Dan Buckner was hoping for a ‘blazing’ 40 time. Photo by Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Former Arizona Wildcats receiver Dan Buckner, trying to alleviate concerns about his speed, said he was “flying” Thursday at the team’s Pro Day on campus.

It just wasn’t for a full 40 yards.

Buckner said he had to slow down at the end of his sprint, feeling a little tweak in a hamstring, but hopes his performance was enough to give pro scouts something to think about in the later rounds of the draft.

“I pulled up at like the 30. I think they still clocked me at 4.6, so I must have been moving,” he said.

“Things could have gone differently, but they got to see 30 yards of full speed before I came up. I have never had any hamstring problems or anything. Maybe I was running too fast for my body and it didn’t even know what was going on and it said, ‘Hey, stop, slow down.’”

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Matt Scott caught the attention of scouts at the NFL Combine. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Former Arizona quarterback Matt Scott, fresh off promising workouts at the NFL Combine last month, will get another chance to improve his stock at the Wildcats’ Pro Day on campus Thursday.

His throws and times and other measurables likely will speak for themselves, but he can also rely on a job recommendation from his old coach, Rich Rodriguez.

“I haven’t talked to a lot of them,” Rodriguez said of NFL scouts. “But everybody I’ve talked to has said he might not have as much buzz as some of those other guys, but they have him ranked really high.

“I know I’m biased, but I’m not sure there are 64 quarterbacks in that league better than Matt Scott,” Rodriguez added, totaling the two deep for all the NFL teams. “And I know there’s not 96. That’s my opinion.”

And Rodriguez had one more thing to say about Scott.

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Kyle Quinn leaves Monday morning for a week of practice and interviews at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Photo by Matt Kartozian-USA Today Sports

About a week after the Arizona Wildcats’ win in the New Mexico Bowl, senior center Kyle Quinn got a call from a number he didn’t recognize. He answered anyway.

Hello?

“This is Coach Tomey.”

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,” Quinn said about hearing from Dick Tomey, the winningest coach in Arizona history.

“I got nervous. I actually got goosebumps. Just hearing from him with the amount of respect I have for him and the passion he has for this school and this city, it’s really amazing.”

There was a practical purpose for the call. Tomey, serving as a head coach and procurer of talent for the Casino Del Sol College All-Star Game, was inviting Quinn to participate in the game, which took place Friday at Kino Stadium.

Quinn and two other ex-Wildcats — fullback/defensive end Taimi Tutogi and defensive lineman Dominique Austin — helped the West squad to a 40-7 victory.

“I was really proud of all those guys,” Tomey said after the game. “Taimi was terrific. Kyle is a great leader.”

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Matt Scott ran for 506 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

A pair of former Arizona Wildcats — quarterback Matt Scott and receiver Dan Buckner – have accepted invitations to play in the East-West Shrine Game.

Both players were on rosters released on the game’s website Friday. The East-West Shrine Game will be held Jan. 19 in St. Petersburg, Fla., and will be televised by the NFL Network.

Scott is Arizona’s best draft prospect, a second-team All-Pac-12 quarterback who has an intriguing blend of passing ability, athleticism and upside.

NFLDraftScout.com recently upgraded his projection to the third- or fourth-round range.

(Here is more on Scott’s draft prospects as the new NFL prototype in a story I wrote last month after the Wildcats’ win in the New Mexico Bowl.)

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Ka’Deem Carey leaps into the end zone for a first-quarter touchdown. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats running back Ka’Deem Carey, despite missing stretches of the second half because of injury, improved his national-best rushing average with 25 carries for 172 yards and one touchdown against Arizona State on Friday night.

Carey said last week he has been bothered by a bruised collarbone and other injuries.

Carey had only six carries after halftime. Backup Daniel Jenkins had 20 rushes in the second half.

“He was banged up before the game,” coach Rich Rodriguez said of Carey after the 41-34 loss to the Sun Devils.

“He was banged up last week (at Utah). He got banged up again. He wasn’t able to go as much, but I think D.J. did a nice job when he went in there.”

Carey, who entered the game leading the nation with 144.1 yards per game, did break the school season rushing record early in the game. He zoomed past Trung Canidate (1,602 yards, 1999) and sits at 1,757 at the end of the regular season. That’s 146.4 yards per game.

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This season wouldn’t have been possible without the play and leadership of Matt Scott. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Soon after Arizona hired Rich Rodriguez, the seniors-to-be filed into his new office, one-by-one, to hear the same message.

Center Kyle Quinn remembers Rodriguez saying something like this:

“This is your team. It’s the seniors’ team. I may not have recruited you guys, and this is your last year, but I want you guys to have the best senior year possible. You’re my guys.”

This is always the worry with a coaching change — the tenuous relationship between the new coach and the old players. The guy with the long-term plan doesn’t always have use for the short-timers. The short-timers tune out the guy with the long-term plan.

“We really bought into his philosophy and his mindset,” Quinn said.

“We were eager to change,” said senior defensive lineman Chris Merrill. “We knew we had to buy in for change to be implemented.”

“It started with us,” added senior fullback/defensive end Taimi Tutogi. “We talked to the guys and said, ‘Look at this guy’s record; he’s done a lot of good things at previous schools.’ The guys followed their leaders.”

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Dan Buckner runs after a catch against Oregon last season. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats senior Dan Buckner was included in the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver — a list that is hard to take seriously.

That Buckner could be included in a list of the 48-best receivers isn’t a stretch, although he would rate somewhere near the bottom of the order and his chances of winning sits somewhere close to nil.

What’s laughable is that the watch list doesn’t include two of the best, most exiting wideouts in the country — USC’s Marqise Lee and Clemson’s Sammy Watkins. They not only deserve to be on a 48-deep list, but it’s almost impossible to leave them out of the top five.

It wouldn’t be a shock if they are your first-team All-American receivers at the end of the season.

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Dan Buckner runs after a catch against Oregon last season. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Dan Buckner is wearing a new number to honor his grandfather.

Buckner has switched from No. 15 to No. 4.

“My grandma died last year and my grandfather had a heart attack. His number was always No. 44. That’s why I used to wear 4, because I didn’t want to wear No. 44 playing football,” Buckner said.

“We had some talks and I wanted my old number back and he wanted me to wear it.”

Buckner said his grandfather was a high school basketball player in Mississippi, although he never played in college.

“He was pretty good, though,” Buckner said. “Back in the day.”

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Dan Buckner caught four passes in his Arizona debut. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

In advance of the Arizona Wildcats’ game against NAU, I took a look at three players to watch — basically, three X-factors, three players I had lingering doubts about.

Let’s see how they did in Arizona’s 41-10 victory over the Lumberjacks on Saturday:

Cornerback Shaquille Richardson

Richardson was picked on by NAU cornerback Cary Gossart and repeatedly beaten by guys named Khalil Paden and Ify Umodu.

In no time at all — like Thursday night at Oklahoma State with the college football world watching on ESPN — Richardson is going to have to try to stop Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver Justin Blackmon and quarterback Brandon Weeden, a strong-armed NFL prospect.

“Shaquille can play better. He knows it,” said coach Mike Stoops.

“I wasn’t pleased with the way he played, and neither was he. He is going to have to play better next week against a very prolific offense and receiver and quarterback.”

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Wide receiver Dan Bucker says he's ready to roll after sitting out last season. Photo by Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona football team has no shortage of overarching concerns, including inexperience on both lines and a brutally tough early schedule.

Now, let’s look at three players who are X-factors. Three players who will have big roles to start the season.

Three players who, well, I have lingering doubts about.

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