IF Rich Rodriguez is going to build Arizona into a consistent winner, then he is going to have to keep top talent in state. Over the past few years Arizona, particularly Phoenix, has seen a boom in elite football prospects.

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.

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On Wednesday afternoon the Wildcat football team piled into busses and trekked across the Southern Arizona desert for a military base. 24 hours or so later the Wildcat basketball team boarded an airplane and flew to a resort in the Caribbean.

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.”

Tommy Woodson a quarterback from Monroeville, PA/Gateway High School has committed to Arizona.

“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.

Getting a quarterback early in a recruiting class is always a vital pick-up. Quarterbacks are natural leaders and generally when one commits early, they spearhead a recruiting class. On Sunday the Wildcats got their quarterback. Learn more about Anu Solomon.

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.

This may wind up being the most unique spring practice in Arizona history. For the third time in my career covering Wildcat football I have covered a spring after a coaching search and this one is fairly unique. Rich Rodriguez is not just getting ready for next season, but he’s transforming a program.

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.