Of late, neither Arizona nor ASU has done a great job keeping the top talent home. For every Ka’Deem Carey or D.J. Foster, there have been numerous Priest Willises, Cole Lukes and Connor Brewers.

Last season there were six 4-star products in state and only one (Chans Cox – ASU) stayed home. In 2012 there were also six, and just two, Foster and Zack Hemmila, remained home. Since 2010 there have been a total of 21 four or five star players in Arizona and just four of them chose an in-state school.

In 2011 not a single in-state 4 or 5 star signed with Arizona or ASU and only Marquis Flowers (Arizona) stayed home in 2010.

Most of those struggled are on prior coaches Mike Stoops and Dennis Erickson. Stoops and lead Phoenix recruiter Tim Kish did a wonderful job recruiting Phoenix when they first arrived in Tucson, but the state was hardly producing as many top tier athletes as it is now.

After Erickson arrived at ASU, they seemed to take some of the shine off of Arizona, but the Wildcats were also de-emphasizing Arizona a bit after players like B.J. Dennard, Terry Longbons and Glendon Bolasky were deemed busts.

Although Stoops was great in Tucson, the Cats lost just three athletes in the final seven classes and landed the likes of Adam Hall, Brooks Reed and Carey, for the most part the staff felt they could recruit elsewhere for better players.

“For every good player in Tucson, I could recruit 10 players just like him in Dallas that are overlooked by the Big-12,” said one Stoops era assistant.

Now both Arizona and ASU have all new staffs and both are recruiting Arizona. They’d be foolish not to. Rodriguez recruited Phoenix at Michigan, and upon arriving at Arizona he hired Chaparral coach Charlie Ragel to further boost in-state recruiting efforts.

In their first full classes both Rodriguez and ASU’s Todd Graham had mixed results with in-state kids. Arizona signed five Arizonans (four high school and one JC) while ASU inked just three (two high school and a JC.)

In reality last year’s in-state efforts could be deemed a push. Arizona signed more players, but both schools only signed a single top-10 in-state performer. The Devils actually signed the highest rated player, Blue Ridge’s Cox, a 4-star linebacker who is the 247Composte’s No. 3 player in the class. Both schools offered Cox, but Arizona never made a huge push and ASU received a very early commitment.

Both schools got long looks from CB Priest Willis, but ASU made his final list before he finally settled on ASU.

Although Arizona offered QB Tyler Bruggman early in the process, they never seriously pursued the drop-back passer from Brophy Prep. Once Arizona got commitments from Anu Solomon and two other prep passers, they completely backed off of a player that was not a perfect fit in the first place. Bruggman ultimately chose Washington State over ASU. The Devils actually made a final push right before signing with the Cougars.

No. 6 player Kenny Lacy committed to UCLA in the middle of the fall, but still took a visit to ASU.

Arizona signed the No. 9 player, linebacker DeAndre Miller and he never really considered other programs.

The Wildcats did not offer the No. 10 player, QB Ryan Finley, but ASU made a late charge at the Boise State commit after they lost QB commit Joshua Dobbs. Finley remained firm to the Broncos.

Cole Like, Devon Allen and Marcus Farria all had UA/ASU offer, but never really considered either school. Jalen Ortiz gave ASU an early look, but was sold on UCLA early in the process.

ASU signed TE Grant Martinez, a three-star prospect. Martinez is talented, but Arizona was not really involved. The same could be said for UA signees Mauriece Lee and Steven Gurrola. Both jumped at Arizona offers, their first offers. ASU never really got involved, but whether that was the case of their own evaluations or a lack of interest from the players is not really known.

Lee’s Marcos De Niza teammate said he felt more at home with the Arizona staff and chose Arizona over ASU early in the process. Arizona also signed Basha WR Nate Phillips who says he gave Arizona State “a chance” but preferred Arizona and committed to Arizona before his recruitment heated up. Although Lee and Elvira are not highly rated, they have impressed a number of observers like 247Sports’ J.C. Shurburtt and the Arizona Republics’ Richard Obert who think the duo may be a steal.

It is hard to truly judge the abbreviated 2012 class, as both Rodriguez and Graham had only been on the job a few months. ASU landed Foster, while Arizona held onto Hemilia and appeared to have DeVonte Neal before his 11th hour switch to Notre Dame.

The Wildcats signed more in-state players that season, but Dylan Cozens never arrived on campus, choosing professional baseball, while ASU landed Jaxon Hood, a player Arizona pursued. Arizona also added Dwight Melvin, Anthony Lopez, Jamar Allah and Cody Ippolito. Melvin and Allah both had ASU offers.

ASU also added Kody Kohl, a tight end from Mesquite that Arizona did not offer. They signed three JC players from in-state junior colleges, but none of them were originally from Arizona and the Wildcats only seriously seemed to pursue one of them.

For more on Arizona football recruiting check out WildcatSportsReport.com

Kentucky spent $100,000 on lighting alone for their Midnight Madness, while Sean Miller was likely having dinner at the same time. Teams scrambled to bring their top recruits for their events, while Arizona bided their time.

There was no Midnight at McKale. No Friday Night with Sean Miller. Arizona simply had a normal day of practice and will instead spend their time and energy this weekend with the annual Red/Blue game.

Arizona will have over 14,000 fans in the stands on Saturday, creating a great environment for recruits. Instead of competing with 20 other programs, Arizona carves out their own weekend and can bring in most, if not all of their top recruits for official and unofficial visits.

“With that type of atmosphere on that weekend that we have here in Tucson, we really target some of the best prospects in the country, future players who can help us do great things,” Miller explained. “To have them here during that weekend and experience that, that says it all.”

Last year the event was very successful, helping to land Kaleb Tarczewski and introducing the program to many other younger prospects.

“If you talk about Kaleb a year ago, Kaleb was the one who was uncommitted at this time,” Miller explained. “Having him at the Red-Blue Game helped us secure him, no question about it. No matter what we talked about on the telephone, or how much you think this atmosphere is special, until you’re actually here you don’t feel it. It helps the future. It’s something that I believe continues to be as crucial today as it was the day I came here.”

Among the prospects expected to be on hand include Aaron Gordon, Rondae Jefferson, Elliott Pitts, Stanley Johnson, Justis Winslow and Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

The second added bonus of bringing in recruits to the Red/Blue game is they (and the fans) will get to see a more polished team on the floor. They will be far from a finished product, but they will get a better idea of what Arizona basketball is really like a week plus into full practices.

The recruits and fans will also get a chance to see the 1988 team reunited. Last year the team hosted a number of locked out NBA players, this year they honor the school’s first Final Four squad.

“To be able to bring them back in front of our group where our own team can be around them and the future of Arizona recruiting and to see their reaction, to me it is a really important weekend,” Miller said.

The football team will stay in military barracks, the view outside their window likely to be more barracks.

The basketball team will stay at the Atlantis resort, the view outside their windows is majestic blue seas and the luxurious resort with all of its greens and blues.
In the end both trips will hope to accomplish the same thing, build better teams.

For Rich Rodriguez the goals of the trip are to build the team concept, continue to work on the new schemes and teach some life lessons in the backdrop of a sobering reality.
Sean Miller is trying to mesh seven new players, take advantage of additional practices and give his guys a bit of a vacation, all in the backdrop of a fantasy location.

The football team will rub elbows with military personnel making real sacrifices, while the basketball team will rub elbows with vacationers who are trying to forget the real world for a few days.

For the football team getting off of campus is good for several reasons. In years past the team would move into the dorms for fall camp, but this year the players stayed at home. The trip to Ft. Huachuca will force them to spend some time together.

“It brings the guys together,” said quarterback Matt Scott. “We are up in the barracks, everybody is in one place. It kinds of builds our team. It makes our bonding a little better. Coach Rod says when we come back we should be a complete team and I think that’s true.”

Moving to the base for a few days also isolates the team from distractions. With so much left to learn, some players really like the isolation and forced focus on football.

“Its fun to get away, to be with the team,” said Dan Buckner. “To get all the distractions out and get better as a team. You just get away, that’s all you have is football.”

Spending time with the soldiers is also a great experience for the team. Being on a college football team can be a step back from the realities of the real world. Although college athletes make sacrifices, rubbing elbows with the military puts it all in perspective.

“No fight is like their fight,” said Buckner. “Everyone praises what we do, but they are over there fighting for our freedom every day.”

Scott echoed those sentiments.

“We respect those guys so much,” the senior quarterback added. “They do so much for us and its just nice being around them.”

While the football team is slogging through two-a-days and being treated to a taste of the military lifestyle, the basketball team will be soaking up a bit of paradise and taking to the hardwood with a revamped roster.

The Wildcats not only welcome seven new players to the team, but the five remaining scholarship players are all in an adjustment phase. Kevin Parrom and Jordin Mayes both battled injury issues a year ago, while Nick Johnson and Angelo Chol hope to improve on up and down freshman seasons. Even All-Pac-12 performer Solomon Hill is moving back to the wing after spending last season at the power forward spot.

“You forget how much time last year combined they both missed,” Miller said of Mayes and Parrom.

“It’s great for them to practice, and be healthy and play,” Miller added. “In a sense get that head start where they feel healthy and get the feel for a game.”

Although the games and the trips in the Bahamas are nice, the real reward was the 10 extra practices the Wildcats received. The NCAA allows teams making an overseas trop to practice a few weeks before they leave and those practices could be invaluable in trying to get the four freshmen and Xavier transfer Mark Lyons integrated with the team.

The integration will not be only on the court, but off the court as well. Much like their football brethren, the Wildcat basketball team will use the Bahamas trip as a chance to bond.

“Although its about basketball its also about other things,” Miller said. “Players learn each other, they know each other. The difference between a newcomer and someone like Solomon Hill, who’s a senior, it’s really closed.”

Back in 1986 I was a 13-year old middle school student just starting to enjoy his summer vacation. I remember few details from that game or that run. About all I remember is listening to it in the living room on the house’s intercom system that could broadcast radio to any room in the house. I cannot even remember why I was in the living room, that was the room reserved for entertaining (and indoor baseball when my parents left me in charge of my little brother.)

In 1986 Arizona baseball was king. The 1986 title was the third in 10 years. In 1986 Larry Smith was still football coach, just getting the team off of probation. In six months they would beat North Carolina in the Aloha Bowl and the Cats would trade Smith for Dick Tomey.

In 1986 a first year coach named Mike Candrea guided Arizona to a 5-6-1 Pac-10 record and missed the postseason. It was the last time the Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament. In 1986 Lute Olson had yet to win an NCAA tournament game, much less lead Arizona to a Final Four.

That 1986 team was led by the likes of Gar Millay, Kevin Long, Gary Alexander and Tommy Hinzo.

This year’s team was led by a group that defied the odds, not only this year, but in life.

At 2 ½ months of age Robert Refsnyder, the CWS MVP, was living in South Korea, waiting to be adopted. Less than a month later he was in the loving arms of his American family. A family that was baseball crazy.

Three years ago Seth Mejias-Brean made the difficult decision to turn down a football scholarship to I-AA San Diego to pursue baseball at Pima College. Two weeks before the start of school Andy Lopez lost his freshman third base signee to the MLB and scrambled to sign a quality player. At the suggestion of one of his sons, Lopez turned to Cienega product Mejias-Brean. Sine then the local products has played over 180 games and hit nearly .330.

Alex Mejia got on Lopez’s radar screen because he shared the last name of a high school opponent that Lopez respected. Turned out that player was Alex’s father. Three years later Mejia was the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Joseph Maggi was an ASU legacy, but scored the first run of the championship clinching game. So much for doubting the loyalties of a guy that Lopez has joked was a “spy” for the Sun Devils.

Brandon Dixon, who drove in the game-winning run, was not supposed to hit in the ninth. After going 0-7 in the CWS, including a weak fly out in the 7^th with a runner in scoring position. Lopez was going to lift the defensive specialist, but assistant Matt Siegel talked him out of it.

Siegel, a former Lopez player at Florida, would not have been on the Wildcat bench had longtime Lopez assistant Mark Wasikowski not left for Oregon.

Lopez turned to a pitching staff that was thought to be a weakness. The maligned bullpen, the few times they were used, failed to surrender a run in Omaha.

Sure Heyer was a well regarded prospect, but Konner Wade, who looked like Randy Johnson in the CWS, was just 9-7 his final two years in high school with an ERA over 4.00. Lopez saw something he liked (and to be fair Wade was a 35^th round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2010) and Wade has gone 14-3 at Arizona.

If Heyer looked like “The Big Unit”, then James Farris was Curt Schilling. Farris, who had not pitched in nearly three weeks, shutdown the Gamecocks. He limited them to just two hits and a single run. Not bad for a guy who pitched in just two games as a freshman and had an ERA hovering around four.

Even Andy Lopez was a somewhat unlikely character in this drama. Frustrated with the NCAA’s near castration of college baseball and an administration that could not or would not deliver him a regional, Lopez considered other jobs or just walking away. Instead he came back, he rallied around the recruiting class that are now juniors. He also received a blessing when Jim Livengood was not retained and Greg Byrne assumed the role of Director of Athletics.

Instead of throwing more money at a sub par facility, Byrne angered many old school Wildcat fans by moving the baseball team off campus. While Hi Corbett Field was inadequate for the spoiled players on the Colorado Rockies, it was a godsend to the Wildcats.

It was a bigger park, with an actual clubhouse. It’s dimensions called on the Wildcats to be more aggressive and they responded. Fans thrilled with easier parking and beer, especially beer, showed up in droves.

Arizona hosted a Regional and a Super Regional. Teams that host have a 78% chance of advancing. The Wildcats advanced.

The Wildcats dominated these playoffs. They made the teams they faced in the regional look foolish. Other than one bad inning against St. John’s, the Wildcats were awesome.

In Omaha, where they did not have enough arms or enough talent, they shined. Arizona never trailed in Nebraska. Their pitchers gave up eight runs total, never more than three in a game. Offensively they scored 27. Not the gaudy numbers they put up in Hi Corbett, but not bad at all.

Freshman Matt Troupe stood on the mound in the ninth, wearing his trademark glasses and sweat stained camp. He allowed three of the first four batters on base. With the bases loaded and the winning run at the plate, he did not panic. Mejia trotted out to the mound, to play therapist for one of his pitchers for the 10,000^th time this season. At that time Troupe was not thinking about how he almost took the pro dollars when he found out that Lopez may leave. He was not thinking of his challenge to his coach to stay and win with him. He was not thinking about his inconsistencies this season.

Troupe lived the Arizona motto, as cliché as it might have sounded at that point. Troupe did indeed Bear Down with the help of his defense. Trent Gilbert snagged a rocket line drive and came within a breath of a double play.

For a split second Gilbert almost lost his cool, but Mejia was there to calm him down. Mejia, whose mom and dad made two separate trips to Omaha.

A 10^th of a second more and Arizona would have been celebrating. Instead the freshman took Button Salmon’s creed to heart, got a fly ball fittingly hit to Refsnyder and the Wildcats were celebrating.

It may have been an unlikely team to win a title, but they deserved it. For three weeks they played better than anyone. They hit the ball, they fielded the ball and they pitched the ball. They forgot about the MLB draft, their personal issues and the doubters.

They donned great No. 1 hats and national championships shirts. They came together. They won.

I listened to it on the radio, but watched it again at home. I saved the TiVo recording and will probably watch it again. It was a special moment with a special team.

The shirts said Wildcats Own Omaha, but could have said Wildcats Own College Baseball.

“I’m committing to the University of Arizona,” Woodson tweeted Sunday night.

Woodson was first offered by Arizona back in May but has been recruited by Arizona assistant Tony Gibson for years.

“Their staff was interested in me my freshmen year when they were up at Michigan and my team won their passing tournament,” explained Woodson who accounted for over 1,700 yards of total offense and 16 scores.

Arizona was the first BCS school to offer Woodson and he is a player who has flown under the radar. 247Sports has Woodson rated as a 2-star prospect and has given him a player rating of 79.

Although he is a sleeper prospect at this time, Woodson feels he can bring something special to a team.

“I’m a player that brings excitement,” Woodson said. “A person that can use their arm just as well as their legs.”

It is Arizona’s 11th commitment and second from a quarterback. Las Vegas’ Anu Solomon committed earlier this spring.

Something happened. Instead of getting to watch a very good Arizona baseball team, I instead had to watch someone playing a baseball video game stuck on the easy setting. I mean, how else do you explain what we saw this weekend?

Only in video games do teams bat nearly .500, score double figure runs every night and have three pitchers throw gems. That just does not happen against teams that won the Big East and Big 12.

Come on, real baseball teams do not score 47 runs in three games, against good teams. The Wildcat pitchers held Louisville and Missouri to 10 runs and had all four starters pitch at least eight innings.

Remember, they got rid of the old aluminum bats before last season.

I must have been watching a video game, there is no other explanation for what we saw. The Wildcats had 58 hits, batted .472 AND got great pitching and defense.

In real life college baseball teams do not use four pitchers in three games. That’s right, just one relief pitcher saw action.

In a real college baseball series, a pitcher going eight innings, surrendering four runs and just 10 hits would be the best outing of the weekend, not the worst. Konner Wade was the lone Wildcat hurler not to finish what he started. Kurt Heyer and James Farris each pitched complete games.

In a weird case of synchronicity, all three pitchers gave up two earned runs a game. Each had at least one unearned run.

Heck, even the scores were similar as Arizona won 15-3, 16-4 and 16-3.

Here is why the Wildcats must have been replaced by a video game. The Wildcats scored more than 15 runs just four times all season. Two of those were 20-run outings and another was against Eastern Michigan. No Pac-12 team gave up more than 13 to the real Wildcats, yet two conference champions supposedly did? I am supposed to believe that?

Could we seem more of it this weekend? Supposedly Arizona will host St. John’s in a Super Regional (more like a Super Nintendo Regional). Although the Johnnies (or Red Storm or Redmen) beat 6th ranked North Carolina twice on their home field, they also lost two of three to Louisville this season. The same Louisville team that gave up 32 runs in 17 innings over the weekend.

This past weekend did not seem real and hopefully that lack of reality will continue all the way to Omaha.

Anu Solomon
6-1, 200
Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, NV
3-stars, 83 rating, #33 Dual Purpose QB, #2 Player in Nevada
Scouting Report:

If there is a knock on Solomon, it is that he lacks size. The is a big deal to some programs, but Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats are less concerned with height and more concerned with the ability to run the read-option offense.

Although he is on the short side, just 6-1, he finds passing lanes and knows how to prevent his balls from being batted back. He’ll have to continue to refine this skill at the next level as defenders get bigger and more athletic, but he has a good feel for moving in the pocket to find lanes that can’t be taught.

He’s not the thickest quarterback and some have expressed concerns about injuries at the college level, but he’s already over 200 pounds and has shown great toughness at the high school level.

Solomon has nice athleticism and can move in and out of the pocket. He’s not a burner north-south, but is elusive and can make plays with his legs. For a dual threat quarterback, he lacks the raw athleticism most associate with the position. While he’s mobile and quick, he does not have the speed to covert to wide receiver or defensive back like many other similar passers.

He’s a solid passer. He makes quick decisions and has shown a willingness to take what the defense gives him, which is a prerequisite of the RichRod offense. Described by some as the “anti gun slinger”, some have criticized his overall vision and ability to make the tough throw. Others have described him as cautious and patient enough to take the more sure play. Again, this fits what Rodriguez likes from his quarterbacks as he abhors turnovers and does not want gamblers

He has a quick release and puts good zip on the ball, but does not have a huge arm. Can make deep passes, but his bread and butter is delivering the short pass on time and with accuracy.

Maybe the best thing about him is his great fundamentals. He’s been praised for his footwork and overall feel for the game. For a player his age, he does a terrific job making his passes catchable. He puts balls where they need to be caught and is sound at throwing it as hard or as soft as it needs to be to get to the spot and be caught.

He’s also a winner. He has the swagger befitting a player that has won three state championships and has only lost three games so far in his prep career.

There were radical transformations when John Mackovic replaced Dick Tomey and then later when Mike Stoops replaced Mackovic. The coaches took time in the spring to put their own stamp on the programs, but spent most of it implementing schemes and evaluating talent. Although Stoops tried to create a positive culture change, it is nothing compared to what Rich Rodriguez is attempting.

Like Stoops, RichRod is making changes based in schemes, intensity and a new conditioning program, but he is also playing mental games to change the culture. He is not trying to slowly move the program in his image, he is trying to break the mold and drastically change things.

Rodriguez is using every avenue at his disposal. Like Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller, he is subtly, and not so subtly, using the media to get his message out. Whether it was the preseason comments about the Wildcats lack of strength, or more recent comments about how the team cannot go full speed due to a lack of overall conditioning. Past coaches worried about public perception and ticket sales would not have aired their dirty laundry. Rodriguez is not worried about that. He wants his players to know what they have been doing is not good enough. My guess is the strength and conditioning issues are not as bad as RichRod makes them out to be, but he wants the players and the public to know that things have to get better. The commitment level needs to be amped up.

“If they have not lifted or worked or trained a lot since November, they’re not treating themselves like an elite athlete,” Rodriguez said prior to the spring. “I believe if you are a division one college athlete, in any sport, I think you should be considered and treating yourself as an elite athlete. This is a high level in every sport, so elite athletes never take two months off from training or two weeks off from training.”

This was the first case of Rodriguez raising the bar and some of the players instantly responded. Several players cancelled spring break plans to remain in Tucson to train. Others adjusted plans to make sure they got workouts in around or during their breaks.

The fact that Rodriguez is calling his players “elite athletes” and expecting them to behave, train and perform like that shows a new level of expectations.

Stoops completely changed the culture from what Mackovic did, but Rodriguez is trying to take it to another level.

He has not just used the media to make his points, but has implemented things during practice. He jumped all over players in the first practice that did not move fast enough on and off the field or from station to station.

He installed a stoplight to let the players know at what pace they should be practicing. When the green light is lit, they should be at full speed…and the green light is lit a lot.

On Monday he cancelled on-field practice and instead had the team concentrate on film study from that weekend’s scrimmage. I can’t imagine Stoops or Mackovic giving up on-field practice time to watch film of a scrimmage, but Rodriguez obviously felt more could be learned by watching the tape. He seems less focused on today and tomorrow, than he is the long term changes he needs to make to the culture of the program. So if that means, two hours less on the field and two hours more in the film room, so be it.

By all accounts it was a humbling viewing for many players.

“It humbles some people,” said receiver Dan Buckner in an interview with TucsonCitizen.com’s Anthony Gimino. “You’re going to be put on the spot in front of all your team. You don’t want to let your team down. It’s not to embarrass you. It’s not personal. He called me out. He called a lot of players out.”

You get the feeling that Rodriguez hopes the desire to not be “called out” leads to better efforts, better performances.

“I think we all came out and worked harder today,” Buckner said after Wednesday’s practice. “Me personally, I didn’t want to put the film on and let my teammates down, let my coaches down. What you put on the field, that’s your resume.”

His most recent addition is the blue line. Rodriguez had a blue arc painted in front of the entrance of the practice field. Rodriguez wants the line to be the place where, for a few hours, players put school, family and personal issues to the back burner and focus on football.

“Once they cross the blue line, academics, personal issues and everything else has to go in the background and it’s all football,” Rodriguez told the media before Wednesday’s practice. “And when they cross back over, I hope they still think about football a little bit, but then their focus can go to other things as well.”

It’s again another ploy to shake things up. Rodriguez obviously felt the things he had been doing and saying were not enough, so a not-so-subtle reminder was painted on the grass.

With two weeks left of spring practice, you can bet Rodriguez is not done. You can also bet there have been other tactics have been used behind the scenes.

Rodriguez is, of course, building towards the season opener, but he is also building for the future. He is using spring to install an offense and defense, but to also see who is committed for the long term. He is seeing who will buy in and be ready to do it his way, not just next season, but the next few seasons.

Rodriguez does not want to coach a .500 program. He is not interested in a string of Las Vegas Bowls, he has his sights set on bigger and better things and that means changing things right now. He does not want to make small changes over the next few years, he wants to change things right now and will do what he needs to do to make those changes.

Sean Miller then spoke to the media about the win over ASU.