Cam Allerheiligen

Arizona Wildcats backup quarterback Cam Allerheiligen has left the team and intends to play baseball at a junior college, coach Mike Stoops said Wednesday.

Allerheiligen, who redshirted last season as a freshman, was one of five quarterbacks on scholarship for the Wildcats. Allerheiligen, from Keller (Texas) High, had been a late addition to UA’s 2010 recruiting class after Matt Brown de-committed in order to sign with TCU.

So, in terms of quarterback transactions since the end of last season, Arizona lost Allerheiligen and is bringing in former Rutgers starter Tom Savage, who will be eligible in 2012.

Senior Nick Foles is first string for the Wildcats, followed by senior Matt Scott (who hopes to use his redshirt season in 2011) and senior Bryson Beirne. True freshman Daxx Garman enrolled early and is going through spring ball. Savage will be a junior in 2012.

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Arizona’s main area of concern on defense is end, where the Wildcats lose Brooks Reed, Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed.

For now, the main three guys getting the spring reps are senior Mohammed Usman, senior C.J. Parish and redshirt freshman Dan Pettinato.

“I really like what Dan is doing,” coach Mike Stoops said. “Mohammed, I think, is a very explosive player. It’s a group we really haven’t heard much about, but I still like their talent.”

Throughout spring, Stoops will also experiment with his overflow of defensive tackles at end. He said “we’re three deep inside” and that includes guys like Justin Washington, Sione Tuihalamaka, Willie Mobley, Dominique Austin, Chris Merrill, Jowyn Ward and some younger players.

Washington, who underwent offseason surgery for a cartilage tear in his shoulder, will be limited this spring, but he will stay anchored at defensive tackle after a promising freshman season.

“I’m stingy,” joked first-year defensive tackles Joe Salave’a of giving up any of his defensive tackles.

“We need to make sure we give the guys reps inside and see what they’re capable of and what they’re weaknesses are, and go from there.

“You have to master one thing. If you try to master two things, then what happens is you’re not good at one thing. But if the head man wants one of these guys out there, he’ll get it. … A big part of this team is position flexibility. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

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Stoops, in his seventh season at Arizona, says this is the best group of receivers he has had, and it starts with senior Juron Criner.

Veterans David Douglas and Dave Roberts return, promising sophomores Richard Morrison and Terrence Miller are back, freshmen Austin Hill and Tyler Slavin are coming off redshirt seasons … and Texas transfer Dan Buckner becomes eligible.

“The whole group is pretty special,” Stoops said.

“Dan, it’s fun to see him out there competing, knowing that he is going to be on the field this fall. He’s an extreme talent. He’s a competitor. And that is the thing I like about him.”

Scelfo

Note: This wraps up our conversation last week with Arizona quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo. See links at bottom of post for more on the Wildcats quarterbacks.

Arizona’s 2012 quarterback plans are up in the air.

The Wildcats could have senior Matt Scott — if all goes well and he is able to redshirt behind Nick Foles this season.

And the Wildcats could have Rutgers transfer quarterback Tom Savage, who, as of Wednesday, is on a recruiting visit to Arizona.

Or they could have neither.

In the meantime, true freshman quarterback Daxx Garman, who enrolled at the semester break, can prepare for the future without the urgency of getting ready to play right away.

How can Arizona help him before spring practice begins?

“Just getting him to class, find the locker room, getting dressed, try to get him to take a deep breath so he’s OK with stuff,” quarterback coach Frank Scelfo said light-heartedly.

“The good part about a guy coming in early is that you’re able to coach him and spend time with him without the rigors of getting ready for a game. Because once you get to the season, you can’t spend time with those guys.”

That was the case in the fall with freshman Cam Allerheiligen, who spent last season on the scout team. He’s the team’s other young scholarship quarterback who will get coaching attention in spring ball, which starts March 21. The spring game is set for April 16.

“Cam is a really smart guy. He’s a gym rat,” Scelfo said. “He’s more than capable and he’s starting to come into his own. He’s starting to feel more comfortable.”

A year from now, each of these quarterbacks might be competing for playing time — or even a starting spot, who knows? — but Scelfo can continue to work on their fundamentals until then.

Garman didn’t play high school ball last season, ruled ineligible after transferring from Jones (Okla.) High to Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School. Arizona coach Mike Stoops said having Garman here for spring helps make up for that experience gap.

Perhaps in a hurry.

“It’s going to be one of those things where he gets a good feel for what’s going on, and we’ll evaluate him and see how rusty he is and then let him go play,” Scelfo said.

“We’re going to be yelling at him in the spring game and he should be going to prom.”

More Arizona quarterback stories:

Ex-Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage makes Arizona his first recruiting stop

Scelfo sets out spring strategy for Nick Foles

Even with redshirt plan, Matt Scott needs to prepare to play