Former All-Pac-10 linebacker Spencer Larsen won’t get a chance to play with the New England Patriots this season. Photo by Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

NFL teams had to cut their rosters from 90 to 75 by Monday afternoon, which brought a mix of news for former Arizona Wildcats on the bubble.

Deeper cuts — down to 53 players — have to be made by Friday night.

At various times in late summer or early in camp, there were 24 former Wildcats on NFL rosters. That number is down to 18, but at least one is more secure today: Placekicker Nick Folk has won his battle with Josh Brown, who was released by the New York Jets on Monday.

The news wasn’t good for linebacker-turned-fullback Spencer Larsen, signed in the offseason by the New England Patriots. The team placed Larsen on season-ending injured reserve.

Some of the longer-shots on the list, such as undrafted rookie free agents David Douglas (New York Giants) and Robert Golden (Pittsburgh), survived the first cuts. Golden, a safety, intercepted a pass in most recent preseason game. One of Golden’s competitors for a roster spot, Myron Rolle, was waived Monday.

Here is a look at who is where, with new links to recent stories:

(more…)

Rob Gronkowski had a good time on the ESPYs red carpet with tennis player Daniela Hantuchova. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

NFL camps have started … do you know where your former Arizona Wildcats are?

Offseason news has been dominated by ex-UA tight end Rob Gronkowski, who followed up his record-setting second season with the New England Patriots with what is widely referred to as the “Summer of Gronk.”

Let the Boston Globe describe it:

“Gronkowski, in no particular order, won a celebrity home run derby at the Triple-A All-Star Game (reportedly hitting one 325 feet), appeared on The Choice, a dating show, co-hosted Access Hollywood Live, judged a celebrity bikini contest in Las Vegas and walked the ESPY’s red carpet. He also attended the premier of the movie “Ted,” hung out with Kim Kardashian, was one of the naked cover boys for ESPN The Magazine, and ran a viral video campaign trying to land on the cover of the Madden video game.

Oh, and he also signed a six-year contract extension worth $54 million – the richest deal ever given to a tight end. It includes $18.17 million in guaranteed money.”

Oh, to be Gronk.

Gronk is the headliner among the former Arizona Wildcats in the NFL, with 22 players on camp rosters.

Here is a look at who is where:

(more…)

Spencer Larsen won't get to block for QB Peyton Manning in Denver ... but working with Tom Brady isn't bad. Photo by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats linebacker Spencer Larsen, a versatile player who was converted to fullback with the Denver Broncos, has agreed to a two-year deal with the New England Patriots, a league source told the Boston Globe on Thursday.

Larsen, 28, mostly has been known for two things in his four-year NFL career: He did rare double-duty when he started at linebacker and fullback in the same game as a rookie (also playing on special teams), and he caught the first career touchdown pass from Tim Tebow.

He’s been mostly a blocking fullback and a special teams player in the past two seasons, earning a reputation as a smart, hard-working, high-character player. Which is no surprise to anyone who knew him as a Wildcat.

Larsen — who was selected to our Arizona all-decade team — was a sixth-round pick of the Broncos in 2008.

He rushed 14 times for 44 yards last season, and he has 14 receptions for 127 yards in the past two years.

He will be reunited in New England with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was the Broncos’ head coach in 2009 and 2010. Larsen will also join one of his Arizona teammates — tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Here is the updated list of ex-Cats on NFL rosters:

(more…)

Rob Gronkowski running after the catch was one of the best parts of the Mike Stoops era. Tucson Citizen photo

Mike Stoops was the football coach of the Arizona Wildcats for 7 1/2 seasons, during which time he brought in some of the program’s all-time brightest stars.

Cornerback Antoine Cason won the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back and was a late first-round pick in 2008.

Wide receiver Mike Thomas is the Pac-12 career leader in receptions.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski was a beast — albeit, all too briefly at Arizona — before quickly becoming a star with the New England Patriots.

Senior quarterback Nick Foles is on pace to rewrite several school season and career passing records in the next six week.

There definitely were some high notes, but in putting together an All-Stoops team, a couple of issues emerge — the dearth of standouts on the offensive line and a lack of explosive playmakers at linebacker.

Here is a look at the best who played for Stoops — the All-Stoops team:

(more…)

Rob Gronkowski celebrates his 10th touchdown of his rookie season, which came against Miami on Jan. 2. Photo by Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

Updates with the Vikings waiving OL Conan Amituanai, and the Lions waiving RB Mike Bell and S Michael Johnson on Monday. The Bengals, according to a report, reached an injury settlement with DT Lolomana Mikele before releasing him.

As of Monday night there were 19 former Arizona Wildcats football players on NFL rosters; teams have to cut to 80 by Tuesday and then to 53 by Sept. 3.

Several ex-Cats won’t survive those cuts but could end up on practice squads or hook on with other teams.

Since camps began, seven former Arizona players have been waived — rookie free agent OL Conan Amituanai (Minnesota), rookie free agent receiver Travis Cobb (Chicago), rookie free agent DT Lolomana Mikaele (Cincinnati), running back Chris Henry (Seattle), running back Mike Bell (Lions), defensive back Michael Johnson (Lions) and veteran tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who failed his physical in Chicago.

Here is a breakdown of who is still standing, for now:

(more…)

Sunday’s action in the NFL was capped by New England’s victory at Pittsburgh in which rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes for the Patriots.

Soon after the game, “Gronkowski” was trending on Twitter.

As for former Arizona Wildcats in the NFL, that wasn’t the half of it Sunday.

Mike Thomas, a second-year receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was involved in the play of the day (the season?), catching a deflected Hail Mary pass from David Garrard for a last-play touchdown for a 31-24 win over Houston.

And it never hurts to have Gus Johnson on the call.

“It was definitely a surprise,” Thomas said. “You don’t expect that kind of play to go the way it’s supposed to go. I was shocked and a little stunned.”

Look for Money Mike to be on ESPN First Take on Monday morning to talk about the catch.

(more…)

Former Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen is now a full-time fullback for the Denver Broncos/Photo by Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

NFL teams have been holding minicamps and other offseason training activities, so let’s take a look at where former Arizona Wildcats stand as everyone gears up for the start of training camp in late July:

Mike Bell, RB, Philadelphia
Earned a Super Ring with New Orleans last season — leading the Saints in carries during the regular season (172 for 654 yards) — before signing a one-year free-agent deal with the Eagles worth $1.7 million. He is expected to back up second-year pro LeSean McCoy and be a more powerful change of pace.

Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago
The five-time Pro Bowl pick will be going for his seventh consecutive 100-tackle season as he welcomes back Brian Urlacher to the Bears’ linebacker corps this season. He’s a popular teammate and popular in the Windy City … hey, how else do you get chosen to be a judge at Chicago’s version of Playboy’s 50th Anniversary Party.

Eben Britton, OT, Jacksonville
A 2009 second-round pick, Britton started 15 games at right tackle last season and looks to be a fixture on the Jags’ offensive line, along with fellow second-year pro Eugene Monroe at left tackle.

Copeland Bryan, DE, Detroit
He was signed by the Lions last year after being cut from Buffalo at the end of training camp. He played in five games for Detroit, starting one, making five tackles, including one sack.

Antoine Cason, CB, San Diego
The Chargers traded Antonio Cromartie, so they expect Cason, who has been a nickel back, to take over as a starting cornerback. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune blogged recently that Cason “is having an excellent offseason. He is always on the ball, is blanketing receivers, knows what he’s doing. Of course, he hasn’t been going against Vincent Jackson or Malcom Floyd (until recently) or even Legedu Naanee.” For sure, check out this great story from Acee in April, talking about how Cason spent several weeks training in Tucson with a UA assistant track coach.

Lionel Dotson, DE, Miami
Was on the Dolphins’ roster all of last season, but was mostly inactive on game days, appearing in two games. The 2008 seventh-round pick again will be fighting for a roster spot in training camp.

Nick Folk, PK, New York Jets
Folk was super in his first two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, making 46 of 53 field goal attempts and earning Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2007. But he had hip surgery after the 2008 season, struggling to regain his form. The Cowboys cut him in December, and then Folk signed with the Jets in February.

Chris Gronkowski, FB, Dallas
He is versatile as a blocker and pass-catcher, willing to do the blue-collar work. Coach Wade Phillips told DallasCowboys.com, “We’ll see when we get the pads on, but he looks good so far.”

Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots
The second-round rookie is helping to remake the position in New England, which also drafted Florida’s Aaron Hernandez in the fourth round. While Hernandez is considered more of a pure pass-catcher, Gronkowski has all-around tight end skills and, according to Patriots.com, made the play of the day at a recent full-squad scrimmage on a pass from Tom Brady.

Chris Henry, RB, Houston
He was the 50th overall pick in the 2007, drafted by Tennessee because of his excellent workout at the scouting combine rather than his production on the field. Henry got little use in his first two years, and the Titans released him early last season. He landed with the Houston Texans, but did not have a carry. He’s competing for a roster spot this summer.

Chris Jennings, RB, Cleveland
Jennings has been a nice success story, walking-on to Arizona as a junior college transfer and becoming productive in the running and passing games. Undrafted, he was playing in the Canadian Football League last season when the Browns called, and Jennings was able to stick with the team, rushing 63 times for 220 yards. He’ll be facing a roster crunch at running back in training camp.

Michael Johnson, FS, N.Y. Giants
He won a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in the 2007 season and became a starter in 2008, but neither he nor the team’s secondary was stellar in 2009. Considering the Giants signed ex-Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle to a five-year, $37 million contract, have youngster Kenny Phillips and veteran Deon Grant, and used a third-round pick on LSU safety Chad Jones … Johnson’s days in New York might be numbered.

Spencer Larsen, FB, Denver
The former All-Pac-10 linebacker was a two-way player for his first two seasons in Denver, famously starting at fullback and at linebacker as a rookie. Now, he will be exclusively an offensive player … and you can be sure he’ll do it with a great attitude. “Football is football,” he told reporters earlier this month. “A lot of it is the same techniques. Linebackers have a different personality but to me it is all football. By doing this, I can still be a special teams member and it is something I care about.”

(more…)

Arizona ended the decade with its best defensive line since the late 1990s, but this was one of the major problem areas for the team this decade. The Arizona Wildcats were the only Pac-10 team this decade to not have a first-team all-league defensive lineman.

USC had a first-team all-league defensive lineman 11 times this decade. Oregon State was next with seven. The Wildcats haven’t had such a player since Joe Salave’a in 1997.

TucsonCitizen.com’s picks for Arizona football’s all-decade team on offense.

What the Cats have had this decade are two of the best at their position in the entire league — linebacker Lance Briggs (first-team all-conference in 2000, 2001 and 2002) and cornerback Antoine Cason (winner of the Jim Thorpe Award in 2007). Take your pick: One of these guys is your Arizona Defensive Player of the Decade.

Not to influence your selection, but Cason was chosen to SI.com’s All-Decade team in college football.

Note that one of the most prominent UA alums — New York Giants mega-millionaire linebacker Antonio Pierce — is absent. First of all, he played at UA for only one season of the decade (2000) when he had an honorable mention all-league season (77 tackles, 10 for loss). Good, not great.

Defensive end Joe Tafoya also played only year this decade, and it was nearly good enough to make the list. He was second-team All-Pac-10 in 2000, making 18 tackles for loss, which is a season high for Arizona this decade. (In general, I preferred an all-decade candidate who had a longer resume for the time frame.)

The defensive line is where there could be the most debate, mostly because there are few standouts. Others considered were Tafoya, Marcus Smith, Young Thompson, Yaniv Barnett, Louis Holmes (well, not really) and Ricky Elmore, whose 10.5-sack regular-season is fresh in everybody’s mind.

Here are our choices for UA’s All-Decade team for defense:

DE — Copeland Bryan (2002-05)
A very nice walk-on find for Arizona, Bryan developed into an NFL-caliber player by the time he left, coming up with 7.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss as a senior. Finished with 14 career sacks.

DT — Lionel Dotson (2004-07)
“L Train” started 20 games in his first three seasons — a solid, if unspectacular performer in the middle of the line. He then played his way into an NFL prospect as a senior after a season with 50 tackles, including nine for loss and 6.5 sacks. That earned him second-team All-Pac-10 honors.

DT — Earl Mitchell (2006-2009)
Spent his first two seasons as an underused fullback/H-back/tight end before making the switch to defense. Big Earl had 40 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, in his first season at the position before earning second-team all-conference honors in 2009, making 12.5 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks — big numbers for an interior lineman.

DE — Brooks Reed (2007-09)
Why Reed and not Elmore? Fair question. Reed missed about five games this season with an ankle injury, during which time Mike Stoops repeatedly referred to Reed as the team’s best pass rusher and kind of the glue of the line. Always a high-energy player, Reed ended up with two sacks and five tackles for loss, coming off a sophomore season in which he had eight sacks and made honorable-mention all-league.

Lance Briggs tackles ASU quarterback Andrew Walter in 2001/Tucson Citizen photo

LB — Lance Briggs (1999-2002)
Briggs nearly de-committed to USC on Signing Day 1999, but the Sacramento kid once described as the next Tedy Bruschi became one of the great Wildcat defenders. After playing running back as a true freshman in 1999, Briggs requested a move back to linebacker, where he posted 113 tackles as a sophomore, earning the first of three consecutive all-conference honors … which really says it all. He led the team in tackles (93 and 98) in each of the next two seasons before going on to a successful and lucrative career with the Chicago Bears.

LB — Spencer Larsen (2002, 2005-07)
Well-liked, well-spoken and a coach’s dream, the hard-working Larsen was the team’s defensive newcomer of the year in 2002 and then left for a two-year church mission. He overcame a knee injury upon his return in spring 2005, managing to pick up where he left off. Larsen had 131 tackles as a senior in an All-Pac-10 season, and his 312 career tackles are the most for a UA player this decade (and 15th-best all-time).

LB — Ronnie Palmer (2005-08)
More steady than flashy, Palmer started 41 games in his UA career. The middle linebacker led the team in tackles (85) and tackles for loss (11) in 2008, giving him career marks of 275 stops, including 21 for loss.

Antoine Cason returns an interception for a touchdown aganist Cal in 2006/Tucson Citizen photo

CB — Antoine Cason (2004-07)
He was the face of the Wildcats for a couple of seasons — photogenic, good with a quote and bringing a confident air to his battles with the league’s best receivers. Highlights include a 39-yard fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown that fueled a 24-20 upset of No. 8 Cal in 2006, and scoring twice — on an interception return and a punt return — in a 34-24 upset of No. 2 Oregon in 2007. That latter game — on Thursday night on ESPN — propelled Cason to the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back. His 15 career interceptions are fourth in UA history.

CB — Michael Jolivette (2000-03)
He’s the UA career leader in passes broken up (44), despite missing most of his junior season because of injury. He also was able to corral his fair share of passes, coming up with 12 career interceptions. Current UA sophomore Trevin Wade might end up being a better player, but had only one season as a starter this decade.

S — Darrell Brooks (2002-05)
His leadership and on-field play helped guide the Wildcats through some tough times. A four-year starter, Brooks made 295 tackles and four interceptions, earning second-team all-league honors as a junior and first-team recognition as a senior.

S — Michael Johnson (2005-06)
The junior college transfer was a key recruit for coach Mike Stoops, and he gets the nod here on the strength of his second-team All-Pac-10 season in 2006. Johnson had 107 tackles in two seasons, with five interceptions, and his physical style of play has served him well with the NFL’s New York Giants.

AP — Syndric Steptoe (2003-06)
Finished with 3,931 all-purpose yards, ninth in school history. He had 131 career catches for 1,584 yards; he scored twice on punt returns and returned 80 kicks for an average of nearly 22 yards.

P — Danny Baugher (2002-05)
A starter for nearly all of four seasons, Baugher has the highest season-average in school history — 47.5 yards on 37 attempts in 2005, when his season ended in the seventh game because of an ACL injury. He was leading the nation in punting at the time. His 225 punts are a school record.

Arizona’s 2008 football recruiting class was ranked 39th nationally by Rivals.com and Scout.com. Eh. The Wildcats would like to live in a better neighborhood, but you know what coaches always say — you need three or four years to truly evaluate a class.

Phillip Garcia was part of a 2008 junior college recruiting class that is providing five key players for the Wildcats/Tucson Citizen photo

In UA’s case, let’s chop that time frame down to about 18 months.

Arizona is 4-2 at the halfway point of the 2009 season, and, barring an upset, will go to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pac-10, which would make the Wildcats a legit contender for the conference title (and the program’s first Rose Bowl … but you knew that).

The Cats get UCLA on Saturday and then, after a bye, Washington State. Both games are at home. Those two opponents are a combined 0-7 in the Pac-10.

One of the reasons the Wildcats are doing so well is that 2008 recruiting class. The UA signed 23 players in that class, and then added another guy late in spring. You might have heard of him. Quarterback Nick Foles, a transfer from Michigan State.

The Wildcats would be in a bad way (or at least a not-as-good way) if the coaches hadn’t successfully plugged holes with junior college transfers. After all, that’s why you recruit those guys in the first place.

It’s often hit and miss with junior college recruits, but Arizona “hit” with offensive linemen Mike Diaz, Phillip Garcia and Herman Hall, and linebackers Vuna Tuihalamaka and Sterling Lewis. Not only are they starting-level players (a combined 21 starts this season), they successfully bridged the recruiting gap so UA could develop younger recruits who will be ready to take over next season.

The only JC transfer miss was offensive lineman J’Marcus Webb. He was the highest-rated of the bunch but was the only member of the entire class to not qualify. He is now at lower-division West Texas. Anyway, it’s a blessing to hit so well on five of six junior college recruits.

Among the high school kids in that class, Arizona is already getting key production from running backs Keola Antolin and Greg Nwoko. At receiver, David Douglas (25 catches for 267 yards and two touchdowns) and Juron Criner (23 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns) are key members of the rotation.

Robert Golden is the starting strong safety. Vaughn Dotsy was starting at right guard before suffering a concussion and is back at least as a key member of the playing rotation.

It’s hard to know what to make of the future of quarterback Matt Scott, who was supplanted as the starter after three games by Foles, who shows no intention of giving it back. Foles, because of his late transfer, wasn’t factored into the UA’s class ranking in 2008 … which shows one of the inherent flaws of banking opinions on recruiting rankings.

Other members of the class, such as OL Trace Biskin, LB R.J. Young and DT Jowyn Ward, seem ready to emerge next season.

There’s another trend at work here.

Call it the Rise of the Two-Star Recruits.

(That’s another reason to not get all aflutter over football recruiting rankings.)

USC gets all five- and four-star recruits, and good for them. You’d rather take your chances with those kind of guys than a team filled with two-star prospects. Arizona’s recruits tend to be of the three-star variety, with a few bigger stars mixed in.

But take a look at the players signed by UA coach Mike Stoops who were rated only two stars by either Rivals.com or Scout.com, or both:

2004
DL Yaniv Barnett
OL Joe Longacre
DB Dominic Patrick
CB Antoine Cason

2005
LB Spencer Larsen (coming back from a church mission)

2006
DT Lolomana Mikaele

2007
CB Trevin Wade
WR Bug Wright

2008
RB Greg Nwoko
WR Juron Criner
WR David Douglas
OL Herman Hall

That’s a major-award winner and a first-round draft pick (Cason), a first-team all-conference linebacker and valuable 2008 NFL rookie (Spencer Larsen), a 40-game starter on the offensive line (Longacre) … and several players from 2006 to 2008 who look to be significant contributors for a few more years.

When I was recently doing a story on Wade, I asked defensive coordinator Mark Stoops about finding those kind of gems.

“Certainly, some kids get so much hype and so much recruitment that it’s undeserved,” Stoops said. “And other kids, you find that they’re just good ball players.

“We don’t have the bells and whistles around here to go get a bunch of four- and five-star recruits. It’s just not going to happen. So we have to do a great job of evaluation and do a great job of developing.

“We’re always going to go after them (the four- and five-star recruits) — and not just because they are four- and five-star guys. We’re going to recruit the best players we can get. But there are a lot of good programs out there, and we have our obstacles that we must overcome.”

Getting back to the original point … it seems as if Arizona overcame everything just fine in its modestly ranked but high-performing 2008 recruiting class.