Wildcats eager to face a real opponent
by John Moredich on Aug. 21, 2008, under Sports
"It is time to get off our offense and onto some new meat," UA's Nate Ness says.
Safety Nate Ness is ready to pick off somebody else.
University of Arizona quarterbacks are just as eager to start preparation for the Aug. 30 season opener against Idaho after throwing four interceptions in the final intrasquad scrimmage of fall camp Wednesday.
“It is time to get off our offense and onto some new meat,” Ness said.
Full preparation for the Vandals starts Thursday.
The offense might want to spend a few extra moments correcting errors the defense exploited, with Willie Tuitama and Matt Scott both being intercepted twice.
“It was good to see us pick off a couple of passes,” defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said.
“They haven’t been throwing a lot of interceptions. It was important for us to make some plays.”
There might be some soul-searching on who the second-string quarterback might be after Scott had his second straight subpar outing.
The true freshman’s 5-for-11 outing for 86 yards and two interceptions Wednesday didn’t sit well.
Scott was 7 of 16 with a pair of interceptions during Saturday’s scrimmage.
Bryson Beirne is in contention for the spot behind Tuitama, although Scott threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Trowbridge.
“I think it might,” UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said of the backup job being open again. “We’ll just go back and evaluate it.
“The good thing about Bryson is he is pretty reliable. The thing about Matt is he brings a lot of big plays to us, but we’ve got to get him more consistent.”
Tuitama was 9 for 17 for 94 yards Wednesday.
Joe Perkins, Trevin Wade and Trevor Foster all joined Ness with interceptions.
Key offensive players such as receivers Mike Thomas and Terrell Turner and tackle Eben Britton were rested during the 80-play scrimmage, causing continuity issues.
Arizona’s No. 1 offense struggled in the red zone twice, settling for 29- and 32-yard field goals.
There is time to correct the mistakes, but Idaho is the focus. The Vandals were 1-11 a year ago.
“I’m ready,” Tuitama said. “We have been going against our defense so much and that is fun, but it gets boring. It is time to get moving.”
———
9 days and counting
Importance: Season opener
Date: Aug. 30
Where: Arizona Stadium
Time: 7 p.m.
