Justin Washington made 18 tackles in a disappointing sophomore season. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats’ defensive line was never going to be a great strength this season, and recent developments make the forecast more ominous.

Junior defensive tackle Justin Washington — who was a Freshman All-American before a sophomore slump — has been suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules, coach Rich Rodriguez said after Tuesday’s practice.

“He’s got to do some things to get back with the team,” Rodriguez said.

“For right now, he’s not practicing. He’s got to do some other things before we allow him to join the Wildcats.”

Washington was listed as a co-starter at defensive end with sophomore Kirifi Taula entering fall camp. Sophomore defensive end Dan Pettinato, a co-starter at the other end spot, suffered a leg injury in the team’s first scrimmage and could be out for the Sept. 1 opener vs. Toledo.

“It’s a shame he got hurt because we were really counting on him,” Rodriguez said.

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Justin Washington will miss his second consecutive game Saturday. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona is down another defensive starter.

Sophomore defensive tackle Justin Washington — who has been ineffective and has been suffering from weight loss, as we learned last week — underwent minor knee surgery last week and will miss this week’s game at Oregon State.

He was suffering from a turf toe injury anyway, so the coaches decided it would be a good time for surgery, given the upcoming bye week on Oct. 15.

Coach Mike Stoops said the home game against UCLA on Oct. 20 “would be an optimistic outlook for him.”

He added: “I think it was bothering him a little bit; just wasn’t full strength to where he needed to be.’

True freshman Sanielia Fuimaono started at tackle against Stanford and Oregon. Junior Jowyn Ward started last week at USC alongside tackle Sione Tuihalamaka.

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Justin Washington has 10 tackles and no sacks through four games. Photo by Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Among all the things that have gone wrong for Arizona’s defense so far — injuries, the inability to stop the run and allowing opponents to complete more than 71 percent of their passes — is the relative disappearance of tackle Justin Washington.

The sophomore was the one potential standout on the defensive line, a Freshman All-American who made 11.5 tackles for loss, including six sacks, last season. He earned various all-conference honors in preseason magazines this summer.

He was supposed to be the rock up front. With nine career starts, he was the only guy on either side of Arizona’s line who could be considered a returning starter.

Last week, he didn’t even start.

He gave way freshman Sanielia Fuimaono, who is listed as a co-starter with Washington for this week’s game at USC.

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A shoulder injury kept Justin Washington on the sidelines for much of spring. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Here is the seventh part of our Arizona Wildcats football preview in collaboration with our Gannett partner, The Arizona Republic.

We write the words, and they have taken the cool photographs and put it all together in a slick presentation at azcentral.com.

Check back here and at azcentral.com every Friday as we roll out more of our preview every week, all the way into August.

This week: The defensive line.

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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 offensive lineman Vaughn Dotsy has to give up football because of back problems.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Stoops said he didn’t expect any transfers or departures from the football team when classes begin Thursday, but he told TucsonCitizen.com that two players have been forced to give up their playing careers.

They are offensive guard Vaughn Dotsy and defensive end Apai Tuihalamaka.

Dotsy was slated to be a starter as a junior in 2010, but he was plagued by persistent back problems after offseason surgery. He started two games early in the season — against Iowa and Cal — before being held out. He would have been a valuable member of next season’s offensive line, which has to replace all five starters.

Likewise, Tuihalamaka could have added some needed experience at end, where the Wildcats lose Brooks Reed, Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed. Tuihalamaka, who was a junior last season, had to give up football because of concussion problems.

Stoops said after Tuesday’s news conference that starting redshirt freshman defensive tackle Justin Washington, who was selected to some Freshman All-American teams, will miss spring ball because of surgery for a cartilage tear in a shoulder.

More football coverage:

Could QB Matt Scott redshirt in 2011?

Juron Criner to return for senior season

The Arizona defensive line is expected to be missing Justin Washington (left) for Saturday's game against Washington/Photo by Chris Morrison, US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats redshirt freshman defensive tackle Justin Washington is doubtful for this week’s game against the Washington Huskies, coach Mike Stoops said after practice Wednesday.

Stoops on Monday said Washington’s knee injury, suffered last week at Washington State, wasn’t as serious as it initially appeared.

Arizona is expected to use a combination of Sione Tuihalamaka, Dominique Austin and Willie Mobley to replace Washington, who has four sacks this season and has been the interior lineman getting the biggest push into the pocket.

“Those guys are going to have to play by committee right now,” said co-defensive coordinator Tim Kish.

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Arizona cheerleaders will be performing in front of a sea of red this week at Arizona Stadium/2009 photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona athletic department is calling for a “Red Out” at Arizona Stadium this weekend, encouraging all fans to wear even more red than normal for the big game against Iowa.

The 10,000-strong student section is already a sea of red on the lower level of the east side of the stadium. But the athletic department is going for an even better visual for the ESPN cameras, saying in a press release:

“While red is the dominant color worn by Wildcat fans at all home contests, this week is not the one to choose an alternate color to wear on game day.”

Here’s the thing: Even if every single UA fan at the game wears red for what is expected to be a sold-out game, there is going to be a lot of black and gold inside 57,400-seat Arizona Stadium.

B.J. Katz, president of Phoenix I-Club, told Hawk Central that he is expecting more than 12,000 Iowa fans at Saturday’s game.

“I’ve probably been getting calls for six months … ticket requests, tailgating requests and everything,” Katz said. “Everyone is super excited.”

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