Less than a week into fall football camp it is hard to tell a lot about the team, but stories and themes are starting to emerge.

So far Nick Foles has been sharp and it is obvious that Matt Scott is attempting to redshirt this season, allowing him to battle for the starting job as a fifth year starter in 2012. Bryson Beirne has been getting the bulk of the snaps with the second team, while Scott, the back-up in 2010, works with the scout team.

Keola Antolin and Daniel Jenkins are holding down the top two spots at running back and the real competition seems to be for the third running back job. Sophomore Kylan Butler has the edge early in camp, but walk-on Terris Jones and true freshman Ka’Deem Carey are getting their opportunities.

Heading into fall camp we knew the Arizona receiving corps was deep, but this appears top be the deepest the unit has ever been. Juron Criner is back with the team after attending to some personal matters over the summer. He does not appear 100% in shape, but is still making plays. Once he improves his conditioning, watch out.

Newcomer Dan Buckner, the Texas transfer, appears as good as advertised, while Tyler Slavin has made play after play.

Terrence Miller has been a go-to guy during 2:00 drills and he gives the Cats yet another big target.

All eyes are on the offensive line and so far, so good. The starting five of Mickey Baucus, Fabbians Ebelle, Chris Putton, Trace Biskin and Kyle Quinn have been solid and early on have fended off challenges from second teamers.

The biggest news among the line is the addition of Jack Baucus, who moves from tight end to tackle.

Another position of interest has been the defensive ends who have to replace three players drafted by the NFL. So far Muhammed Usman and C.J. Parish have been very good and true freshmen Reggie Gilbert and Dame Ndiaye have shown that the future at the position seems very bright.

Junior college transfer David Lopez will start alongside Paul Vassallo and Derek Earls when the Cats go with their 4-3 base defense, but all indications are that the Wildcats will spend a lot of time in their nickel and dime packages.

So far the defensive backs have also played well. Shaq Richardson and Jonathan McKnight are in a real battle to start opposite of senior Trevin Wasde and Derrick Rainey is also showing well at corner.

There is less competition at safety where Rob Golden and Marquis Flowers have their jobs all but sewn up.

Alex Zendejas and Jaime Salazar are in a duel for the place kicking job. Many assumed that after last year’s disasterous finish that Zendejas would be out of a job, but he worked hard over the summer and the job probably won’t be decided early in camp.

So far the Wildcats have remained relatively injury free, which is especially good news after all of the injuries during spring ball. Two of those injured players, linebacker Jake Fischer and safety Adam Hall, appear to be ahead of schedule and may have a tough decision to make about whether to play this year or use a redshirt.

Although the Arizona defense has been very good for most of the year, the defense’s struggle against Stanford is still sticking with the Wildcats nearly a week later. Linebacker Derek Earls has been a bright spot for the team. He is a major reason the defense has been stellar against the run. He and fellow linebacker Paul Vassallo have both successfully made the transition from junior college to the starting line-up.

Earls spoke a lot about the struggles against the Cardinal.

Co-Defensive Coordinator Greg Brown also talked about the defense:

With some apologies for our own Anthony Gimino and his work at Lindy’s, I cracked open Phil Steele’s 2010 College Football preview and was surprised to see that he had a lot of love for Arizona linebacker Derek Earls.

Derek Earls (Brad Allis/WildcatSportsReport.com)

Earls did not come to Arizona with a lot of fanfare, but emerged from spring atop the depth chart at middle linebacker. Steele had the 6-4 backer from the North Dakota State College of Science rated as the 14^th best incoming JUCO player and has him tabbed as a fourth team All-Pac-10 linebacker in his preseason magazine. High praise for a player that has a lot to learn.

“I thought he did a tremendous job,” said linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator Tim Kish. “I’ve never had a guy come in from a JUCO situation and transition so quickly at that position.”

Kish admits Earls has a lot to still learn, but also loves his size, length and ability to pick up the concepts.

“He really has a tremendous upside. I’m really anxious to see how he will progress over the course of the summer and fall camp, and I anticipate him being a leader as well.”

And just like that the Wildcats addressed one of their biggest recruiting needs. The Wildcats had some gaps in their linebacking corps, which led to some unbalanced classes. With the commitment of Dallas’ Rob Hankins, more of those gaps are erased.

Hankins becomes the third linebacker commit in the 2011 recruiting class for the Wildcats, joining Hank Hobson and Jabral Johnson.

When the three get on campus next summer, the Wildcats’ linebacker breakdown by class will look like this.

Seniors: Derek Earls,  Paul Vassallo

Juniors: Jake Fischer, R.J. Young (used redshirt)

Sophomores: Cordarious Golston (used redshirt); Trevor Erno (used redshirt)

Redshirt Freshmen: Kyle Benson  (expected to redshirt due to knee injury)

True Freshmen: Hank Hobson,  Jabral Johnson,  Rob Hankins

This will give the Cats a balance, with at least two players in each class. This year the Wildcats will have three new starters, and do not have a non-JUCO upperclassman on the roster. The Cats do not have a backer on the roster with a start under his belt, and just two who logged any meaningful time last year.

Ideally, you’d expect the Cats to try to redshirt at least two of the newcomers, in an effort to further spread out the talent among the four classes.

The Cats find themselves in this position due to three factors, the reliance of junior college linebackers, players changing positions and players leaving the program. The Wildcats currently have three defensive ends who began their careers as linebackers in Brooks Reed, D’Aundre Reed and Apai Tuihalamaka. Add to that Zander Fabri’s departure and a few other recruits de-committing and you have the unbalance in the classes the Cats’ have faced the past few seasons.

Hankins does more than just give the Cats depth, he gives them a very well regarded recruit. He is a four-star player and ESPN.com’s #9 ILB nationally. He’s one of the “great instinct” guys that Tim Kish has done so well with, but has legit athleticism and good enough size and could be a guy who comes in and challenges for playing time.

His commitment mean the Cats have really solidified their linebacking and running back units. Although they might still add another player if an elite talent wanted to come on board, with three backers and two runners, the Cats are in very good shape at both positions.

The Cats will announce their 2010 recruiting class on Wednesday afternoon. As we discussed yesterday, the offense addressed most of their needs. For the defense it is much of the same.

For all your signing day coverage, including the FAX TRACKER, player bios and breaking news visit WILDCATSPORTSREPORT.com all day long on Wednesday.

Defensive Tackles

Committed: (3)
Kirifi Taula 6-4, 275  Servite (CA) HS
Willie Mobley  6-2, 270 Orange Coast College/Ohio State
Sani Fuimaono 6-2, 270, Punahou School, Honolulu, HI

Fills Needs: A
The Cats lose two DTs but grab three in the class. Mobley can come in and play right away and Taula and Fuimaona have very bright futures. All three have the size and athleticism to be good players in the Wildcats’ system.

Defensive Ends

Committed: (2)
Dan Pettinato 6-5, 222 Nevada Union HS – Grass Valley, CA
Mohamed Usman 6-1, 240 Navarro College

Fills Needs: C+
This rating goes up if Pettinato surprises. He’s an unknown commodity at this point, but has intriguing size and if he can develop, then maybe he can bolster the group. Usman is a speed rusher who will get a chance to fight for playing time right away.

Paul Vassallo

Line Backers

 

Committed: (2)
Derek Earls 6-3, 220 North Dakota State College
Paul Vassallo 6-3, 240 Sierra College
Kyle Benson 6-2, 215 Corona Del Sol HS – Tempe, AZ

Fills Needs: B+
The Cats wanted JC backers who could transfer at the semester and found two. Both Earls and Vassallo have great size and are already in the strength and conditioning program. After losing all three starters and their nickel back, the Cats will need both Vassallo and Earls to fight for starting jobs. Benson is overcoming a knee injury but is ahead of schedule in his rehab and he has great upside.

Defensive Backs

WildcatSportsReport.com

Committed: (3)
Jourdon Grandon 6-0, 180 Westview HS – Avondale, AZ
Josh Robbins 6-3, 195 Canyon del Oro HS – Tucson, AZ
Marquis Flowers 6-2, 195 Millenium HS – Goodyear, AZ

Fills Needs: B-
Flowers will see the field right away and could be a starter, but the other two are terrific athletes, but likely projects. The Cats needed a cornerback in the class and did not get a pure cover corner, but did get three quality athletes.

Special Teams

Committed: (1)
Chase Gorham 6-2, 225 Chaparral HS – Scottsdale, AZ

Fills Needs: A
The Cats rarely offer special teams performers, but Gorham is not only a terrific long snapper but a Wildcat legacy.