondary in the “10 to watch” category. Phil Steele’s 2006 College Football Preview has the Wildcats at No. 11.
Huge things are expected from Cason. He was tabbed as the nation’s top cornerback in EA Sports’ new college football video game.
The company assigns a number value in more than a dozen categories for each player. The better the number, the better the player performs in the game.
So, the high preseason marks are in, but the secondary still has to prove itself on the field. UA opens practice Aug. 3 for the Sept. 2 opener against BYU.
“I think they are playing at the highest level,” Stoops said.
“Those guys have all-conference type of abilities. At times they play that way, but there has to be more consistency.”
What the defensive backs must do better this season is get to the ball faster and pick off more than the 12 passes they did last year.
Six of those came against Oregon State – three by Johnson – so there were just a mere six other interceptions in the other 10 games.
With the Wildcats expecting to get more pressure up front – and with the possible addition of junior college defensive end Louis Holmes (whose status continues to be up in the air for at least another week) – the corners might be able to take more chances.
“It’s the glue to everything we do,” Stoops said of the secondary.
“I think they will allow us to do more and be more aggressive with our play-calling defensively, but we have to get pressure on people.”
Or else the Wildcats may have a harder time making their first bowl game since 1998.
The likeness of Arizona's Antoine Cason's (right) is featured in the EA Sports video game.
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UA 2006 SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time TV
Sept. 2 BYU 7:15 TBS
Sept. 9 at LSU 3:30 ESPN2
Sept. 16 S. F. Austin 7
Sept. 23 USC 5 ABC
Sept. 30 Washington 7
Oct. 7 at UCLA TBA
Oct. 14 at Stanford TBA
Oct. 21 Oregon St. 4
Nov. 4 at Wash. St. TBA
Nov. 11 California 4
Nov. 18 at Oregon TBA
Nov. 25 ASU 4 FSN
