DeWayne Peace moved to cornerback in the spring.

The Arizona Wildcats football team is losing redshirt freshman cornerback DeWayne Peace, who will transfer closer to home, according to WildcatSportsReport.com, a partner in the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network.

Peace, from Grand Prairie, Texas, will transfer to Blinn College, a junior college in Brenham, Texas.

Peace, who showed good athleticism and speed in scrimmage situations, was a scout team receiver last fall but was moved to defense in the spring. He was not on the two-deep depth chart released by the school after spring ball.

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Arizona receiver Juron Criner shows off his leaping skills against Washington last season/Photo by Joe Nicholson, US PRESSWIRE

Before senior receiver Delashaun Dean‘s recent legal trouble and subsequent departure from the program, Arizona’s receiving corps ranked among the best in the Pac-10.

It probably still does because junior Juron Criner can be a star and the Wildcats have excellent depth.

Criner was superb in the spring, and he said after the spring game that his surge was a matter of “just getting more comfortable around my teammates and with the plays and being on a better page with Nick Foles.”

Criner and Foles were especially in sync near the goal line, with Foles using his touch on fade passes and Criner using his 6-4 height to go up over any defensive back to get those throws.

“They can try,” Criner said of the possibility of defenses stopping that play. “But when we get down near the goal line, we’re just hoping for it. Like Coach tells us, when the ball is in the air, it belongs to me.”

As for Foles, Criner said he saw improvement this spring in Foles, who started 10 games last season after taking over for Matt Scott.

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Jennie Finch is currently competing for Team USA at the ISF World Championship in Venezuela.

The website WildAboutAZCats.com — one of our partners in the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network — has been running a bracket contest called “Bear Down Leader.”

It has pitted 32 of the greatest Arizona Wildcats athletes of all-time against each other, with readers voting for the winner.

It’s not strictly a “who’s best” argument, or who had the most lucrative pro career, or who is the most famous.

The way I’ve interpreted the competition is like this: Which former UA athlete do you think best represents Arizona?

The answer to that, for me, is Jennie Finch.

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Ross Oltorik runs for a touchdown for Cincinnati Moeller High in 2007/Photo by Malinda Hartong, Cincinnati Enquirer

Ross Oltorik, a former pitcher and walk-on quarterback at Ohio State, is transferring to Arizona to play football for the Wildcats, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Oltorik will take summer classes at UA next month and then have to sit out the 2010 season under transfer rules. The story says he will be a redshirt sophomore in 2011 (but might he be a redshirt junior?).

Oltorik, from Moeller High in Cincinnati, arrived at Ohio State on a baseball scholarship and as an invited walk-on in football. He pitched in 11 games in 2009 for the Buckeyes, with a 1-1 record and a 9.58 ERA in 31 innings.

He suffered a rotator cuff injury before the 2010 baseball season and did not play.

Oltorik, listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, was a two-star football recruit as rated by Rivals.com. He did not play in 2008 for Ohio State as a fourth-string quarterback and was not with the football team in spring or fall 2009 as he concentrated on baseball.

The Enquirer story says that Oltorik is the career leading passer at Moeller High with more than 5,000 yards. Out of high school, he was considered a pro-style quarterback, although his athletic skills showed up in the running game, too. As a senior, he passed for 2,704 yards and 22 touchdowns, also rushing for 380 yards and six scores.

It was not immediately known if he will be on a football scholarship at Arizona, or if he is an invited walk-on.

Delashaun Dean/Photo by Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire

Chris Bonney of WildcatSportsReport.com sat down with Arizona Wildcats senior receiver Delashaun Dean, who will be transferring following his suspension, which came after a charge of misconduct involving a weapon.

You can see video of the full interview at WildcatSportsReport.com, which is a partner in the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network.

Dean talks about the incident involving his gun at IHOP, his impending transfer — he says he is headed to Division II Texas A&M Kingsville, where he will be eligible to play this season — and about his four-year career at Arizona.

Bonney asked Dean if his effective dismissal from the team was “punishment that fit the crime.”

“Absolutely not,” Dean said. “Carrying a firearm is my right, you know what I’m saying? I understand it’s against his (Mike Stoops‘) policy but … man, to just release somebody after four years, I think it’s a little bit harsh.

“But I respect his decision, and I love Stoops as a person, and he made his decision, so I have to stick with it.”

Dean had 42 catches last season, and his 131 career receptions rank eighth on UA’s all-time list.

“I definitely have a lot to be proud of,” Dean said. “I’m very close to a college degree and I did a lot of good things on the field … helped the program turn it around.”

The website for Wildcat Sports Report was recently hacked, and it will be using a temporary site until mid-August, when the site will relaunch under the auspices of a new college sports network.

The Arizona Wildcats are set to have their worst showing ever in the Directors’ Cup, an all-sport ranking that has been in existence since the 1993-94 school year.

Arizona used to live in the top 10, but it has become a fringe top 25 athletic department in recent seasons. With only points from baseball still to be counted, the Wildcats are 30th in the nation … and that is where they will finish.

UA will score 25 points for reaching the NCAA tournament in baseball, but that won’t move the Wildcats up in the overall standings, and neither can any school catch them. Arizona’s previous worst finish in the Directors’ Cup was 27th in 2008.

For most of the duration of the Directors’ Cup, Arizona’s athletic director was Jim Livengood, who left in December for UNLV knowing that his expiring contract was not going to be renewed. Greg Byrne took over in May.

It falls to Byrne to get Arizona back in the Top 10.

The Directors’ Cup standings includes the top finishes in the NCAA postseason for a department’s top 10 men’s and top 10 women’s programs. One hundred points are awarded for an NCAA title, with a minimum of five points given to an NCAA appearance, depending on the size of the bracket. For football, points are awarded based on the final USA Today Top 25 poll and bowl game results. Arizona, for example, received 25 points for its Holiday Bowl loss.

There might not be a program in the country that turns out finer human beings than Frank Busch‘s Arizona Wildcats swimming program.

For the third time in four seasons, the UA swimming program has produced the Pac-10 Woman of the Year, this time the honor going to senior Justine Schluntz. The others were Lacey Nymeyer (2009) and Whitney Myers (2007).

Schluntz will now compete for NCAA Woman of the Year, an award Myers won in 2007.

According to a Pac-10 press release:

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership.

A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Schluntz graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, boasting a 3.94 grade point average and is currently at UA pursuing a master’s degree. In the fall, Schluntz is headed to Oxford University as one of 32 U.S. students to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship this year, and will be studying fluid dynamics and renewable energy source. The ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-America of the Year, Schluntz was a finalist for the Walter Byers Scholarship and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, was named the Pac-10 Women’s Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a recipient of the Tom Hansen Conference Medal award.

In the pool, Schluntz has been among the top swimmers in the country. At this year’s NCAA Championships in West Lafayette, Ind., she scored points for Arizona in a team-high seven events (50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay), en route to Arizona’s fourth-place finish. In her four seasons as a Wildcat, Schluntz’s teams finished first in 2008, second in 2007, third in 2009 and fourth in 2010 at NCAA’s.

Schluntz swam the anchor leg for both the 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay in 2010, leading the Wildcats to claim the national championships in both events. Over her career, Schluntz was a part of six national championship-winning events. Additionally, Arizona won the team NCAA Championship in women’s swimming in 2008. In both championship-winning relays in 2009, Schluntz was a part of, and still holds, American and NCAA records in the 200 free relay and 400 medley relay.

Schluntz has logged over 70 hours helping many Tucson, Ariz. organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson. Among the numerous community service organizations with which she has volunteered, she was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), helped distribute Christmas gifts with the Casa de los Niños organization, taught Sunday School classes at Canyon Del Oro Baptist Church, and participated in Jim Click Run ‘N’ Roll, a fundraiser for the University of Arizona’s adaptive athletics program for disabled athletes.

Senior-to-be Delashaun Dean, who is eighth on UA's career receptions list, works out in the spring.
Photo by WildcatSportsReport.com

Arizona coach Mike Stoops, during spring ball, said that his group of quarterbacks was “probably the strongest position on the field.”

He said the wide receiver position was the “next position I feel really good about.”

The Wildcats ended spring ball with excellent depth at receiver, with a mix of height, speed, experience and promising youngsters.

And, now, they will have to get by with less height and experience.

Senior receiver Delashaun Dean, in the wake of being indefinitely suspended following a weekend charge of misconduct involving weapons, plans to transfer, according to WildcatSportsReport.com, a partner in the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network.

Dean is looking to transfer to West Texas A&M or Abilene Christian — both Division II schools where he would be immediately eligible — according to Chris Bonney of WildcatSportsReport.com.

Dean, 6-foot-4, had 42 catches last season, and his 131 career receptions rank eighth on UA’s all-time list.

Arizona has another 6-4 receiver — junior Juron Criner — at the other outside receiver position. Criner, who had 45 catches, including nine for touchdowns last season, looked great in the spring and should be one of the top receivers in the Pac-10.

It would have been nice to have the reliable Dean on the other side, but now the Wildcats will have to dip into their depth.

The backup to Dean on the post-spring depth chart is senior Travis Cobb, who didn’t make an impact in the passing game last season but his speed on kick returns hints at potential on offense. Junior Gino Crump, a former walk-on from West Virginia, was a revelation in the spring, emerging as the backup to Criner.

In fall camp, there could be shuffling of personnel between the outside receiver spots — the “X” position where Criner is, and the “Z” position.

Dean’s likely transfer further opens the door for junior college transfer Dexter Ransom, a former teammate of Cobb’s at Blinn College in Texas. Ransom, 6-4, was one of the headliners in Arizona’s 2010 class.

Other possibilities are incoming true freshmen Tyler Slavin and Austin Hill.

At the inside receiver positions, Arizona returns Dave Roberts, David Douglas and Bug Wright. They will be joined by Richard Morrison, a redshirt freshman who had a good spring after being converted from quarterback.

More from TucsonCitizen.com: Dean’s departure closes book on once touted trio

Continuing a recent surge of commitments, Arizona coach Mike Stoops has secured the pledge of four-star linebacker Rob Hankins from Parish Episcopal School in Dallas.

Hankins is considered the 24th-best player in Texas by Scout.com, and the ninth-best middle linebacker in the nation. ESPNU and Rivals.com also rate Hankins No. 9 nationally among inside linebackers.

Rivals.com reports that Hankins (6-foot-1, 219 pounds) has 241 tackles, including 34 for loss, in the past two seasons.

He also had offers from Miami, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Cal, Texas Tech and many others.

Earlier this month, Arizona received a commitment from local star running back Ka’Deem Carey from CDO, Salpointe Catholic offensive lineman Jacob Arzouman, linebacker Hank Hobson from Bakersfield, Calif., running back Jared Baker from Los Angeles, defensive back/athlete Tra’mayne Bondurant from Fairfield, Calif., and safety Kerry Swarn from Dallas.

Brandon Nash/KMSB photo

Sports broadcasters from all of the local television stations — as well as a few other of us media types — gathered Thursday night to give Brandon Nash a proper farewell.

Nash, a former Arizona football player, has been with KMSB Channel 11, the local FOX affiliate, since 2005. His last telecast will be Sunday on the Sports Force, which begins at 9:15 p.m.

From my observations, Nash has always been professional in interviews and press conferences, while never taking himself too seriously … and his contributions will be missed.

He’s a smart guy, too. He’s getting out of the media business and going after a master’s degree as he and his family relocate to Oregon.

Nash arrived in Tucson in 1997 as a wide receiver recruit from Los Angeles, playing some for Dick Tomey as a true freshman. Nash was part of the 12-1 team in 1998 and played a key role in the 31-28 victory at Washington — won by Ortege Jenkins‘ Leap by the Lake.

Nash’s 23-yard reception to the 1-yard line preceded Jenkins’ game-winning flip into the end zone … although Nash told me a couple of years ago that he should have scored on his catch, but he left his feet to secure the ball.

“I just wanted to catch the ball,” Nash said.

“I caught it falling down, basically. And then I’m on the ground and look around, and I’m like, ‘Dude, the end zone is right there. I should have stayed on my feet. What the heck?’”

Nash redshirted in 1999 as he converted to defensive back. He finished his career in 2001 playing for John Mackovic. Nash certainly played through some interesting times at Arizona.

Now, at 30, he begins another chapter. We wish him all the best.