Tucson Citizen.com
AG's Wildcat Report - Dispatches on the Wildcats, from Anthony Gimino

Archive for April, 2012

Former Arizona basketball player Jesse Perry faces felony domestic violence assault charge

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Former Arizona Wildcats basketball player Jesse Perry has been charged with domestic violence aggravated assault, a Class 4 felony, according to the Tucson Police Department.

The charge stems from an incident at Perry’s apartment in the early morning hours of Thursday. The victim, who had a previous romantic relationship with Perry according to the police report, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries, and officers were notified.

According to the news release, “The University of Arizona Athletics Department provided assistance in locating Mr. Perry and facilitating him turning himself in to authorities on the evening of April 20, 2012.”

Athletic director Greg Byrne released a statement Saturday morning:

“The Department of Athletics, the President and the Dean of Students office are fully aware of the situation. This matter is in police hands and we will fully cooperate and assist them as needed. At this point we will have no further comment.”

Perry, 22, completed his eligibility in March. He started all 35 games this season, often playing as an undersized center (6-7, 217). He averaged 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Perry, from St. Louis, arrived at Arizona for the 2010-11 season after transferring from John A. Logan Community College in Illinois. He started 25 games as a junior, averaging 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Arkansas transfer linebacker could be looking at Arizona options

Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Brock Haman

Brock Haman (right) shares a laugh with CDO running back Ka'Deem Carey at a press conference before the 2010 Class 4A-1 state title game. Scottsdale Saguaro won 41-34. Photo by Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic

Arkansas linebacker Brock Haman, a graduate of Scottsdale Saguaro High School, received his release from the Razorbacks this week and appears to be focusing on in-state options.

“That would be my preference as a parent,” Brock’s dad, Doug Haman, told TucsonCitizen.com on Thursday.

Brock, a redshirt freshman who is finishing the semester at Arkansas, has already talked to Arizona State coaches, Doug said.

Former Saguaro coach John Sanders is the Sun Devils’ new coordinator of football operations.

“One advantage of going to the U of A is his brother (Blake) is going there next year,” Doug said. “One advantage that ASU has is his former coach is there and just the familiarity. A lot of his former teammates are there as well.”

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Is Arizona’s Matt Scott only the 10th-best quarterback in the Pac-12?

Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Matt Scott

Matt Scott warms up before the spring game. Photo by Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic

With more than four months to go before the start of the college football season, one of the things that will keep us busy is devouring rankings and lists about players and teams and position groups … and arguing about all of it.

For example:

Is Arizona Wildcats senior Matt Scott only the 10th-best quarterback in the Pac-12?

That’s how Athlon ranks Scott as it evaluates the league’s projected starters. USC’s Matt Barkley — the preseason Heisman favorite — is No. 1. Washington’s Keith Price is No. 2. No argument there.

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Arizona running back Daniel Jenkins ends spring on a high note

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Daniel Jenkins

Daniel Jenkins takes a handoff from Matt Scott in the spring game. Photo by Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic

Arizona Wildcats running back Daniel Jenkins injured his hamstring in the team’s second scrimmage and he came off the field, yelling, slamming his hands against the fence surrounding the practice field.

Not again?

Jenkins was making a move up the depth chart in fall camp last year before suffering a sprained ankle in a scrimmage.

The injury lingered into the season, and he ended up with only seven carries through the first half of the schedule. He finished the year with 31 rushes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

Jenkins, a junior, once again looked good this spring — he’s quick and often darts past defenders — giving every indication of being the tag-team tailback partner of sophomore Ka’Deem Carey for new coach Rich Rodriguez.

And then, the hamstring injury on March 31.

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Arizona spring football: Three emerging players

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Tyler Slavin

Tyler Slavin hauls in a pass during the team's first scrimmage of the spring. Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

Arizona wrapped up its first spring practice under Rich Rodriguez on Monday, the final evaluation for the coaches and a chance for them to offer instruction on what to do in the summer, when workouts turn voluntary.

And if you believe that any summer workouts in college football are voluntary …

Anyway, with everything so new, Arizona has been operating without a formal depth chart and likely will be until the team gets into the heart of fall camp.

Rodriguez’s typical answer to how a player or a position group has been doing has been a non-committal “OK.” But, taking cues from scrimmages and a few glimpses of praise from Rodriguez, here are three players who put themselves in good position for August camp.

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Ex-Arizona Wildcat Tedy Bruschi completes the Boston Marathon

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Tedy Bruschi with a sack dance in 1994. Photo by Stephen Dunn, Getty Images Sport

Former Arizona All-American defensive end Tedy Bruschi completed his first marathon today, finishing the Boston Marathon in 5 hours, 26 minutes and 2 seconds.

Bruschi ran with his wife, Heidi, a former volleyball and softball player for the Wildcats. She finished the marathon one second ahead of her husband.

The energetic sack-master of Arizona’s Desert Swarm defenses, Bruschi remains one of the most popular players in school history. He is much loved in New England for his 13 seasons as a standout linebacker with the Patriots, including his return to the team following a stroke in 2005.

Bruschi, 38, hasn’t slowed down at all. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro a year ago as part of an NFL group seeking to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. He wrote about his experience at ESPNBoston.com.

And now, the marathon.

He recently spoke to ESPN.com about his motivation:

After my stroke in 2005, I started an organization called Tedy’s Team in partnership with the American Stroke Association. Our runners who run the Boston Marathon and the Falmouth (Mass.) Road Race would ask me when I was going to run but I was always playing football. My automatic response was ‘I only train for eight-second bursts’ and a marathon was just something I couldn’t even fathom accomplishing. Then I retired and they kept asking when I would do it. Climbing Kilimanjaro last year made me think about things that I could accomplish physically even though I was no longer in the NFL. After I got off that mountain, I told my runners I would attempt to run the Boston Marathon.

Bruschi can be seen as an NFL analyst on ESPN.

Arizona basketball adds a preferred walk-on guard from Los Angeles

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

The Arizona Wildcats basketball roster continues to change in the offseason, this time with the news Sunday that guard Jacob Hazzard will join the team as a preferred walk-on.

While Hazzard, from Los Angeles Loyola High School, won’t use UA’s last available scholarship for next season, he isn’t the usual walk-on practice fodder, either. The “preferred” part of the walk-on status is a signal that he was scouted and recruited by the school (as opposed to just showing up at a tryout) and could be in line for a scholarship down the road.

Hazzard was known as one of the top shooters in Southern California last season, averaging 12.3 points and making 80 of 197 3-point attempts (40.6 percent).

ESPN.com wrote that Hazzard, who visited the UA campus last week, had scholarship offers from some Division III schools.

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Arizona safety Adam Hall tears ACL in spring game

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Arizona Wildcats safety Adam Hall tweeted Saturday night that he tore an ACL in the spring game, possibly wiping out his 2012 season, one year after he was able to play in only one game.

Hall also tore an ACL last spring during a practice. He returned to play in the sixth game of the season, against Oregon State, but did not play again all season.

He had been back at full speed this spring, although he was working with the second team during Saturday’s scrimmage. That doesn’t mean much with no formal depth chart right now.

Hall might have been injured when making a big hit on receiver Sean Willet, knocking the ball loose for an incompletion. Willet stayed down on the field for a minute or two but was able to return. Coach Rich Rodriguez said after the scrimmage that he thought Hall might have “tweaked” his knee.

And then Hall tweeted the worse news about five hours later.

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After spring game, Arizona turns its attention to missing dimension on offense

Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Matt Scott

This could be a welcome sight in 2012: Matt Scott on the move. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

There was one important element of the Arizona Wildcats’ offense you couldn’t see in the spring game, and that’s because it apparently resides in a different dimension.

The Cats held their spring game — a situational scrimmage, really — in front of nearly 5,000 fans at Kino Stadium on Saturday, running basic plays on offense and never able to roll out the element of the read-option offense that makes the attack special:

The run game from the quarterback.

The most important thing all spring from a personnel standpoint was to have quarterback Matt Scott stay healthy, and for him to stay healthy, the coaches didn’t allow him to be hit.

Not allowing him to be hit meant that he wasn’t a threat to keep the ball after he stuck it in the belly of the running back while surveying the defense — the cornerstone play of this offense.

“That’s going to change a lot of things,” receiver Tyler Slavin said of Scott being able to run in games.

“It’s going to change our offense from three dimensions to four dimensions — you know what I’m saying?

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Arizona speedy receiver Garic Wharton eager to run free on the outside

Friday, April 13th, 2012
Garic Wharton

Garic Wharton hopes to find room to run on the outside. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

The hiring of head coach Rich Rodriguez last fall was like a sign from above for receiver Garic Wharton.

“When I first heard he was here, I felt almost like the Red Sea parted,” Wharton said. “I felt like that was my calling.”

Wharton had a good feeling about Rodriguez because of what he remembered of the coach from West Virginia, when he ran fast-paced offenses, emphasizing speed. Wharton was right to have such a hunch.

Rodriguez moved Wharton from inside receiver to outside receiver this spring, gambling that the sophomore’s speed — he could be the fastest player on the team — will lead to big plays.

“He’s a talented guy. I think his time has come,” Rodriguez said.

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