Rich Rodriguez has been all over the media since his hiring. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

It’s been hard to keep up with all the news.

Arizona Wildcats athletic director Greg Byrne announced Rich Rodriguez as UA’s football coach on Nov. 21, introduced him at a press conference a day later and paraded him in front of fans at the season finale.

RichRod is a national name in college football circles. There has been more than enough stuff to read, watch and listen to. This is a guy who had a book written about his three years at Michigan. Source material overflows.

Afraid you missed something? Want a one-stop shop of material?

We haven’t compiled everything, but we drilled down fairly deep for more than 50 links — and even came up with a copy of Rodriguez’s 2005 offensive playbook at West Virginia, complete with team rules.

So, if you have a few hours, here is a healthy serving of the best reaction and information surrounding Rodriguez’s hiring …

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Rich Rodriguez tries on a sombrero during halftime of Saturday's game. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The hiring of Rich Rodriguez is national news.

Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples was imbedded for the first 48 hours as the Arizona Wildcats introduced Rodriguez as their head football coach and he navigated the challenges of making the right first impression.

It was enough for two stories — the story of the magazine and an on-line companion piece.

In the on-line piece, Staples writes how deputy athletic director Rocky LaRose advised Rodriguez to “Don’t say you don’t like spicy food.”

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Rodriguez told me he doesn’t really have the stomach for spicy food — but his family does.

Anyway, check out the both of the pieces from Staples — informative and entertaining.

Nick Foles ended his career with a conference career record 933 completions. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles said after the season-ending victory over Louisiana-Lafayette that he was due some “down time.”

It was a grueling season. He attempted (560) and completed (387) more passes than anyone in conference history. He finished hurt, playing through a rib injury. As a team captain, he had to help lead the team after coach Mike Stoops was fired at midseason.

But his down time won’t last long.

His father, Larry Foles, said Nick will sign with Athletes First and start formal training for the NFL Combine on Jan. 3 at the Velocity Performance Center in Irvine, Calif.

Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, Washington quarterback Jake Locker, and Boise State receiver Austin Pettis were among the agency’s clients last season as they prepared for the draft.

Athletes First is led by one of the guys who gets described as an “NFL super agent” — David Dunn.

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Arizona beats New Mexico State 83-76, a good road win for the Wildcats — perhaps even better than you think. UA improves to 5-2, ending a two-game skid.

Nick Johnson, in his first career start, scored a career-high 19 points. Fellow freshman guard Josiah Turner also set a career best with 12 points.

Jesse Perry had his fifth double-double of the season, with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Tweeted ESPN’s Andy Katz: “Had Arizona on upset alert. But Wildcats pick up a much-needed win at New Mexico State. Good way to right itself.”

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A couple of breaks for Arizona down the stretch. New Mexico State fouls Kyle Fogg with one second left on the shot clock, and when he misses the front end of a one-and-one, the ball gets tipped back to him.

Jordin Mayes get the ball, is fouled and makes two free throws with 21.6 seconds left for an 81-76 lead with 21.6 seconds left.

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Christian Kabongo makes a steal for NMSU and gets fouled by Josiah Turner on the fast break. That’s five fouls for Turner with 1:04 to go. He finishes with a career-high 12 points.

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Not over yet. NMSU’s Christian Kabongo completes a three-point play with 1:17 left to make it 79-74, Arizona.

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Josiah Turner having a nice second half, giving UA a 78-69 lead with two free throws with 4:02 left. He then steals a pass and goes in for a layup, when New Mexico State commits an intentional foul.

Turner, who has 11 points, will be going to the line after the final media timeout of the game.

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Sean Miller finished second to Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg in 'Shots from the Heart' last season. Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller, who reached the final of the “Shots from the Heart” free throw shooting contest last season, will participate in the charity event again this year.

He will be one of 64 head coaches competing in an NCAA Tournament-styled bracket, which you can find here at collegeinsider.com. Miller’s first-round foe is NAU’s Mike Adras.

Arizona assistant James Whitford will participate in the bracket matching assistant coaches from across the country.

Too bad Miller’s brother, Archie — the first-year head coach at Dayton — isn’t in the bracket. He was a career 84.6 percent free throw shooter at North Carolina State.

The “Shots from the Heart” raises awareness and money for the fight against heart disease and honors the memory of former coach Skip Prosser.

Here is the press release from UA:

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Arizona is hoping to get strong play around the basket from Kyryl Natyazhko. Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats junior center Kyryl Natyazhko hasn’t produced as a starter through six games, and his time might be running out.

“He’s either going to have to improve and get the job done in his third year with us, or we’re going to have to move in another direction,” coach Sean Miller said.

“We’re not looking for a double-digit scorer as much as ‘do your job, rebound the ball, play great post defense, bring energy, make a 15-footer.’

“He’s struggled out of the gate.”

Natyazhko is averaging 1.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game as the Wildcats head into Tuesday night’s game at New Mexico State.

Miller talked about how the “puzzle” of this season’s team was less clear than it was a year ago at this time because so many players are new to their roles in the absence of Derrick Williams.

The center position is truly the center of that puzzle.

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This look says something about the way Sean Miller feels about West Virginia. Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Sean Miller loves his football — loves his Pittsburgh Steelers and lives the rivalries from his alma mater, the Pitt Panthers.

So, it was with a mix of humor and dead-on seriousness that Miller pointed out what he would consider a flaw in new UA football coach Rich Rodriguez — he was a defensive back for West Virginia and then coached football for the Mountaineers, who are Pitt’s hated Backyard Brawl rival.

“I don’t acknowledge West Virginia,” Miller said.

“There are a few places on this planet that are irrelevant to me. That’s one of them.”

Miller is willing to overlook the West Virginia ties when it comes to Rodriguez.

It was Miller who offered Greg Byrne useful advice when he suggested that the athletic director identify two things — the coach who is the most hungry and the coach that strike the most fear around the Pac-12.

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Trevin Wade broke up 13 passes this season. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona senior cornerback Trevin Wade earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, the only Wildcats player honored on the all-conference teams.

Five players received honorable mention honors: Senior quarterback Nick Foles, senior receiver Juron Criner, junior center Kyle Quinn, freshman defensive back Tra’Mayne Bondurant and junior kicker John Bonano.

Wade led the Wildcats with 13 pass break-ups, and he also had two interceptions. He finished with 52 tackles.

Bondurant essentially played only half a season, entering the starting lineup for the seventh game after Tim Kish took over as interim head coach. He played a hybrid nickel back/linebacker position.

Bondurant finished with 45 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. He broke up six passes, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.

Stanford’s Andrew Luck was the first-team quarterback, and USC’s Matt Barkley earned second-team honors, leaving the record-setting Foles as honorable mention. Criner battled injuries to finish with 75 catches for 956 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Bonano added place-kicking duties to his kickoff role after Kish took over, making 8 of 12 attempts with a long of 47. He hit 22 of his 67 kickoffs for touchbacks. He was 24 of 24 on extra-ppint attempts, after Arizona missed five in the first six games.

Bonano had been listed as a senior for most of the season, but he was actually a redshirt junior who is eligible next season.

The All-Pac-12 teams are selected by the league coaches.

Could Mike Stoops be wearing scarlet and gray next season? Photo by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

With Ohio State set to announce Urban Meyer as its next football coach this afternoon, rumors are that he will bring in former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops as his defensive coordinator.

We’ll see.

“I haven’t been offered any job, anywhere,” Stoops told TucsonCitizen.com on Monday morning. “I’m still in Arizona.

“It’s an interesting time right now. It will be an interesting week; I will put it that way. I don’t know what all is going to happen, but something will happen between this and next week.”

Even if the Ohio State rumor is true, it’s likely Stoops wouldn’t talk about it before it became official. But he did talk about the how attractive the job of Buckeye’s defensive coordinator would be, especially for a guy who grew up in a football family in Youngstown, Ohio.

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Sidiki Johnson

Arizona Wildcats freshman center Sidiki Johnson, on indefinite suspension for violations of team policy, will not practice with the team after he returns to Tucson on Sunday, coach Sean Miller said.

Johnson has been home in New York City since Arizona played there in the 2K Sports Classic, losing to Mississippi State in the championship game on Nov. 18.

“He missed only 2 1/2 days of school last week,” Miller said Sunday afternoon. “That was our decision to allow him to stay home. It wasn’t his decision.

“Now, it’s a matter of him working very hard off the court academically, being a good person, being somebody who represents all the characteristics that we want all of our players to have at Arizona and kind of earning his way back into being a part of our team.”

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