Ricky Elmore (left) and Brooks Reed have been three-year mainstays at defensive end.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Stoops was selling the future in his early days in Tucson, and recruits were listening.

His 2006 group was the highest rated among his seven recruiting classes — ranked 18th nationally by Rivals.com and 19th by Scout.com. That doesn’t always translate to success on the field, but, in this case, it did.

That 2006 class — “they’re the cornerstones,” Stoops said — makes its final stand Wednesday night in the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State.

With a foundation that includes Colin Baxter, Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore — plus departed standouts Earl Mitchell, Devin Ross, Nate Ness and Cam Nelson — that 2006 class helped Stoops turn around the program.

Three consecutive winning seasons, three consecutive bowl games.

That came after nine years without a winning record at Arizona.

“Mike Stoops harped on it all the time — that our class was going to have a huge impact,” Brooks Reed said recently. “Mike was always saying that this team was going to get better. We were in the rebuilding process, and I was willing to take a risk. I did, and it turned out to be for the best.”

Of the 25 players who signed in February 2006, eight never really contributed because of medical problems, academics, transfers, etc. That’s going to happen. The notable part of the class is that the Wildcats got so many long-standing contributions from the majority of the class.

Fourteen became Pac-10-quality starters, and the other few players — including fifth-year seniors D’Aundre Reed and cornerback Mike Turner — have been valuable reserves.

“We came in with a chip on our shoulder,” Elmore said this week at an Alamo Bowl press conference.

“We’ve had our ups and downs and definitely made a lot of strides. But we want to leave this program somewhere where they can keep on building. That’s the way these seniors want to go out. We’ve been working real hard these last five years and we want to leave it on a good note.”

Here is a look at what happened to Stoops’ 2006 recruiting class:

DT Conan Amituanai
Moved to offense early in his career. Started six games last season and every game as a senior.

TE Cody Anderson
Anderson, who had become a backup offensive tackle, did not return after the 2007 season.

OL Colin Baxter
Started 48 consecutive games at Arizona and became one of the top centers in the nation.

DB Glyndon Bolasky
Sabino high graduate went on a medical scholarship in spring 2009 because of a back injury.

DE Braylon Broughton
Never made it to Arizona because of academic reasons and landed at TCU, where he has made 11 tackles as a backup this season.

ATH Delashaun Dean
Made 131 career receptions but left the team in the summer of 2010 after being indefinitely suspended following a charge of misconduct involving a weapon. Dean transferred to Texas A&M-Kingsville and suffered a torn ACL this season.

OL Cory Elmore
Ricky Elmore’s twin underwent open heart surgery in the summer of 2007 after doctors found a hole in his heart. Had to give up football but is having success as a body-builder.

DE Ricky Elmore
A three-year starter who has 25.5 career sacks, ranking second in Arizona history behind Tedy Bruschi (52 sacks).

OL Jovon Hayes
Started 10 games this season at right guard after being a backup for his first three seasons.

DE Louis Holmes
The junior college transfer never lived up to his five-star hype, but he was a two-year starter.

DT Gabe Long
Another highly touted junior college prospect, Long never made it to Arizona because of academics and ended up at Utah.

QB Tyler Lyon
Playing quarterback didn’t work out — neither did moves to tight end and receiver — but he left after four seasons with his degree.

DT Lolomana Mikaele
A defensive captain this season and a solid force in the middle of the line, with 32 tackles, including 7.5 for loss.

FB Earl Mitchell
Made the most of a switch to defensive tackle after his sophomore season, becoming a third-round pick of the Houston Texas in the 2010 NFL draft.

DB Cam Nelson
A three-year starting safety and a second-team All-Pac-10 choice as a senior in 2009, Nelson made 74 tackles, with three sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception last year.

DB Nate Ness
Junior college transfer was second on the team in tackled with 75 in 2008. Ness, an undrafted free agent in 2009, is with the Miami Dolphins.

RB Brooks Reed
Became a hard-charging defensive end who earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors this season. He and Ricky Elmore are 33-game starters at end.

DE D’Aundre Reed
Considered a starting-quality end by the UA coaches, Reed had been a key part of the rotation for the past three seasons.

WR Terrell Reese
Did not return after the 2008 season.

ATH Derke Robinson
Four-star recruit ran into NCAA clearinghouse issues and enrolled at Stephen F. Austin in the fall of 2006.

DB Devin Ross
Two-year starter was second-team All-Pac-10 in 2008 and led the team with 81 tackles in 2009.

DE A.J. Simmons
The two-way player was given tight end duties when he arrived. Not a big pass-catcher, but the team’s top tight end the past two seasons.

OL James Tretheway
Junior college transfer started some games in 2008 as a senior.

DB Mike Turner
Saw decent time this season in dime coverages and has been a valuable special teams player the past two seasons. Will be remembered for the victory over ASU in 2009, when his late-game recovery of Kyle Williams’ muffed punt allowed Arizona to kick the game-winning field goal.

WR Terrell Turner
Dependable three-year starter ended his career last season with 142 career receptions, including a team-high 48 in 2009.

Note: Keenyn Crier, the four-year starter at punter, is also a fifth-year senior after arriving at Arizona as a walk-on.

The second printing of the UA schedule poster won't include now-departed Delashaun Dean, No. 18 on the left.

In an interview this week with Fox 11′s Vinnie Vinzetta, Arizona football coach Mike Stoops said that “outside of Autzen Stadium, I think we have the best stadium in the Pac-10 when you look at the overall environment. Hopefully, that will improve and we can have the same environment that they do in Oregon.”

The Zona Zoo deserves a lot of credit for making Arizona Stadium a much crazier place that it used to be on game day, and, hopefully, the student section now has learned its lesson about prematurely rushing the field.

A full Stoops interview will appear on Fox 11′s Sports Force on Sunday night. …

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles was selected last week to the watch list for the Davey O’Brien quarterback award, which only seems right. There are 30 names on the list, and Foles is probably around 20 to 25 if you had to rank everyone in order.

Foles is not taking a second-semester summer class, but he did in the first session, when his routine also included about two hours in the weight room with strength coach Corey Edmond, followed by working on quarterback fundamentals for 15 to 30 minutes, and then some one-on-ones and seven-on-seven drills with his teammates in the late afternoon. …

Foles told us this week that in the wake of the transfer of senior receiver Delashaun Dean that inside receiver David Douglas is now working at the “Z” outside position in informal workouts. The pre-fall depth chart lists Travis Cobb (who made no impact in the passing game last season) and junior college transfer Dexter Ransom at “Z”.

NOTE: This story was part of the “Nothing but the Notes” package at our TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network partner, WildcatSportsReport.com. Follow the link for basketball recruiting news, including on Mesa guard Jahii Carson and more.

A few weeks ago, WildcatSportsReport.com reported that Ransom had successfully completed his coursework and was awaiting his paperwork to clear. That will now take longer. Ransom has had to re-submit some paperwork and is still waiting clearance. He is currently working out but is not able to attend summer school at Arizona.

Gino Crump, listed as a backup to Juron Criner at the other outside position, could also help fill Dean’s void. …

New Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne was in South Bend this weekend with former UA coach Dick Tomey as part of the UA contingent to help usher in Chuck Cecil to the College Football Hall of Fame. …

Quite naturally, given his status as a starter and would-be fifth-year senior, Dean was included in the first printing of Arizona’s football schedule poster, which features action cutouts of players on either side of senior center Colin Baxter, ready to snap the ball. That is also the picture on the schedule magnet.

Dean’s suspension and transfer came too late for Arizona officials to change the image on those products, but Dean will be scrubbed from future printings of the poster. Dean’s image had appeared between those of defensive end Brooks Reed and cornerback Trevin Wade on the left side of the poster. …

Jennie Finch takes a swing at the 2010 All-Star celebrity softball game at Angel Stadium/Photo by Kirby Lee, US Presswire

Not that it’s ever bad to be Jennie Finch, but the former UA All-American pitcher had an especially interesting A-list kind of week.

She started with an appearance in Monday’s celebrity softball game at the All-Star Game — she delivered a slow-pitch offering that Rickey Henderson took over the temporary fence for a home run, and he then strutted around the bases with a “flaps down” home run trot.

From there, Finch walked the red carpet at Wednesday’s ESPY Award ceremonies and then was back in uniform for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league. In the celebrity softball game, Henderson seemed especially motivated after Finch got a first-pitch strike using one of her more traditional fastballs. …

Former Arizona first baseman C.J. Ziegler is playing for Traverse City (Mich.) in the independent Frontier League. Ziegler was the runner-up this week in the league’s Home Run Derby, and he went 2-for-3 at the All-Star Game for the East team.

It’s a long road to the majors from the independent leagues, but it does happen — as was the case this season for outfielder Daniel Nava, who was purchased a few years ago from the Chico Outlaws for $1 by the Red Sox.

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.

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

MIKE STOOPS

General comments:
“It was another tough loss. Tough to lose a game, but when you look at the bigger picture, I thought Cal made it very difficult for us all night defensively. We never really consistently moved the football. They seemed to have a good beat on everything we did offensively. Defensively we made enough plays to hang around and give ourselves a chance.”

On the late play involving QB Nick Foles catching the ball and making an illegal forward pass:
“The ball ricochets. It was just a mistake. It’s a natural reaction. I don’t think we’ve ever had that situation happen with Nick. He knows the rules, but I don’t think he’s ever had that situation happen to him.”

On whether his team played tight tonight:
“I didn’t think so. I thought we played OK. Defensively they just made it hard. They were dropping a lot of players (into coverage), and we still couldn’t run it. Their front guys just never made it comfortable for us running the ball.”

On Cal’s defense:
“Statistically they hadn’t played well, but I knew they had quality players. It’s kind of weird that they were giving up yards, because they’re very athletic, and they were awfully good tonight.”

DEFENSIVE TACKLE EARL MITCHELL

On the game:
“We didn’t play together. We didn’t play to our capabilities. We just need to put this behind us as fast as we can and move on. We know that we could have played better. We’re going to have to come out and prove that we can the next time we play.”

WIDE RECEIVER DELASHAUN DEAN

On Cal’s defensive pressure and the struggles on offense:
“They weren’t really doing anything defensively to throw off our rhythm. We were just killing ourselves with stupid plays, dropped balls and blown [blocking] on offense. We just have to come back in on Monday and clean everything up and get ready for Oregon.

“We definitely came out flat. It took us awhile to find our rhythm. It was kind of hard for us all night to find it. It happens though. You aren’t going to come out every night and score fifty points. We have to come out here and keep focused and pushing.”

Click for video highlights from Versus.

And now it has something completely different.

What to call this one?

The Defeat by the Cleat?

In one of the most freakishly painful losses in UA history, receiver Delashaun Dean tipped a pass off his left hand, off his shoe (or off the turf right next to his shoe) and into the eternally grateful hands of Washington linebacker Mason Foster.

Foster turned and ran 37 yards for a touchdown with 2:37 left, giving the Huskies a 34-33 lead. Washington added a two-point conversion to cap a 15-point outburst in 18 seconds, and then the Huskies came up with a fourth-down interception to thwart Arizona’s final drive.

Washington won 36-33 … and this one will rip at the hearts of Arizona fans for, well, for as long as they’re fans.

It was a game in which Arizona had time of possession for more than 39 minutes.

It was a game in which Arizona had a 461-256 edge in total yards.

It was a game in which Arizona didn’t commit a turnover until less than three minutes to play.

It was a game in which Arizona had eight trips inside the Washington 20-yard line, thereby putting itself in position for 56 points. It came up with only 33 — three touchdowns, four field goals and one horrible drive in which it was stuffed at fourth-and-goal with three inches to go.

It was a game Arizona absolutely should have won.

So, let’s play the blame game.

For Arizona to lose, a series of things had to wrong. It wasn’t just one freak play.

I completely don’t mind the play call that led to the interception return for a touchdown.

Arizona was making a living off that screen pass all game — it was what Washington was giving the Cats. “We saw they were stacking the box to protect against the run,” coordinator Sonny Dykes was quoted as saying in the Seattle Times.

It’s a “safe” play. I don’t think UA could have made a first down and run out the clock by rushing the ball.

The Wildcats weren’t getting a push up front all game, and at that point of the game, it looked to me as if third-string running back Greg Nwoko — forced into yeoman’s duty because of injuries to Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin — was gassed.

I think Arizona had it right earlier in the fourth quarter when it went on passed on six of eight plays to easily march to the UW 14. Here’s where Arizona blew it by getting too conservative.

The Wildcats were up 30-21 at the time, with about five minutes left in the game. A touchdown would have put the game almost out of reach, requiring two touchdowns and two two-point conversions just to tie the score.

With the passing game working, it seemed as if the coaches were content for a field goal, calling for two safe handoffs to Nwoko before completing a pass short of a first down. The field goal made it 33-21.

From there, everything went wrong. A short kickoff. A stupid 15-yard personal foul penalty on linebacker Vuna Tuihalamaka, who clocked a Washington receiver after the pass had gone by incomplete. A 25-yard touchdown pass from Jake Locker on third-and-10.

And then came the ill-fated deflection. Coach Mike Stoops called it a run/pass option, and blamed himself on his postgame radio show for giving quarterback Nick Foles the option to pass.

Washington defended the play well for the first time all game, jumping into the route, which threw off the timing off the play. Foles, however, had a lane to throw to Dean, but Foles tossed the ball behind him and at his feet — possibly just trying to throw an incompletion and move on the next play.

Dean reached back and tipped the ball off his shoe — and perhaps off the turf, although the replay officials never took an extended look at it — and that was that. Foster’s TD gave Washington a 36-33 lead.

To me, the game was lost on all those squandered points in the red zone. This team really misses tight end Rob Gronkowski, but that can’t be an excuse five games into the season. The coaches have had ample time to find players/plays that work in the red zone.

Too bad, though. The Cats win this game easily with Gronk in the lineup. If he’s not catching TD passes in the end zone, he’s occupying two defenders so someone else can get open.

Can’t wait until Foles and Gronkowski are in the lineup together in 2010.

But that’s next year.

There is still a lot left of this season. I wrote last week that Arizona, with the exception of the Washington State game, can expect to play seven more games like the nail-biter at Oregon State.

Well, this was one of ‘em.

Arizona has three consecutive home games — Stanford, UCLA and Washington State — and could get itself right on this homestand.

But it’s as 1290-AM game analyst Lamont Lovett said about the Wildcats after the game: “They are going to cry when they look at this film.”

The Agony of the Cleat.

Mike Stoops

But without a touch of insincerity, Arizona coach Mike Stoops raved and raved Monday about Washington junior Jake Locker, mentioning the quarterback in the same breath as Florida’s Tim Tebow (one of the greatest college quarterbacks ever) and John Elway (one of the greatest quarterbacks ever).

“I think people used to laugh at you when you compared him to Tebow a couple of years ago,” Stoops said at his weekly news conference.

“But watch him play. There is not a throw on the field he can’t make. Some of throws he made in the USC game to give them a chance to win were phenomenal. …

“One of his strongest attributes is his ability to scramble and keep plays alive and keep looking downfield to throw the ball. We’re talking that this kid might be the best quarterback in the country. He possesses arm strength and makes throws a lot of guys can’t make. He just flicks the ball and it just gets there very quickly.”

One of the reasons Stoops might be such a big fan is that Locker had — statistically — his career game against Arizona as a freshman in 2007 in Seattle. Locker passed for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 157 yards and two scores, but the Wildcats rallied to win 48-41 and probably saved Stoops’ job that day.

Locker was out with a thumb injury when Arizona routed Washington last season.

“I don’t want to get crazy, but the guy has got an Elway-type of release and arm strength that not many people have,” Stoops said. “His mobility … John was a lot like that when he was younger.”

Locker (6-3, 226) played in only four games last season because of the thumb injury, and he entered this season below 50 percent in career accuracy. Things are different this season under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, who tutored Heisman-winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC.

With improved mechanics and working in a pro-style offense, Locker has completed 57.7 percent of his throws through five games.

“I read somewhere we he lost 10 pounds or so. You can tell,” Stoops said.

“He’s not as bulky as he was, and he’s much more fluid in what he is doing when you watch him play. … Accuracy is somewhere where he struggled, but his accuracy is much different. He’s working with a guy who has worked with a number of top quarterbacks throughout his career.”

If you don’t believe Stoops’ flattery, how about the praise from USC’s Pete Carroll? He said this about Locker — before the Huskies upset the Trojans in Seattle last month.

“That’s the best quarterback we’ve played in nine years here,” Carroll said. “He’s the most extraordinary athlete at the position we’ve seen, and I saw that as a freshman.”

That “extraordinary athlete” thing includes Texas QB Vince Young.

And what are Stoops’ final words on Locker?

“Hopefully, he will leave after this year,” he said.

INJURY NOTES
Stoops said that all his injured players have a chance to be back this week, with the exception of tight end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Bug Wright.

Gronkowski is out for the season after back surgery; Stoops said it would be 2 to 3 months before he could resume physical activity. Wright, who had arthroscopic knee surgery, could be back for the Oct. 17 home game against Stanford (which, by the way, will start at 4:30 p.m. and be telecast on Versus, it was announced Monday).

Running back Nic Grigsby would not have contact today in practice as he tries to come back from a shoulder injury, Stoops said. Other players trying to make it back are defensive end Brooks Reed (ankle), offensive guard Vaughn Dotsy (concussion), offensive tackle Mike Diaz (concussion), running back Keola Antolin (ankle) and receiver Delashaun Dean (thigh).